#FirstDate #FirstDates #FirstDatesIRL #Dating #Kilkenny #CountyLaois #CastleDurrow #Thanksgiving #Colcannon #Recipe #LEGO
Between Halloween and Christmas is November. Unless that’s your birthday month, I can’t imagine November being anybody’s favorite month. It’s just a delay between two of the best times of the year. Nonetheless, Jeanne and I enjoyed November as much as possible despite not really going anywhere or doing anything too special. We did a lot of mundane tasks like unpacking boxes, taking boxes to charity shops and putting boxes into sheds/attics. None of that was exciting other than the fact that Jeanne was moved in, and that was wonderful.
One of the highlights was going to Petronella Restaurant. It’s one of several restaurants in Kilkenny that have very good Vegan and Vegetarian options. While Jeanne enjoyed her plant based meal, I had baked breast of chicken, stuffed with mozzarella cheese and spinach wrapped in parma ham on a bed of gnocchi in a cream pesto sauce. Afterwards, we popped into The Field for a pint and listened to some live music.
We also took a drive up to Durrow in County Laois. Castle Durrow is there – one of around 30,000 castles in Ireland. So that makes Durrow better than most places in the US, but about average for most places in Ireland. It has a hotel, restaurant and a beautiful garden that Jeanne and I walked around.
Oh yeah, I forgot that Thanksgiving is between Halloween and Christmas. That’s what makes it special. Yawn. There isn’t a day set aside to be thankful in Ireland. To me, I’m thankful for every day here. But I do usually try to have turkey on Thanksgiving, and by turkey, I mean one of those pre-packaged turkey dinners you reheat. Jeanne wanted me to have more than that this year, so I got a turkey breast to roast and we made some Colcannon. Potatoes are about as Irish as you can get, but somebody somehow made potatoes more Irish by coming up with Colcannon.
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups chopped kale
- 1½ cups chopped green cabbage
- 4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- ½ -1 cup oat milk, warmed
- 3 scallions, chopped
- sea salt
- pepper
Directions
- Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil.
- Next, add chopped cabbage and kale into boiling water and blanch for 1-2 mins, or until bright green in color. Remove greens with a slotted spoon, and place immediately into an ice water bath.
- Next, add your peeled and cubed potatoes and 1½ tsp salt to the same pot of water you cooked the greens in, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer the potatoes for roughly 15-20 mins, or until tender. When it’s fork tender, drain potatoes and add them back into the pot.
- Add vegan butter, and allow it to melt. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth and butter is combined.
- Gradually, add warmed oat milk, stirring. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Add your cabbage and kale and stir again to combine.
- Serve garnished with scallions.
