MNN - Mother Nature Network

Happy March! I love March for several reasons, and one of them is St. Patrick’s Day because I’m an Irish girl. I’ll be focusing a bit on foods that surround St. Patrick’s Day over the next couple of weeks, but I thought I’d start out the month with some links to some Irish food blogs.

 

I know the stereotype is that Irish food is bland – meat and potatoes without much imagination. I spent some time in Ireland last summer, and I found evidence to the contrary. When we got out of the touristy areas, we found restaurants with chefs that cooked fabulous, fresh dishes.

 

In fact, I had one of the best restaurant meals I’ve ever had at a tiny little restaurant in Ramelton, Co Donegal, called The Bridge Bar. The roast breast of chicken with a mushroom & smoked bacon stuffing served with a red wine & garlic sauce dish that I was served was delicious. The people couldn’t have been friendlier, either.

 

So I thought I’d point you to some Irish food blogs that will show you that what’s going on in Ireland is not all blood sausages and lamb stew (not that I didn’t enjoy both of those while I was there). You may find some non-traditional meal ideas for your traditional St. Patrick’s Day celebration on one of them.

 

The Good Mood Food Blog – This blog is written by twenty-something (at least he looks like that to me) Donel in Dublin who has recently finished his first cookbook due out later this year. Most of the recipes on his blog try to incorporate as many healthy foods as possible. I’m dying to give his garlic mushroom and goats cheese pasta a try.

 

Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments – Ruth E from Northern Ireland is learning to cook using fresh ingredients instead of jars of sauces and microwave meals (my kind of girl). On her blog she shares some easy home cooked meals and shows you the results of some new to her recipes.

 

The Daily Spud – Okay, yes, this one has a lot of potato recipes. But it’s also got some other really interesting recipes like this one for Bahlua Bread, which is a banana bread with Kahlúa and macadamias.

           

Image: Bridge Bar Website