Happy St. Patrick's Day!

On a culinary quest for a fun Irish meal to celebrate Monte's birthday and the Faithenslaker's visit, I found that corned beef and cabbage (which was on sale at nearly every market this week) is not, in fact, a traditional Irish dish. Though it appears occasionally in Irish literature as early as the 12th century as a delicacy for royalty, beef was not a regular staple of the Irish diet. The Irish more commonly ate pork and used their cows for milk. Corned beef and cabbage was an adaptation for Irish Americans who found the meat more affordable after emigrating to America. And so the meal may be just as rightfully called New England Boiled Dinner, to which it is referred in the east.

As fascinating as I'm sure you find all this history of a meal you've probably never eaten, all this is to say that I planned my own pseudo-Irish dish for dinner last night, and it was quite tasty. You can find it here: Irish Stout Stew, which I made with pork (the original recipe calls for beef), and Irish Soda Bread.

For all of you who bought us kitchen gadgets for our wedding, rest assured, they are being put to good use...

My Life Soundtrack

Thanks to cousin Jake (who I believe is blogless so I can't link to him) for making my day with this. I think I could do this over and over again. I'm pretty sure that should my life story be made into a movie, the soundtrack would be better than the plot...

IF YOUR LIFE WERE A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Zune, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie.


Opening Credits:
Opal by the Be Good Tanyas

Waking Up:
Too Long by Andrew Bird

First day at school:
Caring is Creepy by The Shins

Falling in love:
Say It Again by Badly Drawn Boy (Comically enough, the first line: “You squeeze the life right out of me”)

Fight Song:
11th Commandment by Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama

Breaking up:
Jacksonville by Sufjan Stevens

Life:
The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders: The Great Frontier/Come to Me Only With Playthings Now by Sufjan Stevens

Mental Breakdown:
Tuesday Night by Laura Bullock

Driving:
The Luckiest by Ben Folds

Flashback:
New Slang by The Shins (A perfect flashback song!)

Wedding:
Jesus, Help Me to Stand by Alison Krauss and Union Station

Sex Scene:
Honeymoon Child by Emiliana Torrini (No, I DON’T see the humor in this)

Birth of a child:
Sister by Sufjan Stevens

Final Battle:
You Got Lucky by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Death Scene:
Swim by Ani Difranco

Funeral Song:
Less Than You Think by Wilco (Nothing like a 15 minute song to commemorate my death)

End Credit:
Pale Purple by Ani Difranco

Life in the Mountain West Part I: Vegetarian Road Kill

This morning, as I was leaving the house, I noticed a tumbleweed stuck in the front grill of the car. Rest in peace, little guy.

Just one more thing I find oddly endearing about Colorado.