I made this recipe and served it on St. Patrick's Day in 2008. It was a big hit with the family, who had already eaten unimpressive corned beef that week. This recipe is different, Irish, and delicious. You'll want extra portions and leftovers, so go ahead and prepare it with two briskets.

Spicy Irish Corned Beef - yield 18-20 servings

2 corned beef briskets (abt 3# each)
1 medium onion halved
1 medium carrot cut into chuncks
1 celery stalk with leaves, cut into chunks
1 T. mixed pickling spices
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 T. prepared mustard (I use the powdered stuff)
1/2 sweet pickle juice (I use the juice from bread & butter pickles)

1. Place corned beef in a large Dutch oven (I used my crock pot) & cover with water.
2. Add the onion, carrot, celery and pickling spices & bring to a boil3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 3 hours or until meat is tender.
4. Transfer corned beef to a 13x9 cake pan, discarding broth and vegetables. Score the surface of the meat with shallow diagonal cuts.
5. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, mustard, and pickle juice; spead over meat.
6. Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 325 degrees, basting occasionally.

This is the second recipe my daughters-in-law have asked me for in the past two weeks--I must be getting better with my cooking and baking. I have discovered the joy of cooking delicious, healthy meals. For years I concerned myself with inexpensive meals for a family of six. Then I ate out a lot, and gained a lot of weight. Lately, I have been watching cooking shows on TV and find them inspiring. Here's the rule I learned from Chef Ramsey: limit ingredients to 4 when preparing a specific dish. Too many flavors overwhelm and confuse the palate.

So, here's my own recipe for my favorite seafood: broiled salmon. I use only wild salmon, because farmed salmon lacks the flavor of wild. The chili powder is not hot and enhances the fish's flavor. The almond topping adds a low-fat crunch. My recipe has only four ingredients (butter, salt and pepper don't count). I call it --
Savory Salmon
1 large Salmon filet
2 T chili powder
4 T butter
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

Rinse and blot dry a large salmon filet (2-3 pounds). Cut into 4 even pieces.
1. Saute lightly in saute pan: 4 T butter, 2 T chili powder, and 1 garlic clove (crushed/diced). Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Pour butter mixture into a foil-lined baking dish (13x9 works)
3. Roll salmon portions in the butter mixture. Broil for 3 min, skin side up.
4. Turn and cover top of salmon portions with crushed almonds. Return to broil for 3 minutes.
5. Check to make sure salmon is cooked through.

Serve with rice pilaf and fresh asparagus. You'll love this because it's so easy, yet so delicious & healthy.

The Unwanted House Guest

This uninvited house guest came to stay some 15 years ago, and I now spend a good portion of each day dealing with the effects of having lived with her that long. Her name is SaLlEe (SLE), but her nickname is "lupus." She's really a pest. As I age, I find it increasingly difficult to put up with her pain, fatigue, and discouragement. [I refuse to use the word "depression" because I'm not a depressed person. However, most people with chronic disorders involving pain also battle with emotional highs and lows.] Lupus insists that I give constant consideration to her list of needs each day: Getting enough sleep, drinking enough, taking all the meds, not pushing too hard, knowing when to lie down, saving my voice from raspiness by not talking, changing shoes every few hours to fight the arthritis in my feet and back. Yeah, she's really boring. I hate talking about her because no one ever really wants to know about her. They just ask to be polite. Then they ask again later, just to be polite, and they don't listen. So, I generally ignore her when I'm around others. Unfortunately, I'm finding it harder to ignore this ever-present intruder. While I'm comfortable with the routine we've found ourselves in, our relationship is strained. She wants more attention than I'm willing to give, and I want to be left alone by this pest. Neither of us is getting what we want, but neither of us is willing to concede the fight, either.

If you find yourself wondering about SLE (it's an autoimmune disorder, not a place), check out the link. Have a great day!

Way Back When...(sigh)

"For almost as long as folks have been saying how soft we all used to have it way back when, there have been others who’ll say that’s a crock. They insist that everybody always thinks we’re living in, to invoke Thomas Pynchon, “the spilled, the broken world.” They like to write opinion pieces with elegiac quotes about how the automobile has ruined everything, or how insipid television is, and then – whoa, Nelly! – try to make you feel like an idiot for not guessing that the quote in question was written in 1910 or 1940, respectively. In other words, the world can’t be getting worse because folks thought the world was getting worse even when it was better, so how bad can it be?" (David Kipen @ NEA.org)

Thanks, David, for letting me post an excerpt from your essay on the good ol' days.

Why I love Ireland...

Bono enticed me to visit Ireland in 2001. And I've been in love ever since. NOT with Bono, but with that beautiful green island. The narrow lanes of the villages, the town jails (Gaol), the seaside cafes and B&Bs, the churches and castles, the red-headed children, the ridiculous/ubiquitous rock walls that divide and define every fen and crag. The people, the land, the climate, and the history intoxicate the most innocent visitor with a craving for more of the same. I long to return to this mystic place where I don't remember a single unpleasant moment. That doesn't count the pain of a cracked tooth made worse by the chilly Dublin wind. "Breath through your nose, Kelli" said herself. Some people have even asked if I'm from Ireland. My ruddy complexion and adopted brogue can be deceiving. When my daughter and I get talking like colleens, you'd swear we're Irish. Sure, now I can hear their voices in my head -- that lilt coming from puckered mouths reciting Irish verse:

There is a place where time stands still,

Where white sheep graze on lush green hills

And thatched cottages still keep a cozy hearth --

A magical place of laughter and song,

Of spirited people, proud and strong --

IRELAND,

You are forever in our hearts.

If it's been awhile since you last watched "The Quiet Man" (John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara), watch it again. You'll see and hear what I'm talking about, Mickeline!

Why I Write & Crochet

Stephen King wrote an amazing autobiographical book, On Writing, in which he says that writing is "about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well...It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over" and "getting happy." That's why I write. That's why I blog. Selfish desire for wellness and happiness. And if my few readers find inspiration then my "purpose" has been fulfilled.

Last night I finished an afghan for my nephew's new baby boy, due on April 15th. In our family that isn't just Tax Day. It's my grandmother's birthday AND my nephew's own birthday, as well. I wanted to pass along to the newest member of our extended family the artistry of crochet that has been passed down to me from my great grandmother, from her daughter, and from my mother. Check out the link to my genealogy to see these women's names...