Swedish Midsummer: Feasting the Night Away!
Midsummer is a holiday celebrating the summer solstice, when the sun reaches its highest position in the sky – the longest period of daylight. After lengthy winter months of what seems like never-ending darkness, sun starved revelers join much of humanity in nonstop festivity. It is popular in most of the northern United States and other northern countries around the world, like Sweden.
Established in the 4th Century, Midsummer Eve begins on a Friday night between June 19th and June 25th, a national holiday in many countries. It continues into the following Saturday, Midsummer Day, and usually lasts the whole weekend long. It has become the national excuse for the biggest parties of the year.
I am most familiar with the Swedish version, having celebrated along with my relatives at our summer island cottage over the years. Beginning Friday morning, families and friends gather to set the scene for their feast, called a smörgåsbord (pronounced smer-gose-boord).
A smörgåsbord is a Swedish invention and is literally a table of open-faced sandwiches. Today’s Smörgåbord has evolved into an exhaustive buffet-style spread.
Our family celebrated it with friends, going back generations, on the largest outdoor veranda on the tiny island, Grimsön. We’d connect unmatched tables side by side on the veranda, with barely enough room for the many chairs to crowd around them. Each family brings their special dishes until the table groans under the weight of the food and drink. We are lucky that the town bakery was owned by a family among us, so we enjoyed the freshest and most authentic Princesstårta (Princess Cake) in the land.
There are appetizers, salads, main courses and desserts. The dishes signal summer’s first harvests: Strawberries grown in the country, freshly clipped dill, and tender root vegetables, especially “new” potatoes, which are freshly harvested young, small, potatoes. Fresh, locally caught fish are featured – usually salmon and herring from the icy Baltic – with other seafoods, too.
One of the traditional foods on our Midsummer table, in the province of Häsingland, is literally rotten fish. A kinder description would be fermented herring, called surströmming. It’s a traditional dish from northern Sweden that arose during the 16th century when Sweden had a salt shortage. Today, the fish has become infamous for its stinky smell, yet enthusiasts praise it. I reluctantly tasted it one year, and to put it politely, I am definitely not one of those enthusiasts!
Desserts feature the first harvest of succulent strawberries (jordgubbar), blueberries (blåbär), lingonberries (lingnon), and cloud berries (hyortron), typically with whipped cream. Sweden brims with berries, like other northern parts of the world, the only fruits that can be grown in colder climates. Princesstårte, a traditional Swedish cake with layers of sponge cake and whipped custard cream, topped with a dome of marzipan, is often featured … A once in a life time treat.
The traditional drinks are shots of Aquavit, along with a rousing “Rah! Rah! Rah!” from the merrymakers, and Swedish beer, accompanied by the Swedish drinking song, “Helan Går,” translated as “Bottoms Up!”
There are cured ingredients as well. Pink rolls of cured salmon (gravlax) are wrapped around dill sprigs, with yellow mustard sauces and peppercorns alongside. There is fresh and grilled herring caught nearby, and coarse salt, as well as dill and other pickles. Eggs, cheese and cream are included, too.
Preparation of our Midsummer feast always began a couple of days before. A local fishermen would roll fresh-caught salmon stacked in rickety wheelbarrows into town going door to door displaying his wares for inspection by anxious cooks.
My grandmother would carefully examine the fresh-caught salmon. In a solemn transaction, she chooses the final selection with an abrupt, “This will do!” The fisherman nods, satisfied, and carries the fish to the kitchen where it lands on the counter with a thud. The smell of the sea enters the house with the day’s catch. The best knife has been sharpened for this moment: the start of Midsummer Eve cooking.
I believe Swedish food is the original nouvelle cuisine. The Swedes have always used superior, locally sourced ingredients for their dishes and meals. Unfussy, it is centered around seafood, local vegetables, fruits, and 100% coarse rye breads.
This year’s Midsummer Eve is June 21, 2024, with the celebrations, and activities continuing on Midsummer Day, June 22, 2024.
The National Geographic describes “Everything you need to know about the Summer Solstice,” including how Fairbanks, Alaska celebrates the holiday with their “Midnight Sun Game.” The game typically begins around 10:30 p.m., continues straight through midnight, and often lasts as late as 2 a.m. Fairbanks, which is located only 160 miles south of the Arctic Circle, gets up to 22.5 hours of summer daylight.
The successful midsummer never-ending lunch party involves flowers in your hair, dancing around a maypole, singing songs while drinking schnapps, and downing a whole load of traditional Swedish foods from the year’s first harvest, like strawberries, and delicate new potatoes. All in all, a grand day out.
How to make your own crown of flowers. All you need is an inexpensive supermarket bouquet of flowers, thin wire, and thread! The flower crowns are worn by children and adults alike.
Besides the crown of flowers, there are many fun activities for children for understanding and celebrating the summer solstice, like making cosmic suncatchers, sundials, sun prints, summer resolutions, and bucket lists.
In Washington, DC, the Smithsonian Museums mark the first Saturday of every summer-“Solstice Saturday”-by staying open late, hosting exhibits, programs, and activities. “Solstice Saturday” includes free parties, programs and performances throughout the day and night June 24. Several museums on the National Mall will have extended hours, with three museums staying open until midnight. Visitors who stay late can explore exhibitions, join a garden dance party or enjoy activities on the Mall. including games and performances throughout the day and night. On Saturday, June 22, 2024, the Smithsonian’s Hirschhorn Museum hosts “The Astronomy Festival on the National Mall” from 6 to 11.
Investigate your community for Midsummer events nearby.
Traditional Swedish Midsummer Recipes and Menus
New Potatoes with Fresh Dill
6 Savory Toppings for Crunchy Swedish Hard Bread
Gravlax with Mustard Sauce
Cucumber Salad with Fresh Dill
Katherine’s Crepe-Style Swedish Waffles with Succulent Strawberries
Princesstårta
Instead of making your own Marzipan Dome, you can buy one pre-made
This Weekend’s Batch Recipe: Katherine’s “I Can’t Believe There’s No-Meat Chili” Step-By-Step
When The Washington Post food section was considering a feature story about my new book, Diet Simple, among the recipes they tested was my chili. I made the cut, and I, and my book, Diet Simple, were featured on the front page, no less!
