IRISH FOOD

                                            Filling and Nourishing
      It is said that in rural areas food is simple, but in Dublin the food is spectacular. However pub food tends to be simple everywhere and usually includes fish, salmon, and Irish stew.

     Potato is a staple of the Irish diet and potato dishes are popular. Boxty, champ and colcannon are all variations on mashed potato.

     Seafood, especially oysters and mussels, are popular. Ireland has some of the best smoked salmon in the world. It is served on soda bread with lots of butter.

     Coddle is a boiled stew of bacon, sausage and smoked meat; it is a favorite in Dublin.

      Irish coffee and Guinness are favorite drinks. A whiskey called Lageuvlin is known for its strong peaty taste.

      Breakfast is called fry and consists of bacon, fried egg, sausage (black and white pudding) and baked beans. Often breakfast is preceded with coffee or tea, juice, a muffin or pastry or a bowl of cereal.

      I always wondered just what made stew Irish stew. Irish stew is a filling, flavorful peasant dish made with the cheapest, most readily available ingredients. Also called ballymaloe or stobhach gaelach in Gaelic, the stew traditionally is made of lamb or mutton (less tender sheep over two years old), potatoes, onions, carrots and parsley. Often, only lamb or mutton neckbones, shanks, and other trimmings were the basis for the stock. Yet, these would-be discards still hold enough flavor after a long simmering process to do justice to a hearty bowl of stew. The root vegetables also add flavor and thickening, as well as a filling sustenance. Some cooks add turnips or parsnips, carrots, and barley when available.

      When Irish people began immigrating to the United States, fleeing from the ravages of starvation caused by the potato famine, they naturally brought along their wonderful hearty food traditions. The stew evolved and adapted to include local offerings. Sheep were not as plentiful, so other types of meat often were substituted. When made in the traditional manner, the result is very thick and hearty, not a thin soup. The recipe has evolved to often include Guinness stout. Some variations have exalted this original peasant dish to near gourmet status.

      I expected to see Irish stew on every restaurant menu. Not so. It is often on a pub menu though. We had stew that was thick enough to eat with a fork and some that was broth-thin. Sometimes the vegetable chunks were large, other times small.  It was always good.

      The Irish raised primarily sheep and root crops for subsistence. The sheep provided wool for warm clothing, milk for drinking and making cheese, and eventually food. Potatoes were the main food crop, prior to the potato famine.

ANCIENT SITES

                                         Something Old 

     At Craggaunowen we picked up a docent who showed us around the recreated medieval ecomuseum. She told us, “John Hunt bought the property in 1965 and initiated this project. He and his family lived in this 1550 castle for several years.  This 16^th century tower house is restored with furnishings of the 14-17^th centuries. McNamara built the castle to fortify the town and used it as a town house. Cromwell destroyed it leaving only the walls.”

      Entering the castle there was a distinct aroma of burned peat, which reminded me of the incense aroma of Tibetan monasteries. Among the utensils were some turtle shells that were used as serving dishes or as covers for others. I walked up the 60 narrow pie-shaped spiral stair steps leading to the top of the tower where there was a pretty good view of the area below. The whole setting is a lovely wooded area.

     We crossed a narrow wooden footbridge leading to an island in the lake where replicas of early Celtic–style dwellings are housed. The Bronze Age clay and wattle Crannog (Lake Dwelling) stands on a man-made island in a small lake as it might have in the 6-7^th centuries when Celtic influence dominated Ireland. Canoes provided transport to and from the island. Often rocks just under the water’s surface provided a ‘secret’ path to the mainland.

      Reconstruction of a small Ring Fort showed how ordinary farmers lived in the 5-6^th centuries. Underground passages provided storage as well as an escape route.

      We also viewed an Iron Age Roadway of oak, which was covered with peat for preservation and an outdoor cooking site. After a successful hunt the men would cook the animal in a deep water pit. A huge fire was lit behind the pit that heated stones. Enough stones were thrown into the water to make it hot to cook the meat. I wonder how well done that meat got!

      A clay storage pit was new to me and I was fascinated with a foot controlled and driven lathe for turning wood.

     One day on a drive in the countryside we detoured to see the Cahergal stone fort. This 1000 year old ring fort was in excellent condition. These forts are also referred to as fairy forts. There are some 40,000 of them in Ireland. Most of them are overgrown, but 200 have been excavated. People lived in the round stone walled forts and grazed cattle outside during the day. At night the cattle were brought inside. The forts were common in the 5-6^th centuries but go back as far as the Celts. Now the forts are national monuments and it is illegal to destroy them. People believed fairies lived in them.

      On another day we were on a narrow two-lane paved road that passed right by some beehive huts. Of course we stopped to visit. The huts were made of stone in the shape of a beehive and also date back to the 5-6^th centuries. They were in remarkably good condition and amazingly large inside.        

Sometimes life is amazing and it’s awesome to see and learn about such ancient things.