Luck of the Irish and Saint Brigid

Rarely do we come upon a saint who appears to be filled with a lively spirit such as Saint Brigid of Ireland. She is one of three patron saints of the Emerald Isle, the only woman among the bunch. There are a number of things that must come to pass before a person is declared a saint within the Catholic faith. Miracles is one such requirement.

There is the miracle of Dara, a blind nun for whom Brigid is said to have prayed to God for the restoration of sight. When the miracle was granted, Dara realized the clarity of sight in the real world blurred the vision of God in the eye of the soul. Dismayed, Dara asked Brigid to return her to the true beauty of darkness.

Then there is the legend of water into beer. As the story goes, Brigid miraculously changed water into beer for the needs of a leper colony. She also was able to provide enough beer for 18 churches from a single barrel of beer. As a result, some refer to Saint Brigid as the Patron Saint of Beer.

After a three-year campaign by a feminist organization in Ireland, the government finally agreed to declare a new National Holiday in honor of Saint Brigid. It wasn’t so much for religious purposes, but rather to acknowledge the life of a spirited and independent woman. Brigid was the daughter of a noble father and an enslaved mother. Both were sold to a man Brigid later converted to Christianity. She was freed from slavery, and returned to her father (which to me made no sense at all). Her father promptly tried to marry her off to the king of Ulster. So impressed was the king by Brigid’s piety, that he released her from parental control. She was finally her own women. Brigid went on to establish Ireland’s first nunnery. Today in Ireland her feast day is celebrated as a National Holiday. Tradition holds that the day before her feast day, people braid what has come to be known as The Cross of Saint Brigid. It is then blessed with holy water and hung at the threshold of the homes as a sign of welcome to Saint Brigid.

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Slow-Cooker Beef Stew With Dumplings
Beef Stew
1/2 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 lbs Chuck Stew Meat

Place the flour, salt, and pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag. Trim stew meat into 2-inch cubes. Add the meat to the seasoned flour, seal the bag, and shake well to coat in the flour. Add the entire contents of the bag including the seasoned flour to the crock pot. Set aside.

Vegetables and Stock
3 Gold Potatoes, medium
1 stalk Celery, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 large Yellow Onion
1/2 lb Carrots, coin-cut
1 Bay Leaf, fresh or dried
2 cups Beef Stock
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce
1/4 cup Butter

Scrub and dice the potatoes into small chunks. Set aside. Rinse and slice celery. Set aside. Mince garlic and dice the onion. Add the potatoes, celery and onion to the pot with the meat. Toss lightly to blend.

In a large measuring cup, combine the beef stock, Worcestershire Sauce, paprika and Kitchen Bouquet and the minced garlic. Whisk to blend. Pour the stock over the meat and vegetable mixture. Gently stir to blend everything together. Place a bay leaf on top.

Cover the crock pot and cook on LOW heat for about an hour. Once everything is bubbling hot, add the butter and let it melt into the stew broth. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired with more salt and pepper if needed. Continue to cook on LOW for 6 hours or until the beef is tender. Remove the bay leaf.

Turn the crock pot to high while you prepare the dumpling batter.

Dumplings
1-1/4 cup Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon dried Parsley Flakes
1/2 tablespoon dried Italian Seasoning
2/3 cup Milk
1 Egg

Place the flour, baking powder, salt and seasonings into a mixing bowl. Pour milk over the dried ingredients. Lightly beat the egg, add to the mixing bowl. Using a fork, gently blend until a sticky dough forms.

Drop the dumplings by spoonfuls onto the simmering stew. Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 1 hour or until the dumplings are cooked.

To Serve: Divide dumplings into serving bowls. Ladle stew next to the dumplings. Drizzle a little stew broth over the dumplings, serve and enjoy.

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The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.