The Washingtonian Magazine loves it too. And here it is for you
A recent client told me it only took 20 minutes to put together. Try making this recipe a day ahead of time so the flavors and textures have a time to develop. But there is no need, as it’s delicious just after cooking. I love this simple, quick chili recipe. It’s meatless but you don’t miss the meat because it’s so flavorful and the meat-like texture is deceptive. You should use the amount of garlic or chili powder that appeals to you. I like it hot and spicy! I double the recipe, using a whole pound of dried black beans, so I have plenty for the week. I use this dish as a lunch or dinner alongside a green salad. I also serve it at parties as a dip next to my fresh tomato salsa, nonfat Greek yogurt, and guacamole. It’s perfect rolled up in a tortilla or stuffed in a taco with some reduced fat cheese.
Serves 4 as a main course, 8 or more as a dip or topping
3/4 Cup Water (To Hydrate the Bulgur)
1/2 Cup Bulgur (Cracked Wheat)
1 to 2 Tbsp Olive or Canola Oil, or more
1 Large Onion, Chopped
3 Large Garlic Cloves, minced – more or less – to taste (optional)
1-1/2 Tbsp Hot Chile Powder
1-1/2 Tbsp Chipotle Chili powder
A dash of smoked paprika, called “Pimentón,”
A pinch of Cinnamon
1 Large Fresh Green Bell Pepper, chopped roughly
1 can of chopped Italian Plum Tomatoes, drained (optional, to taste)
1 lb. dry Black Beans, or two cans of black beans, whichever is preferred
2 Seeded Jalapeño Peppers, chopped (optional)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Place the bulgur in a microwavable bowl. Add the boiled water. Place in microwave for 3 minutes. Keep in the microwave while it fluffs up.
Meanwhile, add oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the spices and sauté the spices while constantly stirring, for a minute or two on low heat. Be careful the spices don’t burn.
Add the onions and green bell peppers to the same pot, stir over medium heat until soft, 15 or more minutes. Add the chopped fresh green bell pepper and onions. Sauté on medium heat while stirring. Cook until soft. Add the bulgur and beans. No need to cook further. Adjust seasonings to your preference.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Start by Fluffing the bulgur/cracked wheat, so that it’s ready to pour in the pot when you need it, saving time.
While using canned beans is fine, I like using dried black beans to enhance the flavor by adding carrots, celery, and onions to the pot. If you like garlic, add whole cloves, too. Add salt if using dried beans, according to the package directions. But if you use canned beans instead of dried, no salt is necessary.
Once the beans have been cooked slowly (to preserve the whole bean), remove the vegetables.
If you used dried beans, pour the beans into a bowl while you wash the pot. This way, you only need to use one pot for the recipe – for fast and easy cleanup.
In a clean pot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the spices. Sauté over low heat. Stir constantly so the spices don’t burn.
Chop green bell peppers so that they remain chunky. Chop the onions the traditional way.
Sauté the chopped vegetables, and stir. Use medium heat until they are soft, or al dente. 15 minutes or more.
When the veggies are cooked, strain any water out of the bulgur/cracked wheat, and add the bulgur, and the beans, to the pot. Taste. If you like it as is, you won’t need tomatoes. But if you think you might like to add chopped tomatoes, strain them to remove the liquid. But don’t add too much, or the tomatoes will be all that you taste.
No need to cook further.
I love this chili as a dip. I always add Fage Nonfat Greek Yogurt (with salt and pepper) on the side. It’s cool flavor complements the spicy flavors – to perfection!
No one has ever guessed that there is no meat. I don’t tell anyone it is meat free until they are finished and rave about it. They are always surprised when I tell them that it is meatless.
When offering a dish to guests or family, NEVER use the words “healthy,” “low calorie,” or “high fiber.” Though all of those things are true, those are YUCK words! If someone tells me to taste something, as in, “Try this, it’s good for you!” it sounds unappetizing, and even I’m turned off.
The way to describe anything you offer to others is “It’s delicious! You’ll love it!”
Hash Browns Have Never Been Easier, Healthier and Tastier: Katherine’s Easy & Simple Recipe
For breakfast, lunch or dinner, and with any accompaniment your heart desires, these hash browns are versatile, nutritious, and to die for. I love potatoes. Just about everyone loves them too. But the internet and low carb followers have, inaccurately, described potatoes as non nutritious and high calorie. At 160 calories for six ounces, I dispute that claim. These are unfounded rumors preventing you from eating one of the most delicious and nutritious foods on the planet.
In fact, potatoes are so filled with essential nutrients, they’ve kept countless cultures alive and healthy for thousands of years. Think of countries with colder climates like Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, Ireland, that couldn’t grow citrus or many other fruits and vegetables. Potatoes were virtually their only source of Vitamin C and potassium. An infamous example of how critical the potato has been in the past, is how the devastating loss of them caused The Great Irish Famine in mid-1800s-Ireland. At the time, one third of the Irish people subsisted on potatoes. The loss of the potato crop left around 1 million people dead from starvation or disease, with another million fleeing the country.
Today, potatoes are recognized as a subsistence crop for developing countries with high levels of poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Because they’re inexpensive and easy to grow, readily available, accessible, high quality, nutritious, and stable, potatoes are the perfect food to feed the world’s 822 million undernourished people.
The bottom line: It’s a mistake to underestimate potatoes.
Katherine’s Hash Browns
I developed this recipe because I love crispy potatoes, but I don’t want the excess calories of frying them in a lot of oil, or without sacrificing their flavor and texture. It’s an easy recipe, and clean-up’s a breeze.
Serves 4 as a Side Dish
Ingredients:
2 or more large Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes – enough to cover your pan with 1/3″ thickness when laid out on the size-of-your-choice non-stick frying pan
2 Tbsp Canola or Peanut Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Herb of Your Choice, ie, Rosemary
A Dollop of Nonfat, Plain (Fage) Greek Yogurt sprinkled with Kosher Salt and Pepper, on the side
Scrub the potatoes clean, then grate the potatoes using the largest holes on a large box grater. I don’t peel them, but that’s your option. Once they’re grated, to remove excess starch, put the grated potatoes in a bowl with cold water to soak them, then place them in a large colander, pouring cold water over them, until the water is clear. Squeeze as much water out of them as possible, using a cotton towel or cheese cloth.
