Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for March 17, 2021

Arlo, that’s enough to feed the whole clan!

How can I wangle an invite? 8^ )

Poor St. Patrick, his day isn’t even a memorial on the liturgical calendar. And two days later, St. Joe gets a solemnity.

I have dual citizenship. My Irish comes courtesy of my bride. 22 years ago she was finally able to prove that her grandfather was born in Galbally, and was alive when she was born. To do it she had to hire herself an Irish investigator to sort through the muddle of British records. That was all Irish law required then, but was tightened shortly after our success. Anyway he was indeed one of the 5 million Diaspóra na nGael who made it to the USA.

People go crazy with green on St. Paddy’s day. Chicago dyes the river green, bars dye the beer green, everyone’s encouraged to wear green. But I’m OK with that as long as the corned beef doesn’t start out green.

I need to put my pati-o-furniture outside today!

Except corned beef isn’t really something people in Ireland would actually eat.

It doesn’t look like brisket.

Irish diaspora? No.

Janis diaspora? Perhaps.

By the way, thanks to a very mild case of COVID-19 a little while ago, my Janis has an altered sense of smell. She experiences phantom smells and perceives some smells differently than she did. In some cases, she smells nothing at all, and that’s good for me because one of those is the chili that I like to make. Before, she wouldn’t let me make it. Now, it’s as if it doesn’t exist.

The bad news: This is a temporary condition.

My sweetie thought he’d substituted a steak. Corned beef is a lumpy ragged cut of beef.

Arlo’s thinking, “Erin, go bra-less!”

My wife says it’s our 74th anniversary – in dog years. To celebrate, I’m not cooking corned beef and cabbage!

Nope. Just right foot lots o leftovers.

looks more like a sirloin to me!

That looks like a three cabbage head chunk of corned beef.

corned [cured…hey, I didn’t know it had been sick] brisket of beef is running 11.95 a pound with a minimum 5 pound purchase in my local supermarket. Quite like the turkey for Thanksgiving it is too much in price and quantity for just two of us…so, once again this year, we skip the pseudo Irish [mostly American] meal of the day.

On Breaking Cat News, they refer to corned beef as “dead sock meat”.

Are there actually married couples where wife has no idea what hubby is making for dinner that day? Or that doesn’t have a clear idea of dinner plans for the day? (Oh gawd look it’s supper time and I have no clue???)

Love learning new words.

Come on, man!

Cooking mine in the crock pot in Guiness Stout this year, should be interesting. The leftovers make great sandwiches on rye with strong Irish mustard.

Pumpernickel RYE on sale this week YIPEEEEEE

Am I the only reader who doesn’t know what the heck a diaspora is?

There is an Irish pub relatively close so we will probably get take out rather than cook a corned beef and cabbage … but I am having flowers delivered for my wife who is Irish. :-)

I hate it when I have to pull out/up a dictionary to understand a comic strip.

I firmly believe that most ethnic cooking is revolting because it’s what ancestors ate when they couldn’t afford or obtain palatable food … or, to quote Tevya, “You may ask, ‘How did this tradition get started?’ I’ll tell you! [pause] I don’t know. But it’s a tradition..”

Arlo, that should be “Príomh-mhias”.

I have heard that if you add a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the water, the meat won’t shrink as much. Am trying that right now.

Irony is that St. Patrick’s Day, until fairly recently, was no big deal. In the US, well, it was a way of proclaiming pride in the Celtic heritage

Culinary Assistance:

If you love corned beef, make your own. It is really not difficult at all. Takes a week of soaking. You control the spicing and the flavor. I am a BIG fan of extra garlic.

https://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/3951029/corned-beef-brining/ Or a hundred other recipes.

Pickling Spice. You can make your own from dozens of online recipes or purchase ready made. I use this stuff https://www.myspicesage.com/products/pickling-spice and add a bunch of fresh crushed garlic cloves.

Costco usually has PRIME brisket in big crack wrap packages. It is absolutely worth the extra dollar a pound. Think about it. Tender (sort of) brisket BEFORE cooking. Also fantastic for you other brisket recipes. Traditional Jewish, smoker slow cooked, you name it.

DO IT! You will never buy store bought again.

I decided to pass on the CB&C this year.

Does coffee with 2 squirts of Irash Creme syrup count?

The left overs made great sandwiches on rye bread. The liquid makes wonderful stock, for chicken and noodles, stews and soups. We have corned beef and cabbage many times a year… partially for the stock.

Had to go to BJs (like Costco) a couple of weeks ago to pick up OTC supplements our doctor has us take related to medical conditions we have. So went food shopping while there also (ended up buying more PB and more bread as nothing else we needed in small enough packages). Husband was looking for a corned beef for us to buy to make (just for something different to eat), but did not like any ones they had so we didn’t.