Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Are you wearing green today? 

I am, and I promise it's not just underwear.  (That old trick never works, btw.)  Yes, I'm wearing green because I love St. Patrick’s Day! 

Part of my love for it has to do with the food.  Even though I don’t eat beef, I’ll still make cabbage, potatoes, and carrots with some chicken, and of course, the soda bread.  Every year I debate whether or not to stir in some raisins (an American addition).  The raisins usually win.

This year, I’ve been looking around today for a lower fat soda bread to replace my family one (which includes butter and eggs) and I saw a ton of varieties to try.  There was even a vegan recipe for soda bread at www.lowfatvegancooking.com, TLC!   On another site, I did find one that has no butter or eggs, but includes traditional buttermilk, so I may try that one tonight.

I know I write about food a lot.  I think it’s because my dad is such an amazing cook.  He showed his love for us through cooking and passed on his knowledge in small, non-judgmental doses.  He let us follow recipes, innovate some our own, and always was there with a hint or two when you needed it.  (Like, there's no need to add lemon juice to a red sauce.)  I’m sure he’ll be making some soda bread tonight.

My interest in cooking really began when I was a teen, so it seemed natural to give the  protagonist in my fall book, Wherever You Go, the same love.  Throughout the book Holly makes things like meatballs, marinara, brownies, cupcakes, stew, lasagna, and baked chicken for her little sister and grandpa.  Maybe I’ll need to have a recipe page on my website when the book comes out in November.

So, are you cooking Irish food or going out for something yummy to celebrate the wearing o’ the green tonight?   I would love to hear what’s on the menu for your St. Paddy’s celebration.

Enjoy the day!


Heather
www.heatherdavisbooks.com
Wherever You Go - Harcourt - November 2011
The Clearing - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Never Cry Werewolf - HarperTeen

4 comments:

TinaFerraro said...

I am wearing a green button that says "Kiss Me, I'm Published!"

Heather Davis said...

Cute, Tina! But, that's not the luck of the Irish that made you that way! :)

Steph said...

I love the new set-up for your blog! It's very sophisticated and organized, which I love. A recipe section on your blog would be cool. Maybe you can post recipes that you think represent each of your books. Just a thought- it might be fun for you to find something and it would be cool for fans to make. Maybe anyone who tries it can send pictures of the dish and you can post them with the recipe.

Well, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

nymfaux said...

I tried to add a little green to my blog...but whatever I did kept shrinking my header...definitely some leprechauns at work!!!

I think I love all the food related posts as much as I love all your book posts...except for my phobia of green food ;)

--I just saw a HungryGirl tip for lowering calories by replacing eggs and oil in cake-mixes with a can of diet soda, don't know if that would work for your soda bread?

I would love to hear how it all turned out! Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!