Once the potatoes are relatively dry, add the oil to the frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, swirl it around the pan, and add the potatoes. When they are laid out across the pan, they should be about 1/3″ thick.
Add salt and pepper and any herb of your choice.
Don’t stir the potatoes. Flip them when they are golden brown. Continue to cook them until they are golden brown on both sides.
Serve them on four plates with scrambled or fried eggs. Add a bit of smoked or grilled salmon, chicken sausage of your choice. Any veggie would be delicious along side them. Fresh tomatoes, sautéd mushrooms, onions, sweet orange or red peppers. Have them alongside your “Original Boca Burger” and whole wheat bun. With ketchup? To each his own!
I always have potatoes with a dollop of nonfat, plain Greek yogurt. I prefer Fage. I sprinkle salt and pepper on the yogurt, and use the yogurt the way you might use sour cream. You won’t know the difference, I promise
And more…
Corned Beef with Caramelized Cabbage, Roasted Potatoes, and Carrots: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal? Of course, it’s “Corned Beef and Cabbage.” And it usually has carrots and potatoes thrown in. It’s a beautiful dish that satisfies three of the five taste elements: sweet, salty, and umami (the other two are bitter and sour). Umami is an elusive flavor that is rarely present in a meal. It can be described as a pleasant “brothy” or “meaty” taste with a long-lasting, mouthwatering, and coating sensation over the tongue. In this meal, the corned beef is the source of umami. This meal is irresistible, and one of the only occasions when I’ll breakdown and eat red meat.
Now, you may be thinking, “Katherine, isn’t red meat bad for you?” It absolutely is! But my motto is, “every food fits.” You see, you’re protected from the damaging effects of the red meat by the array of vegetables containing antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory nutrients in the meal. They help neutralize the negative aspects of the cured, red meat. Plus, if you rarely eat red meat, that makes a huge difference, too.
If you’d rather not eat red meat, roasted salmon or chicken can be delicious substitutes.
I maximize the natural flavors and sweetness in the vegetables by stir frying the cabbage, and roasting the carrots and potatoes until they are golden brown and caramelized. Both stir frying and roasting exposes them to open heat. That heat caramelizes the sugars within, and mellows strong flavors into rich, multilayered perfection, adding depth and complexity to the overall dish.
When vegetables are prepared using these methods, they taste like candy, I promise. They are definitely tastier french fries!
Clink my links for the easy “recipes,” that are, actually, more like simple preparation instructions, with only one pan to clean up!
4 Recipes For The Best Darn Mexican Feast Ever – Perfect For Parties!
Katherine’s Especially-For-Parties-And-Game-Days Spicy Layered Bean Dip
A layered dip can be made any way you wish, with each ingredient and recipe personalized to your tastes. This is the way I like to do it!
Everything except my Spicy “Re-Fried” Bean Dip and my “Chili Non Carne” can be bought pre-made at the grocery store these days. You can usually find Fresh Salsa and even Guacamole in the refrigerator sections. But I have great, quick and simple recipes (below) for both, if you are so inclined.
Instructions for Layering:
Use the amount of each layer that you prefer, or the amount that fits your bowl. Layer the ingredients in the order you like best. Use the leftovers as delicious lunches and dinners for days to come!
Ingredients:
Spicy “Re-Fried” Bean Dip OR Katherine’s Chili Non Carne (see both recipes below)
Low Fat Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
Mild Guacamole, at least triple the recipe (below)
1 Quart Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt (I like Fage the best)
Fresh Salsa (see recipe below)
Sliced olives (optional)
Use a glass dish, if available, so all the beautiful layers are visible. First, pour the hot or warm Bean Dip or the Chili Non Carne into the dish, then sprinkle grated low fat cheddar or jack cheese (if this is the next layer, it will melt). Next, spread a double or triple recipe of the Guacamole, then a layer of Plain Greek Nonfat Yogurt over that. Top with the Fresh Salsa. If desired, decorate with sliced olives.
Katherine’s Spicy “Re-Fried” Beans
This is a delicious, spicy crowd pleaser!
Ingredients:
1-1/2 Cups Dry Red Kidney Beans or Black Beans (use about 4 cups, if the beans are already cooked or if they are canned)
1 to 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1-1/2 Onions
1 Tbsp Salt (only 1 tsp, to taste, if using canned beans)!
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced, to taste
1 Cup Peeled, Chopped Italian Plum Tomatoes (You can buy them already chopped)
2 Small Jalapeño Peppers, seeded and minced (wear gloves!)
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Cloves
Top with Low or Reduced Fat Grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese, if desired
In a very large skillet over a low flame, heat the canola oil and sauté remaining onion, chopped, and the garlic until soft and golden; about 15 minutes. Add the spices and jalapeño peppers, simmer a few more minutes. Next, add the tomatoes and lemon juice.
Pour the canned beans, together with their liquid, into the seasonings and stir. Over a low flame, and stirring often, cook the beans together with the seasonings until the mixture is quite thick, but still moist. Time will vary, but it could take as long as 45 minutes. If the beans become too dry, just add a little water. Sprinkle with the grated cheese, if desired. Use as a dip, as a side dish or in a burrito.
If using canned beans, start the recipe at paragraph #2 and use less salt.
Adapted by Katherine Tallmadge from The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas
Katherine’s You-Won’t-Belive-There’s-No-Meat Chile
(excerpted from Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations (LifeLine Press)
Try making this recipe a day ahead of time so the flavors and textures have a time to develop. I love this simple, quick chili recipe. It’s meatless but you don’t miss the meat because it’s so flavorful and the meat-like texture is deceptive. You should use the amount of garlic or chili powder that appeals to you. I like it hot and spicy! I double the recipe, using a whole pound of dried black beans, so I have plenty for the week. I use this dish as a lunch or dinner alongside a green salad. I also serve it at parties as a dip next to my fresh tomato salsa, nonfat Greek yogurt, and guacamole. It’s perfect rolled up in a tortilla or stuffed in a taco with some reduced fat cheese.
