Colcannons

I'm a little late getting my Irish on the screen, but here it is. We did get into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. For a jaunt to a local Irish pub with friends, I enlisted the styling services of my teenage daughter since I was at a loss for something festive to go with my surgical boot. She suggested I wear her black watch plaid jumper with a pair of leggings. It did the trick. Incidentally, the plaid was pretty close to the McKenzie plaid of my mother's people, so I felt I was honoring her as well.

The delicious plateful above was created later and was actually an accidental colcannon -- it was just a couple of side dishes I'd made to go with my husband's grilled beast of the day, but once I got them on my plate I realized how Irish the combo was. Actually, that kale may either be a little Italian or Mexican too -- I don't remember if that's an olive or a bean down there under those greens. While the kale prep has slipped my mind, I remember the potatoes. Simply prepared, I boiled large chunks of new potatoes for about 15 minutes, then drained and slightly mashed them with earth balance, a little veganaise and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. They were amazing and got compliments from the carnivore too.

Missing the accidental colcannon as soon as the leftovers had run out, I endeavored to create a more purposeful one. I prepared the potatoes the same way, but then incorporated them into a panful of shredded cabbage I had sauteed in olive oil with large chunks of baby Vidalia onions with the greens still attached. Mmmmm.

Erin go bragh!