St. Patrick's Day corned beef. The whole apartment smells like home.

Let it sit

When I was little I loved St. Patrick's Day. I dressed in all green, I pinched kids wearing red (because it somehow symbolized Protestants / the British??). In early elementary school I convinced two girls that I was born in Ireland. (Sorry guys.) My mom would make Irish soda bread, coat each bite in a thick skin of butter. My Nana and Papa used to play warbling renditions of all the Irish songs we all know in their boat-wide car, and when they moved up to northern Virginia we'd eat corned beef and cabbage and mashed potatoes at their apartment, Papa answering the door in shamrock-shaped sunglasses. I remember my parents and uncles taking me down the street to the 4 P's to drink green root beer while they drank other kinds of green beverages. When I was older, in high school with few white people, much less specifically-Irish-white, I was generally embarrassed by the holiday, though I still inhaled the soda bread that appeared every March. One of my classmates would also ask me to sing Danny Boy to her, which to my teenage self seemed like an offensive thing. Plus why would I know the words? When I hit 21, St. Pat's had a new dimension beyond clothes and food and music, which has made the holiday more palatable but also somehow less special. (All holidays, to a certain extent, are opportunities to drink.) Now I think a lot about family, though I have far from neglected the clothes and food and music and booze. Now, two secret family recipes to help celebrate the day:

Irish Tea, from Papa, who taught it to me on St. Pat's many years ago:

Step 1) Put a teabag of Irish Breakfast in hot water Step 2) Let it sit for five minutes Step 3) Add milk / sugar / honey to taste and drink!

He told me "It's Irish because it's extra strong. If it's not extra strong it's not Irish."

Corned Beef and Cabbage, from Nana, via my mom:

Step 1) Put a hunk of corned beef in a large pot, fill with water until covered. Step 2) Bring to boil for 3 1/2 hours, spoon off scum that collects on top in the first 1/2 hour. Let it sit. Step 3) Quarter and core a head of cabbage, set aside. Step 4) Add cabbage at the 3 1/2 hour mark, continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes. Step 5) Drain and serve.

I told my mom I thought it would be more complicated.