Sometimes I make the recipe without tomatoes. Give it a taste and decide for yourself. You don’t want the tomatoes to take over the flavors. I don’t use garlic.
Serves at least 6 as a main course, or many more servings as a dip
1 Cup Water (To Hydrate the Bulgur)
1/2 Cup Bulgur (Cracked Wheat)
1 to 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1 Large Fresh Green Pepper, Chopped in Large chunks
2 Seeded Jalapeño Peppers, minced
3 Large Garlic Cloves, Minced (more or less) – Optional
1-1/2 Tbsp Hot Chile Powder
1-1/2 Tbsp Chipotle Chili
Dash of smoked paprika, called “Pimentón,”
Pinch of Cinnamon
1 lb. dry Black Beans, or 2 lbs. canned (whichever is preferred)
1 28- oz. Can Chopped Italian Plum Tomatoes, drained, to taste
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Place the bulgur in a microwavable bowl. Add the boiled water. Place in microwave for a couple of minutes. Keep in the microwave while it fluffs up. Set aside.
Heat the oil. Sauté the onions, green peppers, jalepeño peppers, and garlic in the oil over low heat in a large pot until soft, 15 or more minutes.
Add the spices to the sautéd vegetables and cook a little longer – perhaps a minute.
Add the bulgur and beans. Simmer slowly over low to medium heat until flavors are well blended and vegetables are cooked to the desired consistency … a few minutes or longer, if desired. Adjust seasonings to your preference. Since many canned items were used, additional salt will probably not be needed.
Add the chopped tomatoes
NOTE: Best if made in advance or, ideally a day in advance to meld the flavors
Katherine’s Spicy Fresh Mexican Salsa
excerpted from Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations (LifeLine Press)
Fresh salsa – Pico de Gallo – doesn’t really need a recipe. These are proportions I have found pleasing. But you may want your salsa, with more or less onions, more spice, sweeter (use half tomatoes and half watermelon), parsley instead of cilantro… The options are endless.
Ingredients
1 large onion, peeled and chopped (about ½ pound)
2 lbs. fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (start with about 3-1/2 lbs.) (Use canned tomatoes, if good tomatoes aren’t available) NOTE: I don’t bother peeling or seeding!
3 – 4 jalapeño peppers (1 – 2 ounces), to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ tsp salt, or to taste
3 – 4 Tbsp fresh lime juice or the juice from 1 – 2 limes (optional. I often skip the limes)
Add the onion to the tomatoes. Finely chop 2 of the jalapeño peppers to start with. Taste. If you desire more heat, add 1 – 2 more jalapeños. Mix in the cilantro. Add the salt depending on your taste. Mix in the lime juice.Simple Guacamole
Katherine’s Basic Guacamole
There a a million recipes for Guacamole. You can keep it mild, or make it hot by adding hot peppers. Throwing in fresh salsa makes it chunky and yummy, too.
12 Servings
Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice
¼ tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Cut avocados in half lengthwise and pull out the pits. Scoop out the meat. Place ina medium bowl and mash, keeping some large chunks. Mix in the cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Taste to adjust seasoning.
Now, relax and have some FUN!
Michel Richard’s Chicken, Mushroom & Barley Soup
4 servings (or more if you add more mushrooms)
Nothing could be simpler or more delicate than this dish. The flavors are rich and earthy, and contain that elusive fifth flavor, umami. It contains all the elements of a complete meal. It’s nutritious and filling. I feel honored that Michel Richard provided this recipe for Diet Simple. It fits perfectly as something you can cook, store in the refrigerator and eat for several meals. A favorite of anyone who tastes it. Using my method for slicing the chicken, it will be delicate and moist, instead of dry, like most chicken breast dishes.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 Small Onions, Peeled and Diced
1 Pound Thinly Sliced Mushrooms
2 Quarts Unsalted Chicken Stock (defatted)
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
6 Tbsp Pearl Barley
4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
About 1 pound chicken, boned, skinned, and sliced thin (see instructions)
Heat the oil in a heavy, large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, cover, and cook until translucent, for about ten minutes – or more, while stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms. Increase heat to medium-high and cook uncovered until lightly browned, for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, barley and garlic. Simmer gently for about 45 minutes to cook barley and blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. (This can be prepared ahead, cooled, covered and set aside at cool room temperature for up to four hours or refrigerated for several days.)
To make perfectly tender slices of chicken for your soup, put the chicken breast in the freezer. When it is half frozen, place it on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice as thinly as you can – across the grain. It’s virtually impossible to cut raw meat this thin.
Once the vegetables and barley are cooked, turn off the heat. Toss in the thinly sliced chicken breast. It will be cooked throughout, and opaque, in less than a minute. Ladle into four or more soup plates.
Medicinal Magical Mushrooms: One of the Most Significant & Potent Foods-As-Medicine
Compared to any other food or supplement, mushrooms’ health and healing benefits are spectacular and unique. And not only do they significantly boost your health, they are natural healers of the environment, too.
“Mushrooms possess antioxidant activity, anti-hypertensive activity, hypocholesterolemic activity, liver protection, as well as anti-inflammatory activity, anti-diabetic activity, anti-viral activity, and anti-microbial activity,” according to this scientific review of all studies to date.
“Mushrooms have been consumed since our earliest history. Ancient Greeks believed that mushrooms provided strength for warriors in battle. The Romans perceived them as the ‘Food of the Gods.’ For centuries, the Chinese culture has treasured mushrooms as a health food, an ‘elixir of life’,” according to this study, which is a great source for learning edible mushroom facts, function, and history.
Healing mushrooms may be edible – or not! If you look up each one, you’ll find which is which. You can buy the exotic, edible types at Farmer’s Markets, or specialty shops. While some healthy ones are safe, you wouldn’t want to eat them because they are bitter and tough. Those are consumed through capsules, extracts, sprays, powders, teas, and syrups, instead.
