Chicago's Green River
Every year on March 17th the City of Chicago dyes the murky, cold, otherwise nondescript Chicago River a bright green in commemoration of the patron saint of the city’s most celebrated politicians, the Daly’s. There are a lot of Chicago citizens of Irish ancestry and anyone who isn’t pretends to be on March 17th which is why I grew up believing St. Patrick’s Day was a major big deal and the Irish were indeed superior.
Having grown up in the region, I recall plotting which item of green apparel I’d wear on St. Patrick’s Day months in advance. Irish heritage bragging rights broke out on the playground the minute the teacher hung the over sized glittery shamrock on the seasonal bulletin board.
It was a Catholic school whose patron was St. Patrick’s no less, and so I always believed we should have had a school holiday. Why Holy Mother the Church hadn’t yet designated this as a holy day of obligation, I’ll never understand. Did St. Patrick drive all the snakes from Ireland or not? (Who did it here in Maui, btw?)
St. Patrick Banishing the Snakes
Modern Day Miracle
In any case, if that’s not a miracle I don’t know what is, but even bigger than that in terms of his holiness’ saintly accomplishments is the sort of unity you see in the pubs across the world on March 17th in his honor.
Turns out the only obligation of the day – then and now – is to be Irish, or at least to show utmost respect to those with names like Donavon and Fitzgerald and to drink beer – not that green pilsner stuff, but rather the dark, chewy Guinness type brews. It’s also okay to play your great maternal grandmother trump card, as I often do on this day, in the pub only while scarfing down Irish stew or corned beef.
Florence Gleason, having been born in County Cork, was glorious lass, a raconteur, a chanteuse who entertained the troops in her day with her fabulous singing voice. She made everyone laugh, it’s told, and I imagine she could cook, because my mother, her daughter, couldn’t which is why I learned how. As you know, cooking skips a generations for obvious reasons. I’m offering the closest representation of Florence’s special dishes in this edition.
But back to St. Patrick’s Day… This high holiday edition of What’s Cooking Maui brings you some wonderful recipes pilfered from around the web as well as our personal recipe box along with suggestions for how and where to spend this most glorious of feast days in Maui, a grand excuse to take special dispensation from the rigors of the Lenten fast, kick up your heels, dance a jig, drink a dark beer, watch Darby O’Gill and The Little People) and generally have a wonderful time on the one day when the entire world is Irish.
Here’s to the world’s other favorite island and its protector, Saint Patrick!
Pssst… Watch this news report and realize Maui also has something more in common with Chicago than you imagine. Sound familiar?
