An Irish Meal

Day 42 (March 17, 2019)

Hey God!

            I don’t know if it is the Irish in me, but I am not exaggerating when I say, “I LOVE corned beef with cabbage and potatoes.” (Hands down my favorite meal!) Growing up, my mama would make this meal for the family every single St. Patrick’s Day! I would enter the house—usually getting back from whatever school sport I was in at the time—and just grin from ear to ear. The smell of meat, potatoes, and cabbage simmering away on the stove would make my mouth salivate, and it was all I could do to wait for it to be served on my plate. (Most people seem to not like the smell of boiled cabbage. Well, I must be a bit of an oddball because I don’t mind it at all.)

            Corned beef, with cabbage and potatoes, is actually a meal I do not mind cooking, and if I see it on a pub menu, I get it no matter what. I cooked the meal the first year Dane and I were married, in California, and I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. But, unfortunately, for the next four years—while we have been living here in Canada—we could not find corned beef at our local grocery store. The first year we tried to find it at our grocery store, and couldn’t, we figured we had tried too late and missed out. Well, the next two years we tried to find the meat a tad bit earlier, but it was like the meat was gone from existence. I even asked an employee, who handled the meat at our local grocery store, to try and help me find the corned beef, but all they could find, as well, was canned corned beef. (Ewwww.) During this time, Dane thought it a good idea to check out the specialty meat store near our place, but they, of course, either shut down or moved locations. (I am not joking! It seemed like my entire community was conspiring against my love for corned beef!)

            But, Lord, this was the year!!! We were not even going to look for corned beef this year, but out of the blue, while looking through the deals on chicken and steaks at the local grocery store, Dane happened to come upon a 1lb package of corned beef buried under an assortment of packaged meat products. Honestly, I think I totally guffawed when he showed me what he had found! (I could not even believe it!!) It was mid-February, when Dane happened upon it, and I was a little concerned that it would not make it to St. Patty’s Day. But since it was the first package of corned beef we had ever found here in our community, we snagged it and stuck it in the freezer at home. There was no way (in you know where) that I was letting that corned beef out of my sights! (Maybe I am being a little bit weird about corned beef, but I don’t care, Lord. Four years is a long time to go without something you enjoy eating.)

            So, on this beautiful, but still quite cold, St. Patty’s Day, I finally got to cook one of my favorite Irish meals for my husband. As the corned beef simmered away in the pot, I sliced up some golden potatoes and put them in with about 45 minutes left before serving. Next, I worked on getting the cabbage prepped. Oh, Lord, I blame it on being rusty, but that dang cabbage was trying to be the end of me. I just couldn’t get the knife through the stem area, and Dane offered to help, but you know me, I am stubborn. (Much more stubborn than a stupid cabbage stem.) Well, you will be happy to know your girl came out the victor, Lord. Soon, I had the cabbage cut up into smaller sections and was ready to place them in the pot. With about 30 minutes left before serving, I put the cabbage sections into the pot and let them simmer with everything else. The cabbage took some babying, and it kind of made the cooking process go longer than expected, but Dane didn’t seem to mind.

            We served up portions on our nice white china and decided to eat at the kitchen table rather than on the couch (tv dinner style). This made it much easier to eat since I did not have to worry about balancing my plate at all. The only balancing act that occurred was with the food on my fork. You see Lord, every fork full must, for me at least, have a piece of corned beef, a small piece of potato, and a large chunk of cabbage on it. Ha, it might not be the most graceful eating I have ever done, but that first bite was glorious! (Absolutely everything I wanted it to be.) Perfectly soft and crunchy all at the same time!

            I think Dane liked it too because he told me that this meal should definitely be a tradition. Those words made my heart so happy. (I mean, I have been trying to do just that for years now!) Honestly, Lord, it was so much fun to make one of my favorite meals for my husband and it made it even better to know that he enjoyed it too. You know, his mother just found out that she is part Irish, so it only makes sense why Dane would love the meal as much as me. It is mixed in with his Scottish blood. (Ha, we are such American mutts. I love it!)

            It was pretty crazy how this meal all worked out, Lord. (I am definitely thinking there was some divine timing in there because making corned beef, with cabbage and potatoes, had not even been on our radar this year.) It truly was an unexpected joy and one that I will remember for a long time to come. I think it was extra meaningful this year since the holiday, and meal, provided some special quality time for Dane and me before I leave for North Carolina next weekend. (It truly helped me put aside some of the separation anxiety that has started to creep in before my solo trip.) Thank you so much for that, Lord, and thank you for letting Dane “happen upon” the corned beef in the grocery store. (You truly are the best, Lord!)

Always,

Your Daughter Kaitlan

P.S. Lord, thank you for unexpected joys. They truly do create wonderful circumstances that tend to help people subdue, or manage, their anxiety. Please help people to take notice of these joys, that you put in their lives, because they might be just what they need to get through a struggle or anxious time (specifically some separation anxiety). Thank you!

Thank you for reading! If you are new, this is a chronological blog series. It is best read in order. CLICK HERE for the intro.