An ardent and renowned mycologist, and mushroom enthusiast for 30 years is Paul Staments. A big and burly Grizzly Adams of a man, he is a pioneer in the cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms, and is credited with the discovery of at least five new mushroom species. He’s been featured in scientific papers, and in the fascinating documentary, “Fantastic Fungi,” in which he and a host of scientists excite you – in stunning technicolor – about, well, fantastic fungi! I watched it, mesmerized, while suffering in my dentist’s chair! It’s a must-see for anyone interested in health or the environment.
Staments founded HostDefense.com, which has great information about various mushrooms’ health benefits, and where you can buy mushroom powders and supplements. He also founded Fungi.com, with products that help you grow your own mushrooms, go mushroom hunting, and buy identification guide books. You can even buy mushroom “grow kits” for beginners and those with more advanced experience. I’m experimenting with growing Reishi and Lion’s Mane mushrooms. They are two of the most beneficial mushrooms.
According to a recent study in the journal, Foods, Reishi Mushrooms boost the immune system. They have anti-viral effects, reduce inflammation, and oxidation, potentially reducing the risk for a host of illnesses, including infections, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Reishis tend to be tough and bitter, so they’re consumed in supplemental capsules, powders and teas. But just like any supplement, which are concentrated versions of a food or nutrient, they are not recommended in high doses. Eating whole foods is always ideal, but since Reishis aren’t really edible, and supplements provide a concentrated version, be careful not to overdo.
Lion’s Mane may regenerate nerves and enhance brain activity, thus improving memory and other nervous disorders. Luckily, they are edible, and sought after as a culinary delicacy.
While mushrooms have been used medicinally for centuries in the Far East, scientific research on their specific nutrients and benefits is in the early stages. Initial studies are promising, with many benefits already established and recognized by the scientific community.
In Sweden, my home country, mushroom foraging is a national past time. The most desired mushroom there is the chanterelle.
We find their golden clusters in the vast forests, then we run home with our brimming baskets, and sauté them. I’m sure they have a host of health benefits, but I don’t really care, because they’re just darn tasty!
Recipe: Find as many chanterelles as you can. Brush them to remove soil. Slice in quarters. If you wish, parboil them for a minute to remove dirt and (possibly) worms. Sauté in hot canola oil until golden brown. Add herbs like thyme or rosemary to the sauté. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you like, top with a little grated parmesan cheese. Et Voilà! We serve them on toast.
The following is a scientific chart of medicinal mushrooms’ extensive and established benefits.
(At the bottom of this chart, see * , and ** , to help us understand this chart’s terms and definitions better):
*To translate this chart, consider the “Host,” as YOU when it describes their health benefits of the gut’s microbiota. **Google the scientific name to get the mushroom’s name in English. For instance, “Grifola Frondosa” is “Hen-Of-The-Wood.” “Ganoderma Lingzhi” are “Reishi.”
Mushrooms Clean Up Pollution – Goodby Oil Spills, Plastics & Poisinous Drinking Water
While my dentist was fitting me for three crowns (bad teeth genes), and while I was thankfully distracted from the drilling in my mouth, I learned how mushrooms can absorb and reduce pollutants. “More than 20% of global deaths can be traced to pollution-related health complications. Pollution impacts almost every aspect of our existence, the living, and nonliving components of the environment,” according to this review of plastic pollution. Mushrooms are remarkable, alien-like creatures. They even clean up oil spills!
Mushrooms are the perfect solution for so many reasons. They eliminate the need to transport toxic materials to treatment sites. They’re environmentally friendly, need only a small amount of space, and are a low cost solution. The work can be done with less skilled people, and can be used easily wherever needed.
Mushrooms are a simple tool for cleaning up the environment. Using mushrooms is a biological approach to “clean technologies,” which emphasizes maximum production, reduced waste generation, treatment, and conversion of waste into a useful forms. These clean technologies focus on the use of biological methods for the remediation of waste. Mushrooms improve the environment in a vast number of ways. They absorb like sponges, and their enzymes break down a wide range of environmentally persistent pollutants:
1) Plastic pollution has been a persistent and global problem for more than half a century. Various health conditions such as thyroid dysfunction, obesity, diabetes, and reproductive impairment have been attributed to plastic pollution, according to this review in Frontiers in Marine Science. Plastic pollution comes from synthetic fibers, paints & coatings, tire tread abrasion, cosmetic products, packaging, and more. According to some, we have become a plastic society.
2)2,4-Dichlorophenol (DCP), a pervasive pollutant, DCP is a deadly byproduct of improper disposal in the manufacture of various consumer products, drugs, pesticides, food additives, fuels, and industrial solvents. It’s found in water, air, and soil. Agricultural use of pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides are the main source of water pollution.
3) Oil spillages into the environment have become one of the biggest problems in the last century. It is notoriously resistant to clean up efforts, with oil spills, tank leakages, and waste water disposal the major sources, according to this review in 3Biotec. Oil pollution has been implicated with higher risks for asthma and other respiratory conditions. It weakens the immune system, causing a multitude of conditions, including a higher rate of various cancers, and poor pregnancy outcomes. This study, in Saudi Arabia, with its preponderance of crude oil pollution, found certain strains of mushrooms significantly degraded crude oil. The researchers found they helped preserve the environment and cleaned crude oil in the soil.
4) Healthier protein sources have been developed using mushrooms, with their naturally-occuring enzymes. They eliminate the need for environmentally and health damaging sources of food proteins, for instance, industrial animal farming. Mushrooms have a low cost of production, an abundant supply, and thousands of bioactive phytonutrients (phyto is Greek for plant), compounds beneficial for health.
