Column Reprint: St. Patricks Day

??How did an Irish Catholic holy day, dedicated to the 5th century bishop who Christianized the Emerald Isle, become a big American secular celebration? How did we end up with parades, paper shamrocks, dopey hats, and the Chicago River dyed green? More to the point, how did Americans of every ethnicity find themselves feasting mid-March on potatoes and green beer, higher carb than which it is hard to get?

The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in America took place in New York City in 1762. But St. Patrick’s Day really gathered steam with the influx of Irish immigrants during the Potato Famine of 1845 – 1850. Faced with starvation, Irish folks left home in droves for the more promising shores of America. Soon there were large Irish populations in many American cities, and the Irish saint’s day became part of broader American culture.

?Since reliance on potatoes is responsible for the deaths of a million Irish, the moral seems clear: We shouldn’t be eating potatoes for St. Patrick’s Day! Potatoes are the enemy of the Irish!

Okay, so that’s a little over the top. But with both a high carb count and a high glycemic index, potatoes are a really bad bet for us, regardless of the date. Holiday indulgences are fine, but unless your name is O’Shaunnessy, you’re going to have a hard time convincing me that St. Patrick’s Day looms large enough on your personal calendar to justify blowing your diet.

Still, no one wants to be left out of the party. So how can we join in the St. Patrick’s Day celebration without winding up looking like potatoes ourselves?

As with all holidays, focus on the fun that doesn’t involve food. Go to a parade. Wear green, a silly button, or a hat. Sing “Oh, Danny Boy” or “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.” Watch Finnian’s Rainbow or Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Buy a sheet of shamrock stickers, and stick them on your co-workers. Dance a jig. Send me a pot of gold.

“Sure an’ begorra,” you say, “But what am I supposed to eat? And drink?”

You can drink green beer, so long as it’s a low carb beer. Michelob Ultra is advertised as the lowest carb beer, but I’m here to tell you that carbs aren’t all it’s light in – the stuff is flavorless and boring. I prefer Miller Lite (3.2 grams), or Amstel Light (5 grams). (If we were being authentically Irish we’d all drink Guinness, but it has 17.4 grams of carb per bottle, and it’s too
dark to dye green.)

For your St. Patrick’s Day dinner, how about Irish Stew? This potato-less version is astonishingly good, one of the best things I’ve come up with lately. Don’t tell the family otherwise, and they’ll assume the turnips are potatoes.

Irish Stew

2 pounds leg of lamb, trimmed of all fat, in 1 1/2” cubes
2 large turnips, in 1/2" cubes
1/2 head cauliflower, in 1/2" cubes
3 medium onions, sliced
1/2 cup Dixie Diner Instant Mashers low carb mashed potato substitute (dry, not prepared)
salt and pepper
water -- to cover
1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (I actually prefer Better Than Bouillon paste)
1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon granules (I actually prefer Better Than Bouillon paste)
guar or xanthan, in a salt shaker

Cut up your meat and vegetables first. Spray a Dutch oven or large, heavy soup kettle with non-stick cooking spray.

Now, put a layer of mixed turnip and cauliflower in the bottom of your pot. Add a layer of onion. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the Instant Mashers powder over that, then put in a layer of cubed lamb. Salt and pepper the lamb. Now repeat the layers two more times, using up the meat, veggies, and Instant Mashers mix.

Add cold water just to cover. Put a lid on the pot and set over lowest possible flame. Let it simmer for 2 hours.

Take the lid off, and stir in the bouillon granules or paste. Continue to simmer over lowest heat, uncovered, for another 2 hours or a little more.

Finally, using your whisk and your guar or xanthan shaker, thicken up the gravy a bit, salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

8 servings, each with 234 Calories; 7g Fat; 29g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber, 8 grams Usable Carbohydrate.

As you can see, this recipe is quite simple, but it does require ample simmering time; it’s not a dish to make when you get home from a long day’s work. However, a couple of days in the fridge only improve it (as I have reason to know,) and it reheats beautifully. Why not make this
up over the weekend, and hold it for St. Patrick’s Day?

( Dixie Diner Instant Mashers and guar or xanthan are available from Carb Smart

For you newbies, Guar and xanthan are low carb thickeners; keep one or the
other in an old salt shaker by your stove and just sprinkle it over your food while stirring with a whisk, stopping when the sauce is a little less thick than you want it to be.)