May your glass ever be full,

May the roof over your head always be strong,

Any may you enjoy the diversity of Irish foods,

Green or not.

- Foodly yours, Patricia O'Dugan

Why is St. Patrick's Day all about green? It must be because of shamrocks, four-leaf clovers, rainbows and leprechauns. Oh well, enough blarney!

In reality and perhaps a forgotten thought is the fact that St. Patrick's Day symbolizes the birth of springtime green. It also celebrates the irresistibly charming Irish people and foods of the Emerald Isle.

Relatives and friends who have shared their photos of the Emerald Isle speak of the lush, vivid, year-round greenness of the third-largest island in Europe. A land of mountains, lakes and rolling farmland, Ireland has 2,000 miles of coastline. No part of Ireland is more than 70 miles from the deeper green sea. The soft rain (gentle drizzle as proclaimed by natives) comes frequently but does not last long and keeps crops verdant and animals happy.

Why then are we celebrating St. Patrick's Day with only corned beef and cabbage? Probably because it is an easily fixed comforting meal with authentically Irish produce that doesn't break the budget. I much prefer my Mom's humbly titled Boiled Dinner - same colors but it takes less time to cook a bone-in ham than corned beef.

The marathon week of bone-in ham dinners started with a baked ham dinner accompanied by buttered mashed potatoes and tiny green peas. The next menu included ham sandwiches with buttered sauteed cabbage in milk, a soup substitute.

Next comes the Boiled Dinner. The ham was gently boiled for two hours in a sufficient amount of water almost to cover. Chilled overnight, the fat on top of the congealed ham broth was removed and the meat separated from the bone and cut into serving-size pieces. Next, Mom added raw carrot chunks and potato quarters and simmered till almost tender, about 30 minutes. That was the time to add the cabbage that had been cut into small wedges. She laid them on top, covered the pot and simmered about more 10 minutes. It is important not to overcook the cabbage to retain its slight green color and sweetness. It gets bitter with excessive cooking.

This St. Patrick's Day, perhaps we also can turn our attention to some other Irish foods.

The largest exporter in Ireland is the Irish Dairy Board, which exports about $2 billion in products to 200 countries. Kerrygold is the board's international trademark.

This is how Pure Irish Butter is described on the Kerrygold Web site: "Ireland was made for milk. It has everything needed to make a cow happy - good soil, mild climate, moisture-bearing southwesterly winds and all the green grass they can chew."

Kerrygold cheeses (available locally at Wegmans) include Kerrygold Dubliner. Described as a nutty blend of Parmesan, cheddar and Swiss, the Irish Dairy Board suggests serving a "fair size chunk onto a plate with a stout-hearted brew."

Kerrygold Vintage Irish Cheddar, wrapped in green wax, and made from "pure Irish milk" offers a rich, rounded sharp cheddar taste, matured for 12 months. Scholarly Irish monks who were also explorers are credited with learning the art of making cheddar cheese during their travels and perfecting it.

Blarney Castle Cheese (regular or oak-smoked) is a semi-soft, crumb-free cheese, great paired with fresh fruit or melted onto a baked potato filled with sauteed broccoli, allowing you to get your greens and your "green."

Cheese broker/expert Dorothy Grant of Corning proclaims passionately that Cashel Irish Blue Cheese is by far her favorite blue cheese in the world. (To purchase locally you need to travel to Wegmans in Pittsford, N.Y., or Ithaca or go online to www.igourmet.com.) Made by a single family on a single farm in Cashel Tipperary with milk from their Fresian herd, this artisan cheese is Ireland's first farmhouse blue, developed by Louis and Jane Grubb in 1984. Ideal for melting, Cashel Blue is elegantly served for dessert with port.

Pat Ernst Dugan is a private chef, educator and food/recipe writer. E-mail her at foodlyyours@aol.com or send comments and questions to be forwarded to: Foodly Yours, Star-Gazette, Attn: Features Department, 201 Baldwin St., P.O. Box 285, Elmira, NY 14902.