for the love of all that is holy please use vinegar!

So today is St Patricks Day - the Irish Saint (not born in Ireland as we had actually kidnapped him from Wales or there abouts to mind sheep). And in America to celebrate they have parades with hornpipes and kilts (both Scottish and not Irish) and also they have Corn Beef and Cabbage for dinner to celebrate.

Why? Corn Beef and Cabbage is about as Irish as spaggetti and meatballs.. Couldnt we do this with Baileys and IceCream. Or even a shot of whiskey and a baked potatoe. Even thats more friggin Irish than corn beef and cabbage. The Irish in NY turn of century wanted to eat something nice around Easter. Normally its lamb or a cut of nice beef. Not having farms to go eat off in Yonkers, Hells Kitchen etc they turned to their neighbors to see what they were eating. Aha - corned beef (beef cured in salt), nowadays brine. Lets boil that and eat that to celebrate. And somehow this pretty tasteless dish has become the sign of food of Irish on St Patricks Day.

And they don't even use vinegar in boiling the cabbage so never mind you have a meal that's meat soaked in brine, with mushy cabbage and boiled potatoes but also everyone is farting to a bandplay afterwards.

So toot on dear America. I didn't eat corn beef in Ireland for Paddy's Day and not going to start now.

Tonight I'm going to cook Spaghetti Bolognese. (With spaghetti and not rice in case anyone knows my stories from Ireland.) Might as well. Its as Irish as corned beef is.