Mushroom Recipes
Michel Richard’s Chicken, Mushroom and Barley Soup
excerpted from Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations
4 servings (or more if you add more mushrooms)
Nothing could be simpler or more delicate than this dish. The flavors are rich and earthy, and contain that elusive fifth flavor, umami. It contains all the elements of a complete meal. It’s nutritious and filling. I feel honored that Michel Richard provided this recipe for Diet Simple. It fits perfectly as something you can cook, store in the refrigerator and eat for several meals. A favorite of anyone who tastes it. Using my method for slicing the chicken, it will be delicate and moist, instead of dry, like most chicken breast dishes.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 Small Onions, Peeled and Diced
1 Pound Thinly Sliced Mushrooms
2 Quarts Unsalted Chicken Stock (defatted)
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
6 Tbsp Pearl Barley
4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
About 1 pound chicken, boned, skinned, and sliced thin (see instructions)
Heat the oil in a heavy, large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the oil is jot, add the onion, cover, and cook until translucent, for about ten minutes – or more, while stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms. Increase heat to medium-high and cook uncovered until lightly browned, for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, barley and garlic. Simmer gently for about 45 minutes to cook barley and blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. (This can be prepared ahead, cooled, covered and set aside at cool room temperature for up to four hours or refrigerated for several days.)
To make perfectly tender slices of chicken for your soup, put the chicken breast in the freezer. When it is half frozen, place it on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice as thinly as you can – across the grain.
Once the vegetables and barley are cooked, turn off the heat. Toss in the thinly sliced chicken breast. It will be cooked throughout, and opaque, in less than a minute. Ladle into four or more soup plates.
Eggs Scrambled with Mushrooms, Onion, Garlic, and Sweet Cherry Tomatoes
This is a great meal for me any time of the day – quick, easy, and delicious
Servings: 1
Heat a teaspoon to tablespoon of canola oil in a shallow nonstick pan. Saute 1/4 chopped sweet onion and a smashed garlic clove over medium heat until almost soft. Add a handful of tomatoes to the pan (or any other vegetables you happen to have such as chopped spinach or peppers) and cook for another 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk 2 eggs. Pour eggs into the pan containing the onion, garlic and tomato – add 1 ounce lite cheese (I love the Trader Joe’s. It melts beautifully and tastes even better). Stir continuously until eggs are cooked. Pour over toasted whole rye bread.
NOTE: Use canola oil instead of olive oil. Olive oil is more likely to burn. It also loses all of its nutrients when you cook with it. Save it for drizzling.
The Perfect Storm: Battling the Blizzard Bloat Blues
These days you may have noticed a subtle expanding of yours and your friends’ waistlines. Take consolation in knowing you are not the only ones suffering from… “BLIZZARD BLOAT,” that creeping up of body fat that has hit many of us recently, according to an informal survey of frustrated, and slightly fatter colleagues and friends.
In the animal kingdom, fattening up for the cold winter months is critical for survival. For human animals, that leftover caveman-instinct to gorge on fattening foods, and hibernate, just causes trouble
Though these old instincts are plausible as a partial cause of winter weight gain, there are more complex—and controllable—causes too. The most important involve decreases in sunlight, physical activity, increases in cravings, and comfort eating. It’s the perfect storm of factors that create the calorie imbalance leading to blizzard bloat.
The Perfect Storm
- Physical Inactivity. When it’s cold outside, we tend to exercise less and even cut back on subtle calorie-burning activities such as short walks, light outdoor chores. This lack of calorie burning may only add up to about 100 fewer calories per day, but a deficit of 100 calories every day, translates to a 3-4 pound weight gain during the winter months, and 10 lbs in a year,
- Perpetual Darkness. Most of us are affected by winter’s gray days, and sunlight deprivation. We need light so our brains have enough of the neurochemical, Serotonin. A decrease in seratonin can increase our chances of experiencing a low mood, and food cravings. A small percentage of people are particularly vulnerable. About 5 percent of the population become markedly depressed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
- Cravings for Warm Comfort Foods. Being light deprived, and hibernating inside instead of getting outside and moving, reduces the happy chemicals in your brain, like endorphins, and serotonin. This can lead to increased cravings of fattening food. Studies show excess calories contribute more significantly than any other factor to the calorie imbalance causing blizzard bloat.
Strategies for Battling the Blizzard Bloat Blues
- Get some daily sunshine. You’ll feel refreshed and less bored if you walk outside, and your appetite may be more controllable. The amount of needed daylight varies for each individual. In general, the more the better. One hour daily in the morning, ideally at sunrise, is most helpful. If you’re not an early bird, several hours on the weekends may help make up for a lack of sun during the week. But the sun has to reach your eyes, so no sunglasses. If you don’t feel comfortable with the guidelines, or If going outside isn’t always an option, light therapy, also known as phototherapy, may help. Ask a mental health professional about the special lamps you can buy to make up for light deprivation. They work! Studies show they increase serotonin and help decrease depression in most people.
- Up your activity level. Just a little means a lot. During just one exercise bout (only 10 minutes), your brain releases the feel-good neurochemicals, endorphins and serotonin. They reduce pain, increase feelings of well-being, elevate your mood, and will help reduce cravings. If you’re regularly active, these benefits multiply. A brisk 30-minute walk – just as effective as running – three times a week relieves major depression just as effectively as an antidepressant in most adults. Of course, moving even more, gives you even more significant benefits.
- Hold on to your favorite dishes, just rearrange them a bit. In the winter, we tend to crave more fattening, warm, comfort foods, and fewer healthy cold foods, like salads. But your comfort foods don’t have to be fattening. My advice, which has been successful for me and my clients, is to continue eating your favorite foods, just change their balance slightly. It’s been well established that you can increase the volume and satisfaction of your meals and dishes – that is, you can eat more food for fewer calories – by simply incorporating veggies or fruits so they comprise at least 50% of the volume on your plate (eat them first to slow you down) or in your dish,
- Veggies and fruits are predominantly water. But because the water is incorporated into the food, as opposed to just a glass of water, the meal will empty from the stomach more slowly. The slower a food empties from the stomach, the more satisfied we are with it. With that in mind, all you have to do is incorporate water or broth into your main course to create a soup or stew, add veggies to a favorite stew or casserole, so that vegetables comprise half or more of the volume. Try having a simple veggie soup as a first course to any meal. Try this technique that makes veggies taste even better than French fries! These strategies – incorporating water, and adding fruits and/or veggies to your meals and dishes – allows you to enjoy your favorite foods. But it also means that you can eat more food for fewer calories. Studies show that, for each meal that you use this strategy, you save 100 calories, naturally – without even trying. That amounts to keeping off 10 lbs a year or preventing blizzard bloat. Try my sumptuous soup recipes to feel full, satisfied, but still keep calories under control.
