17. March is fast approaching. St. Patrick's Day. The day on which absolutely everyone, regardless of who you are or where you come from and the Irish and the whole world is green in color. Everywhere you go folk eat Irish food. Green beer and ale in abundance. The world has green and shamrocks are the adornment of choice.

No matter where you are, there is a St. Patrick's Day Parade in the vicinity of the largest (outside Ireland) in New York for the shortest parade in the world (afterthe Ripley's Believe It or Not) in Little Rock, Arkansas. This is less than one block. Each publication is intended to be an Irish pub and tavern, and many traditional Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage is. For more information and history than you ever over St. Patrick's Day, you may have to visit St. Patrick's Day.com.

Now to the important area of traditional Irish feast of corned beef and cabbage. This dish is quick to an American tradition seconds, just toThanksgiving Turkey. If you think of St. Patrick's Day, you automatically think of corned beef and cabbage, green beer with a chaser. There are many "traditional recipes" for this festival. Here I put my personal favorite:

Makes six servings

1 four-pound beef brisket
1 tablespoon salt
1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, quarter teaspoon. Thyme, four whole peppercorns, four branches of fresh parsley, celery, leaving several, three whole cloves, quarter teaspoon. Dry tarragon, tied together) into a cheesecloth bag
3 carrots, quartered lengthwise
2 parsnips or turnips, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium red onions into wedges
10 to 12 small new potatoes (about 3 pounds)
1 small cabbage cut into 6 to 8 wedges
about 2 liters of water

Put meat in a large stock pot. Add water to cover, salt, bouquet garni, and parsnips and onions. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about three hours until the meat is almost tender. Skim the fat fromof the top frequently.
Add the carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Simmer until the vegetables are soft, about forty-five minutes.
Remove the bouquet garni. Remove meat from the stock pot and rest for five or ten minutes, then slice across the grain. Serve on a plate with the large pieces of vegetable and yellow mustard or horseradish sauce on the side.