4 • March 2017 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. & Prosper! Eat Well “The Awakening of Spring” by Executive Chef Ron Skaar ~ ronskaar@comcast.net ~ 707-490-7636


Cloverdale, CA. ~ During Guinness Stout takes time, but ancient times, Martius, our March, signifi ed the awaken- ing of spring. T e ides (idus being a “half di- vision”) of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars. In March, during the late nineteenth century, my Norwegian grand- mother was born. Her


Guinness


started brewing ales from 1759 at the St.


birth came on the day the Irish celebrate as St. Patrick’s Day. Irish cooking gets little recog-


nition in culinary print. T ere is not much substance besides the ubiquitous Irish stew or corned beef and cabbage. Ire- land’s greatest contribution, in my opinion, is Guinness Stout. Some may say that both Scot- land and Ireland have made greater gastronomic giſt s than England, with their whisky and stout. Acquiring a taste for


James Gate Brewery, Dublin. Ten years later, he was export- ing his ales to England. Stout originally referred to the beers strength but eventually alluded to it’s depth of fl avors and col- or. Guinness is brewed from barley roasted almost black, with high hops, a creamy head, plus full body and higher alco- hol content. Despite it’s repu- tation has a “meal in a glass”, Guinness contains fewer calo- ries than a similar amount of


ultimately it is the only brewed drink which could be com- pared with wine, for full fl avor and texture. Although


appears to be black in color, it is a very dark shade of ruby. Arthur Guinness


orange juice or skim milk. Porter ale came about be-


cause English and American beer drinkers preferred a mix of half ale and half stout. T is ale avoided bartenders having to tap from two or three casks for each individual or- der. T e new ale’s success with London’s work- ers, especially the por- ters of Covent Garden, produced the name. “A particularly nourishing brew and a wholesome liquor, which enables the London porter-drinkers to undergo tasks that ten gin-drinkers would sink under”, the local daily wrote. Gin was the “noxious and dan- gerous scourge” of the lower classes, in eighteenth century England. T e original extra stout con- tains carbon dioxide which


causes the more acidic taste. Draught Guinness, on the other hand, also contains ni- trogen. T e smoothness of this ale is due to it’s lower level of carbon dioxide. T e creami- ness of the head contains very fi ne bubbles that arise from the use of nitrogen. T e sinking bubbles are noticeable in any dark nitrogen stout because the drink is mixing deep colored liquid with light colored bubbles. By the 1930’s Guinness had become the seventh


largest company, in the world. In 1963, with declining sales, a conscious marketing eff ort was made to turn Guinness into a “cult” beer. T is move helped revive the sales. Guinness has been promoted has a “cult” beer in the U.K. and the U.S.A. ever since. Guinness stout probably nev-


er touched my Grandmothers lips. But I know she would of enjoyed this simple yet hardy recipe below. T is Irish dish used to be a year round stable but is now typically eaten in the fall or winter, when kale is in season.


Weird Facts & Fun Trivia - 2 Bay Leaves or Laurel, are the dried leaves of the evergreen tree, Laurus nobilis. The elliptically shaped leaves are light green in color and brittle when dried.


Dried bay leaves are used in Turkey and Italy to wrap licorice for shipping, and in China for packaging rice (to deter weevils).


There are 9 people in the U.S. listed on whitepages. com with the last name ‘Beef’


Fictional spokeswoman ‘Betty Crocker’ was created in 1921 by advertising manager Sam Gale of Washburn-Crosby Co. (now General Mills) to give a personal touch to correspondence replying to housewives questions and comments.


Betty Crocker got her own website in 1995.


COLEANNON DIRECTIONS: Ingredients:


1 lbs. cabbage, shredded ½ cup thin sliced scallions 1 cup water


salt & course ground pepper 2 lbs. potatoes, peeled & quartered


¼ cup melted unsalted butter 1 cup milk


crumbled crisp bacon & chopped parsley


4 • March 2017 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. In a until large


saucepan, bring cabbage and water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes,


tender.


Drain, reserving cooking liq- uid, and keep warm. Place potatoes and reserved liquid in the same saucepan. Add additional water, if needed to cover. Bring to


boil, reduce


heat, cover and cook for 15- 17 minutes until tender. Drain and keep warm in sauce pan. In small saucepan, bring milk and scallions to boil. Remove from heat. Mash potatoes, add milk mixture, beat until blend- ed. Mix in cabbage, salt and pepper. Drizzle with the melt- ed butter and garnish with the bacon and parsley. Serves 6-8


“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” ~ Jane Goodall


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