Okay well today is St. Patrick’s day, March 17th. So typically we watch grandpa March in the NYC St. Patty’s day parade but this year everything is cancelled. However I had other activities planned for the day prior to the COVID-19 so I’m going to link all the worksheets, documentaries and books below as well as the recipes, which will be posted on http://www.matthewskitchennyc.com but linked below as we are making Irish soda bread and Corn beef.
We started with making roll out sugar cookies (chocolate version this time) and using our St Patrick’s day cookie cutters then having fun decorating them with royal icing.
Next up we through together our corn beef dinner in the crockpot.
Then we began our school day, no worries breakfast is always eaten before we do any work at all. We began talking about Ireland. We look at the flag, look at what it is known for (buildings, food, language) and watch a few short videos about the country, which are linked below.
Then we begin with our actual worksheets. Since we switched curriculums from online to workbooks, I typically have him do a few pages in one of the 4 we have based on subject but because today is a holiday I printed out fun worksheets to use. There are more on my Pinterest board for various ages.
With some of our worksheets done, we moved on to crafts. Matt decided to paint rainbows.
Then of course we had to spend some time on Minecraft so we explored 2 Irish based maps then I challenged him to be inspired by Ireland and show me his creation. Both Irish worlds will be on our YouTube channel so check it out (https://www.youtube.com/user/Allyneznamy)
And then we had a blast making our green and Irish traditional food. Below our our favorite recipes we use yearly.
CrockPot Cornbeef
Equipment
- Crockpot
Ingredients
- 3 pounds cornbeef
- 1 cup water
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vingar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Put the cornbeef in your crockpot
- Add the garlic, sugar and pepper
- Add the Apple cider vingar, water and bay leaf
- Cook on low for 8 hours
- Take out and tear up or cut as needed to enjoy
Irish Soda Bread
Equipment
- Baking Sheet/Cookie Sheet
- Parment Paper
- Two bowls, one small, one large
- knife
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 Cup Buttermilk
- 1 Large Egg
- 5 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 3 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 5 Tbsp Unsalted buter, cubed
- 1 Cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Whisk the buttermilk and egg together and set aside.
- Whisk 4 1/2 cups of flour with the granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Add the cut butter and work the dough until into coarse crumbs with your hands.
- Add in raisins and stir.
- Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir.
- Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Using a very sharp knife, score an X into the top.
- Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Notes
Lucky Charm Treats
Equipment
- Pot
- 9 X13 pan
- Spatula
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 16 oz Mini Marshmellows
- 5 Cups Lucky Charms
Instructions
- Line a 9×13 cake/brownie pan with parchment paper
- In a pot slowly melt the butter and the mini marshmallows (constantly stir)
- Add the lucky charms and stir until fully covered
- Pour mixture into the pan and lightly press down
- Let it sit for 1 hour, then cut in and enjoy.
Shamrock Shake
Equipment
- Blender
- Milshake glasses
- Straws
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Mint Ice cream
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1 -3 drops Green Gel food coloring
- Whip Cream
Instructions
- Blend together the mint ice cream, heavy cream Food coloring and milk until smooth.
- Pour into the milkshake cups
- Top with whip cream