Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

I'm not Irish, but who doesn't want to pretend to be on March 17th? Especially in communities with a strong Irish heritage! For example, I'd love to be in Chicago to see how they turn the River green!

But for now, I'll have to content myself with watching this happen on video courtesy videographer Peter Tsai, whose YouTube video was aired on Good Morning America !

Meanwhile, I can still eat like an Irishman - er, -woman. And my husband loves a corned beef dinner on this day -- though he draws the line at the cabbage!

Here's a great recipe for Irish Soda Bread. Though I was interested to read that the Irish don't call it that... Spotted Dog, anyone?

By the way, I posted this recipe to Facebook, with a photo, if you'd like to see how the finished loaves look. And, you can use regular raisins, currents or the golden raisins this recipe calls for. Personally, I think currents are more palatable...

By the way, regarding the dye in the Chicago River, it's a harmless vegetable dye, and it dissipates within 12 hours. Here's how the Plumber's Union turns the river green...