The New, and Improved, “Once-A-Day-Keeps-the- Doctor-Away” Superfood: Move Over Apples!
While our grandmothers told us that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, modern science begs to differ. Move over apples – There’s a new boss in town. YOGURT!
For years, I wondered why my clients, whom I encouraged to eat yogurt, lost weight more easily – while also increasing muscle. They said they felt more energetic, too. Scientific research is now backing my observations of 30+ years.
Around 2010, I attended a three-day National Institutes of Health consensus conference presenting all of the research to date about the human gastrointestinal tract’s microbiome, that is, its microscopic “ecosystem” of cells. By 2010, a wealth of new data had found that its effects were so vast and profound, it could make – or break – your health.
Your body contains human cells and microbial cells (microbes). The human’s gastrointestinal microbiome also contains both types of cells. The major difference is that human cells contain genetic material inside its nucleus. Whereas microbial cells – what I’m discussing in this article – include bacteria, archaea, fungi, protists, and viruses, do not. Both microbial cells and human cells play critical roles in your health. Our bodies have 10 trillion human cells, but, at 100 trillion, there are 10 times that amount of microbial cells. Given the enormous number of microbial cells, or bacteria, their effect is immeasurable, and extremely influential. That said, you must make sure your healthy microbial cells outnumber the dangerous ones – big time! Here’s the full story…
There are healthy, beneficial microbes and unhealthy, dangerous types. The most dangerous microbes, the ones that cause disease, are those that are easily transmitted, virulent and invasive to central organs like the blood and lungs. They’re survivors. They have a low infection dose, and are without any specific treatment or vaccine. Most of them are transmitted from animals or insects. The most dangerous microbes cause a very high death rate, are identified as high-risk agents or “biohazard-level 4” agents, and are treated at the highest level of infection protection, with strict isolation measures: Think COVID.
But most of the time, microorganisms live in harmony with their human hosts, providing vital functions essential for survival. Microbes inhabit just about every part of the human body, living on the skin, in the gut, and up the nose. They are essential for good health.
If infants are born naturally, as opposed to a cesarean delivery, and if they are breastfed, they start their lives with the highest number of healthy microbes. Whereas, their cesarean section, bottle-fed counterparts don’t develop those advantages. The higher amount of beneficial microbes give them a superior immune system, better health, and a high level of safety from numerous communicable, and non-communicable diseases in early life. That’s because the birth canal, and breast milk, contain a host of beneficial microbes that are impossible to regain as adults – keeping in mind that there are many conditions that don’t allow mothers to give natural births, or to breast feed.
The infant’s microbial advantages continue later in life, too. Even as adults, they provide numerous advantages over people who were bottle fed, and cesarean born. The lack of those microbes correlate with inflammation, and a number of illnesses, potentially effecting every organ in the body. This includes the metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions – insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol – and a host of other illness. More than 5 decades of established research has found that, if babies are not breastfed, it correlates with overweight and obesity (I learned this in college, though that was NOT 50 years ago, I’ll have you know!). It also means that your blood has higher levels of insulin, a known “growth factor.” Growth factors increase inflammation and unchecked cellular growth (cancer). Growth factors increase your chance of illnesses that can effect every organ in your body, including coronary heart disease, colon, breast prostate cancer, eye conditions, reduced bone mass, and more.
Aging is also associated with fewer beneficial microbes. Aging affects virtually all tissues and cellular circuits in our bodies resulting in frailty and death. Not only aging, but other factors, such as overweight, obesity, inactivity, and stress, also decrease beneficial microbes, leading to inflammation, compromised immune systems, susceptibility to acute and chronic illnesses causing sicknesses, hospitalizations and even death. They include infections of every type, colds, flu, COVID, reductions in vaccine effectiveness, food borne illnesses like salmonella and E-Coli, bone loss, even mental illness. To counteract those disadvantages, living a healthy lifestyle makes a significant positive difference.
THE POSITIVE NEWS
That said, you can still achieve a healthy gut filled with beneficial microbes, even if your mother, through no fault of her own, required a cesarian section, or couldn’t breast feed. .
YOUR DAILY PRESCRIPTION
However, an exceptional diet and lifestyle are necessary to make up for those disadvantages. The most important foods to eat are those that naturally contain probiotics, namely, dairy yogurt, and possibly the new non-dairy varieties. Also, dairy, and non-dairy kefir. Both are the only foods associated with significant health benefits. Probiotic supplements, and foods/drinks with probiotics added, haven’t been studied adequately to determine their effectiveness. Yogurt and kefir have been found to improve wound healing, recovery from illnesses, reductions in inflammation, colon, breast and prostate cancers, and eye diseases. They have also been found to decrease the risk for conditions caused by inflammation, like Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea and/or constipation, bone and dental health, infectious diseases, and others.
But probiotics can’t work alone. To be effective, you also need foods containing prebiotics to create the healthy gut you desire. Prebiotics nourish probiotics. Together they form the critical prebiotic/probiotic duo creating a microbiome teeming with healthy microbes that achieve the superior level of beneficial microbes that fight off chronic and acute diseases. Only then could you achieve maximum health advantages. Prebiotics can be found in various high fiber plant foods as diverse as almonds, agave, barley, wheat, oats, garlic, leeks, onions, flax seeds, artichoke, asparagus, bananas, and more.
Breast milk contains both prebiotics and probiotics, which is why it is so protective.
Problem is, most Americans have an unhealthy diet that increases the damaging microbes in their gut. They don’t eat enough, if any, foods high in either pre- or probiotics. This may explain our high incidence of chronic illnesses.
Based on research, and my own observations, I believe eating yogurt daily is the easiest way to make up for the healthy gut we abused by eating the typical American diet growing up – and even now. Can you imagine anything easier? (besides dreaming, wishing, and hoping?)
