Slainte! That was me raising my virtual mug of green beer to you.
There is a lot of Irish Magic going around in preparation for St. Patrick's Day. Here in Houston, the Buffalo Bayou will magically turn green overnight in honor of St. Paddy's Day...And in San Antonio, the same named river that meanders through downtown will magically turn green.
In my family, the Irish Magic took the form of potato soup. This recipe for potato soup came over on the boat with one of my foremothers during the potato famine. My grandmother still had the original recipe, written in a very pretty and loopy handwriting on somewhat brownish and crispy paper. This potato soup would magically cure whatever you happened to be suffering from. If you had a tummy ache, you were put to bed and served a bowl of potato soup and you always felt better soon afterward. (Thank goodness no one ever had appendicitis) The potato soup was used for colds and flu as well. My grandmother called it Irish Magic. I have come to think of it as Irish Penicillin.
In the March issue of Living With the Muse newsletter we shared some more recipes with you. If you didn't get it, you can check it out here-> http://eepurl.com/j4BCf
~JD
Irish Potato Soup
I updated this recipe as I rarely have time to milk the cow and skim the cream off the morning's milk.
3 pounds peeled russet potatoes cut into chunks
1 medium onion, diced
3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
3 cans chicken stock or water with chicken bouillon cubes
Salt
White pepper
1 tall can evaporated milk
1 stick butter or margarine
Place potatoes, celery and onion in a large stockpot. Add enough chicken stock or water (with bouillon cubes) to generously cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and mash the vegetables, slightly. I just use a potato masher or a fork against the side of the pan. You still want it to be chunky, but mashing part of it makes it rich and creamy. Add entire stick of butter and can of evaporated milk. Add white pepper and salt to taste.
