The Solemn Feast of Saint Patrick

Thanks to my great co-worker, I was able to juggle my schedule so I could celebrate my Goidelic heritage by living up to the negative stereotype. In order to gain some drinking time, I am working a double shift (Friday afternoon into Saturday morning). I'll have some hours to sleep, then hit the ground running in the evening, and by ground I mean the pubs.

Soooooo... how about a lovely little song about a couple of seaweed vendors arguing because one is courting the other's daughter? My favorite version is by the glorious Altan:





My favorite song by Altan, though, is Moll Dubh a' Ghleanna, which on one level is a love song about a spirited dark-haired girl, but is also a code for the illegal distillation of moonshine (warning: link plays 8 bit rendition):





Because I will have been working for 16 hours overnight, I think I'll blow off my tradition of baking a couple of loaves of soda bread (a few years back, I spent some time wandering around Manhattan with a loaf of it stuffed under my jacket for my off-the-boat Polish girlfriend who'd never had it. Luckily, it was a cold day). This recipe comes close to the one I use, but I substitute vegetable oil for the butter, and add it to the buttermilk before adding it to the dry ingredients. I also insist on using both dark and golden raisins in my spotted dog. This year, I got a kinky idea which will entail some experimentation... I am going to see if soda bread biscotti are viable. What better tribute could there be to my father's Italian/Irish Bronx heritage?