#MeatlessMonday-A Not-So-Traditional St. Patrick's Day #vegetarian

I'm not one for tradition. I find myself questioning, "Why, why, why?" and end up feeling a trifle cynical about the whole thing. Over the course of my 40-something years, I've seen holidays change in ways that make me wonder. But it's hard not to get caught up in the fanfare when you have kids, I don't want to be a complete kill joy. So yes, I'll probably wear green today and may even try and catch a leprechaun if I'm feeling naughty (look for my post on leprechauns tomorrow).

Here's hoping you have a good St. Patrick's Day/Saint Paddy's if you celebrate it!

Not-So-Traditional Vegetarian Irish Stew
(Crock Pot Recipe)

Ingredients:

1T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (you can substitute 1 leek if you'd rather)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1T nutritional yeast flakes
¾ cup apple juice
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 potatoes, cut into chunks
2 carrots, sliced
2 parsnips, sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
½ tsp sage 

salt and pepper to taste

*If you have seitan, add 1 cup sliced seitan

Seitan recipe

Directions:
In large pan, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until softened. Remove to crock pot.
Mix vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, apple juice and apple cider vinegar. Add to crock pot.
Add remaining ingredients except seitan.
Stir well; cover. Cook on low 6 hours.
*Add seitan and heat through before serving.

***

While that's cooking, why not make some Irish soda bread to go with it?

Irish soda bread was a daily bread that didn't keep long and had to be baked every few days. Traditional soda bread contained only flour, baking soda, sour milk (buttermilk) and salt. It was not a festive cake nor did it contain whisky, candied fruit, caraway seeds, raisins or any other ingredient.

In Ireland, the flour is typically made from soft wheat; so soda bread is best made with a cake or pastry flour (made from soft wheat), which has lower levels of gluten than a bread flour.

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

4 cups of all purpose flour (cake flour is best)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
14 oz buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425 F. degrees. Lightly grease and flour a cake pan.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough. Place on floured surface and lightly knead

Shape into a round flat shape in a round cake pan and cut a cross in the top of the dough. 

Cover the pan with another cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. 

Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes