St. Paddy's Day, Polish-style

MY POLISH-CANADIAN hubby, Ed Piwowarczyk, has been hard at work today chopping lamb and veg for his signature Irish Stew for tomorrow's dinner.

And I've made my Irish-Canadian mother's traditional March 17 dessert: lime Jello.

Here is Ed's Irish Stew recipe:

3 pounds lamb shoulder, cubed;

3 parsnips, peeled and sliced;

6 stalks celery, cut into slices;

1 half-pound of peeled white pearl onions;

1 cup pearl barley;

1 pound white mushrooms;

1 12-ounce can Guinness stout;

2 cups beef broth;

1/2 tsp. black pepper;

1/4 tsp. thyme;

1 cup half-and-half;

4 minced garlic cloves.

Brown the meat in a little oil. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, parsnips and celery, and saute. Add the Guinness, beef stock and barley, and cook over medium heat until just boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours. Stir occasionally.

There are no cubed potatoes in Ed's stew. That’s because we'll eat it over mashed potatoes.

After dinner, we’ll watch The Quiet Man.

Beo fada agus rathúil!