All you need to do is include yogurt, a few veggies, fruits, almonds, or oat-based cereals (Cheerios, oatmeal) here and there. Try “Katherine’s Simple ‘Oatmeal Cookie’ Oatmeal: an Easy Step-by-Step Guide” That Even Your Kids Will Love!. How about this great dessert? “Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter & Oat Balls.” It’s a fun activity for you kids, too! (don’t tell anyone it’s healthy)
As of yet, there is no reliable clinical test any doctor can use to measure your gut microbes, or the health of your microbiome. We don’t even know everything that we need to be looking for. The gastrointestinal tract is still quite mysterious and idiosyncratic, so your best strategy is having the best diet and lifestyle habits you can.
I work with many clients with gastrointestinal issues, and their solutions vary widely, but, in my experience, when their nutrition is tailored to their individual needs, their lifestyle, and medical condition, a personalized nutrition plan makes a profound difference – virtually to a person.
If you think you don’t like yogurt, I’ve found that if you do some taste testing and experimenting, you are guaranteed to find one or more that you enjoy. There are savory, and sweet ways to try it.
Savory variations: Use Nonfat, Plain Greek Yogurt (my favorite is Fage) in place of sour cream. Make dips, for instance, Onion Dip, by mixing in chopped/minced onions, salt & pepper. How about a spicy dip by swirling in Sriracha sauce. Create an Italian version with pesto. Use it in burritos and tacos. In many parts of the world, yogurt is eaten together with spicy dishes, especially with chopped cucumbers. With curry, and many Middle Eastern dishes, for example. I love placing a dollop on my potatoes (instead of sour cream) and soups. My technique for eating it with soups and savory dishes is to place a little yogurt together with the accompanying food in one spoon. The cool and the hot together are delicious complements to each other. Stirring all of it together, well, it doesn’t bring the added excitement that I crave in my food. Remember to add a little (Iodized) salt & pepper, or it may taste too bland. In the summer, Cool Cumber Soup with Dill or Cilantro, and Swedish Cucumber Salad with Dill are party favorites. In fact, whenever I make my mother’s Cucumber Salad, it disappears quicker than anything else. It can lead to all out war between the party’s, normally civilized, competitors.
Of course, we all know about the sweeter versions. Fruited yogurts, lemon, vanilla, chocolate, you name it. Give all of them a try. ANY yogurt contains probiotics. And please, don’t worry about the small amount of jam in yogurts. Studies show fruited yogurt doesn’t raise blood sugar significantly, so they’re not associated with high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, or the illnesses that go along with it.
I enjoy it as part of desserts, too. A traditional Swedish meal is crepes with sour cream and lingonberries. But I’ve found that my favorite Fage Greek Yogurt is an excellent, even better, substitute for sour cream. Swedish Waffles, Vanilla Bean Yogurt and Fresh Summertime Peaches/Fruit, while not 100% healthy, still gives me an opportunity to eat yogurt in a delicious way – as an occasional dessert, or decadent breakfast.
After all, everything you eat must be DELICIOUS! That’s the only way we can continue eating healthfully, in a sustainable way.
I find it ironic that yogurt companies add artificial sweeteners to their “Lite” yogurts. A contradiction at best, and a health-damaging, money-making strategy at worst. After all, consumers eat yogurt expecting health benefits.
To learn more about the advances we’ve made about the human microbiome, read about the NIH’s Human Microbiome Project.
Golden Brown, Sweet Caramelized Cabbage for “The Luck O’ the Irish” on St. Paddy’s Day!
Think you don’t like cabbage? Then you’ve never tasted caramelized, golden brown, stir fried cabbage. If you are not a lover of cabbage, you will become a boisterous believer after you try this very simple recipe, and so will any person you serve it to. But hurry! St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th would be the ideal time to get a taste of the “Luck O’ the Irish.” Any time I serve Caramelized Cabbage, my guests ask, “What is this? It’s delicious!” They practically fall out of their seats when I reveal, “It’s sautéed cabbage.”
It tastes like candy, I promise!
Katherine’s Caramelized Cabbage
My favorite variety of cabbage is the milder, more tender Savoy Cabbage, but any type works brilliantly prepared this way.
Directions:
In a large skillet (iron works best), heat a couple of tablespoons of Canola Oil on medium/high. The temperature has to be hot enough to evaporate the water leaching from the cabbage as it cooks. For exceptional cabbage, or any vegetable, allowing it to drown in its own water leads to your steaming it instead of sautéing it. Steaming does not achieve the mouth-watering flavor you crave. I learned this tip from celebrity chef, Alton Brown. Every vegetable I’ve served using this method gets devoured. And since veggies should dominate your meals, they have to taste good, well, not just good: Mind blowing!
I digress…
Once the oil is hot (“Don’t add anything until the oil is hot,” says Seasons Culinary’s Chef, Janis McLean), add the chopped (not grated) cabbage. Chop the cabbage into rough chunks (Definitely more Irish-like). No neat or perfect, petite cubes allowed (too British-like for our purposes here). Add onions and garlic if you wish. Add diced red bell pepper for color, too. Sauté until golden while constantly stirring. This may take about 25 to 30 minutes so if you’ve got kids (slaves) around, throw them into the mix. Keep scraping the bottom of the pan. Don’t worry if the pan is getting brown. Just keep scraping and tossing. Let sit for 10 or 20 seconds between tosses to caramelize the cabbage nicely, but don’t let it burn. Add a pinch of salt and pepper after about 15 minutes of sautéing. Keep sautéing until the mixture is nicely browned and tastes sweet.
Cabbage, like most vegetables, is about 90% water, so it will cook down a lot – and in the process keep you slim and trim because it fills you up with very few calories.
Use at least a whole head. If you have any left, toss it into soup, or make your own simple soup by adding broth. You could call it, if you felt generous at the moment (I did not mean to doubt your generosity), “Katherine’s Cabbage ‘Diet’ Soup.”
This is perfect served the traditional Irish way on St Paddy’s Day: With cabbage, potatoes, carrots and corned beef. If you’d rather not eat red meat, chicken and fish are excellent choices.
But most importantly, don’t forget the green Guinness Stout, nonalcoholic beer, Irish Whiskey, or smoothie.
Enjoy! And may the road rise up to meet ye…