Today is a memorable holiday, primarily celebrated by people of Irish descent, including the following:
“Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government employees), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat.”
Although Tom is Irish, I am not, and he doesn’t make much of a fuss about this particular holiday. In our old lives, if it fell on a day that Tom was off work, I would make the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner which we both enjoyed. Most people would boil the corned beef in water with the vegetables.
I preferred to roast the meat, like a pot roast, covered and slow-cooked in the oven for several hours, along with the vegetables in the pan, cooking in the tasty juices. We found this method much more delicious than the typical “New England Boiled Dinner,” a favorite of some Americans. On occasion, to maintain the Irish tradition, I’d make Irish soda bread, but Tom wasn’t a big fan of the dense bread.
Gosh, my mouth is watering writing about this. At the time, I was still eating carbs (it’s been 12 years since I went keto) and loved the heavy bread, especially when some recipes called for raisins added to the dough. Tom doesn’t eat raisins in anything. I do miss each bread of any type, although I make keto bread which in no way compares to the “real deal.”
Many people celebrating St. Patrick’s Day did so in a bar, possibly drinking green-dyed beer. I’d never developed such a tradition since today is also my eldest son Richard’s birthday.
Today will be a delightful usual Friday for us when around 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., we’ll arrive at Jabula for yet another Friday evening filled with fun and merriment with Dawn, Leon, David, and countless other locals and holidaymakers who stop by for their enjoyment as well. Tom hasn’t been to Jabula in two weeks, but I was there last weekend, as mentioned, on Friday and Saturday nights. Our friend Sindee drove me both ways, both days. We had a great time together.
This morning we went to the local meat market and loaded up on various types of meat to last us for the next ten days or more. We bought mince, short ribs, lamb neck, chicken breasts, prawns, and bacon. After having that fantastic meal at Louise and Danie’s on Monday and, for the first time, eating lamb neck, I was anxious to buy one of them to cook. Tom doesn’t eat lamb, so he’ll have pork when I make it.
On Sunday, I plan to make two stir-fry dishes, one with prawns and veggies for me and the other a beef and broccoli dish Tom loves topped with salty peanuts and served over a bed of white rice. I will make large enough batches to last for at least two nights’ dinners, as I often do, to keep cooking time to a minimum on hot, humid days.
Right now, we’re beginning to feel the weather changing. It’s not a huge difference, but we’re finding it to be slightly cooler some days with a little less humidity. Today’s dew point is in the 60s, not the 70s, which is way more comfortable.
It’s so wonderful to have Tom back with me. We’re still feeling the magical glow of being back together again. Based on how we are, this feeling will last indefinitely.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, March 17, 2022:
Due to a WiFi issue of some sort of WiFi issue, I cannot load the year-ago photo today. For the post, please click here.