Happy Belated Saint David's Day

Saint David (Dewi Sant in the Welsh language) is the patron saint of Wales. March 1st is a Welsh national holiday.

You might be wondering why I'm celebrating Saint David's Day. (My family is wondering the same thing.) There isn't a drop of Welsh blood in me. That I know of, anyhow. But one of my New Year's resolutions is to have more fun. And what could be more fun than celebrating other countries' special days? Actually, quite a lot could be more fun, but it's only the beginning of March. I'll have to ramp up the "funness factor" as the year progresses.

So, here are a few facts about Saint David:
-He lived in the 6th century and was into spreading Christianity to the Celtic tribes across western Britain.
-He founded a very strict monastery where the monks farmed, celebrated mass and kept bees.
-He was a fiend for water. A fiend. For his entire life, he only drank water. Things might have been different had diet Coke been invented during his lifetime.
-Sometimes, he submerged himself up to his neck in cold water and spouted (pun intended) Scripture.
-He mostly ate breads and herbs, especially watercress, yet was apparently very strong.
-He lived for over 100 years. Obviously breads, herbs, with an emphasis on watercress, and gallons of water is a winning combo for longevity.

In honor of St. David's Day, I'm cooking the national dish of Wales: cawl.

I'm sure my family will rave over it. Well, perhaps not Child #3 because cawl doesn't resemble rolled tacos from the taco shop down the street or pizza.

Sorry for the blurry pic of my bowl of cawl. Here's a link to the slow-cooker recipe I used. Oh, and a "swede" is not a person. It's a rutabaga. And, of course, there are leeks in cawl because, as you well know, leeks are a national symbol of Wales. They're even on the flag.




Happy Belated Saint David's Day. Let the fun begin!


sources: http://sucs.org/~rhys/stdavid.html, www.foodsubs.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David