Chirish Eats

Tonight we attended a fun, fascinating Science Cafe about epigentics, put on by the Pacific Science Center and held at the Wilde Rover Pub. Boxty, beer, and biology - you can't beat that, really! 

In celebration of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day, here's a recipe for what we call kong-cannon.

Kong-cannon is part of a balanced meal. Here, it accompanies veggie meatloaf and some unidentifiable purple/green stuff. 

This is a colcannon (Irish potato, cabbage, and scallion skillet) recipe from Nava Atlas' Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, altered for the Chinglish (Chinese and English family) household. We typically serve this with veggie sausages (Field Roast apple sage is our favorite - according to Field Roast's marketing material, they're a "blend of English and Asian heritage", whatever that means) and beer (your choice - British or Chinese beer).

4-6 servings

• 4 large potatoes (Alan, the English half of the Chinglish household, thinks there should be more potatoes in this recipe)
• 1.5 tablespoons light olive oil
• 2.5 cups of chopped Napa cabbage
• 5 Shiitake mushrooms (optional)
• 6 scallions, white and green parts, sliced
• 1 handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 cup milk or soymilk
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Bake, boil, or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done. When cool enough to handle, peel, and coarsely mash.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the cabbage and saute, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally until limp. Add scallions and mushrooms and saute, uncovered for about 4 more minutes. If the skillet becomes dry, add small amounts of water as needed.
3. Add the potatoes, cilantro, and milk, stir everything together, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Cook without stirring until the bottom of the potato mixture gets nicely browned. Fluff with a wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper, and serve.