Even if you’re not Irish (I’m not, but my kids are on their father’s side) I hope you will spend time reading some Irish folk and fairy tales. There are some wonderful books out there that will certainly appeal to your whole family, like:

• Strange Irish Tales for Children for ages 4 to 8
• A Pot O’ Gold: A Treasury Of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore, And (of Course) BlarneyFor ages 5 through 13, children will learn about St. Patrick, Finn McCool, and St. Bridget as well as fairies and leprechauns. There are also selections about Ireland’s food, music, pride, scholars, land and blessings, curses, cures, war cries, limericks, folk riddles, and lullabies are also included. This looked so good, I put it on my Amazon wish list.
• Tales from Old Ireland – For ages 7 to 11, this book is a collection of some of the best-known and perhaps best-loved Irish folktales including: Children of Lir; the Irish Cinderella; Fair, Brown, and Trembling; Lusmore and the Fairies; Son of an Otter, Son of a Wolf; The Twelve Wild Geese, and a few more.

And what to make for St. Patrick’s Day that’s traditional yet the kids will like? Many ideas come courtesy of IrelandsEye.com’s recipe page. Here are a couple:

Potato Soup
Serves six

The basis of a good soup – especially a simple soup such as this – is a good stock. The soup should be made with a white stock, that is, water in which a chicken, ham or bacon has been boiled. Alternatively, stock can be made from a ham bone or chicken carcass boiled with a few root vegetables and herbs as available, and an onion. The stock should be drained, allowed to cool and the fat removed from the surface. (I won’t tell anyone you used stock from a can though. I do too.)

Ingredients:

1. 6 medium potatoes
2. 2 medium onions
3. 6 cups stock or milk and water mixed
4. 1tbsp butter
5. parsley salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Peel and dice the potatoes and chop the onions.
2. Melt the butter and gently cook the onions and potatoes in a covered saucepan until soft but not colored.
3. Add the liquid, adjust the seasoning to taste, sieve if wished and serve in bowls decorated with a little chopped parsley.

From A Little Irish Cookbook .

Since St. Patrick’s on Sunday this year, you may want to have an Irish breakfast feast.

Irish Pancakes
These are also known as Scotch Pancakes, especially in the north. They must be cooked as soon as possible after mixing, as the acid in the buttermilk starts to react with the baking soda at once. For that reason the griddle or pan should be heated before combining the ingredients.

  Ingredients:

1. 2 cups plain flour
2. 1/2 tsp baking soda
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1 tsp sugar
5. 1 large egg
6. 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle with a wooden spoon and add the egg. Break the yolk and pour in the buttermilk, mixing quickly to a thick batter. Do not beat, as this would develop the gluten in the flour and prevent the pancakes from rising.
3. Fry in large dollops on a lightly-greased, hot griddle or heavy frying-pan.

Best served hot for tea, thickly spread with melting butter and syrup or jam.

From A Little Irish Cookbook .

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