St. Patrick wa a Britain, sold into Irish slavery and called of God to bring the Gospel to the Emerald Isle. He was one of the greatest evangelists in Christian History. We can argue over chasing out the snakes and many other items of legend but he was a true Christian leader. Sadly, his day-March 17, has lost its zeal for the Gospel and become an excuse to drink ones-self blind. What's a poor pastor to do. Feast on good food for one thing. Remember to pray on the other.
Christ is made as real at the dinner table as He is at the communion table. In a denomination that doesn't do Saint's days, food is probably the greater means of grace. We American-ized the traditional meal this year. The potatoes:Rather than boiled we oven roasted them with olive oil, salt, and pepper at 350 for 30 minutes. Perfect Pinch Italian herb mix was stirred in and the potatoes roasted for 10 or 15 minutes more.
The cabbage: We steamed it rather than boiling it with the corned beef. Olive olive oil, salt, and pepper was added but no bacon. Seems like a situation that needs a little pork fat but Teresa and I resisted. Tragic but fewer calories.
The corned beef: It was store bought, rubbed with its herb packet, baked at 325 in a glass dish with 1" of boiling water added. It was 3 pounds and baked for 3 hours covered with foil. Very tender.The traditional Irish Soda bread recipe comes from a bit on the Today show. It is easy and a keeper for more than St. Patty's Day. The recipe is as follows:
Mix the dry ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
Mix the wet ingredients:
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk (light is good)
1/2 stick of melted margarine
Mix the wet with the dry. Stir in the margarine last. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 for an hour and then check it with a knife. Mine took 75 minutes.
We all enjoyed the meal and the time together. St. Pat's occurred on our vacation this year and we had time to hang out and cook. The meat was on sale for $10 with a total cost of about $15. Not much clean up too. Four of us ate about 1/2 of it. I will have some brisket stirred in my scrambled eggs in the morning.
Patrick's brilliance had nothing to do with Corned Beef. It was his ability to use the Trinity to bring people into that real and saving relationship with Christ. He met them in their pagan beliefs and led them to be a people who would send missionaries all over the world and literally save the Holy Bible through a system of copyist monks. Before the wars and strife, Ireland was a cradle of Medieval Christianity. Sad to see it all lost on Guiness and leprechauns.
The reason for the shamrock on St. Pat's is because he used it to show the trinity through its leaves. He also left behind his "Breast Plate". This is a teaching hymn and poem that has impacted many lives over the centuries. Here is a portion for your dinner table. May Christ be real to you today.
- I arise today
- Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
- Through the belief in the threeness,
- Through confession of the oneness
- Of the Creator of Creation.
- I arise today
- Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
- Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
- Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
- Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.....
- You can read the rest at:
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