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34 • THE <strong>Reader</strong><br />
w h at a Pa i r!<br />
everyone’s a ‘little bit irish’<br />
on St. Patrick’s Day<br />
Enjoy this baked corned beef<br />
and cabbage hash recipe<br />
by Beth P. heiserman<br />
Contributing Writer<br />
<strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Have you ever had an Irish wine?<br />
Many people are familiar with Irish<br />
whisky, beer and even Irish<br />
liqueurs. Who doesn’t love Irish crème<br />
liqueur and coffee? However, the Irish do<br />
make wine, too!<br />
They grow varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon,<br />
Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer,<br />
and many others. They also<br />
produce apple and pear hard cider and<br />
even mead (honey wine).<br />
The European Commission has now officially<br />
listed Ireland as a wine producing<br />
country. We know from history that in the<br />
5th century, the monks planted a vineyard<br />
at the Cistercian monastery in County<br />
Kilkenny.<br />
In 1300 an Irish Dominican friar, Father<br />
Geoffrey, who spoke many languages,<br />
wrote about viniculture and fermentation.<br />
As time passed, fewer monks were<br />
needed for the production of wine because<br />
many wine-educated Irish started to commercialize<br />
the industry. Today we have<br />
many winemakers in America and other<br />
parts of the world which had ancestors<br />
who made wine in Ireland.<br />
Did you know that the traditional St.<br />
Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef<br />
and cabbage started<br />
in the early 1900’s in<br />
New York?<br />
This dish was<br />
originally made<br />
with bacon and<br />
cream. Many Irish in<br />
the United States realized<br />
that corned beef was a less expensive<br />
choice than using the traditional bacon. In<br />
Ireland, pork was very economical, but in<br />
America it was pricey.<br />
Americans ate beef which was very affordable.<br />
The Irish middleclass frequented<br />
many Jewish delis and markets where they<br />
would enjoy eating corned beef.<br />
Corned beef and cabbage became so<br />
popular it was served at President Lincoln’s<br />
inauguration dinner in 1862.<br />
My grandmother always made casseroles<br />
for dinner in her CorningWare or Pyrex<br />
dishes, which I still have. Casseroles are<br />
comfort food and remind us of good memories.<br />
She would tell me stories of my<br />
grandfather’s stepfather George, whom<br />
was Irish.<br />
Every year my grandmother would make<br />
corned beef and she would wear a silver<br />
leprechaun pendant for St. Patrick’s Day.<br />
Even though we weren’t Catholic, she<br />
would celebrate this holiday for George’s<br />
memory because he was Irish.<br />
And isn’t everyone a “little bit Irish” on<br />
St. Patrick’s Day?<br />
Baked Corned Beef and Cabbage Hash<br />
Recipe by Beth P. Heiserman<br />
Ingredients<br />
1 cabbage, chopped<br />
2 tbsp. olive oil<br />
1 medium onion, chopped<br />
1/2 cup Reyes 2013 Sauvignon Blanc<br />
1 lb corned beef<br />
3 cloves garlic, chopped<br />
8oz. carrots, sliced<br />
8oz. parsnips, sliced<br />
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley<br />
1 cup nonfat milk (you can use any type<br />
of milk or cream)<br />
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard<br />
1 lb Yukon potatoes, cut into chunks<br />
6 oz. Dubliner cheese, shredded<br />
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt<br />
1/4 tsp. pepper<br />
Directions<br />
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.<br />
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over<br />
medium heat. Add the onion, salt and pepper<br />
and Reyes 2013 Sauvignon Blanc and<br />
cook, covered, stirring occasionally,<br />
until tender, 8 to 10<br />
minutes.<br />
3. Add the corned beef and<br />
garlic and cook,<br />
sear on both sides,<br />
for about 4 minutes.<br />
4. Remove from heat and fold in<br />
the cabbage, carrots, potatoes,<br />
parsnips and parsley.<br />
5. In a bowl, whisk together the milk and<br />
mustard.<br />
6. Pour the cream mixture into pan.<br />
7. Cover the Dutch oven with lid or foil,<br />
and bake for 45 minutes.<br />
8. Uncover, sprinkle with the cheese, and<br />
bake until the potatoes are tender and the<br />
top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes<br />
more. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.<br />
R<br />
Beth P. Heiserman is the sales and marketing<br />
director for Reyes Winery in Agua<br />
Dulce. She is also the event director for the<br />
Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Festival. Heiserman<br />
has spent her life in a “food and wine”<br />
family, as well as working in restaurants and<br />
in the sale of “spirits.”<br />
Garden Gates<br />
continued from page 33<br />
4. Add plant choices and construction material<br />
preferences.<br />
5. Fill in the details from final finishes to<br />
furniture and décor.<br />
There are two really big reasons to do a<br />
plan. The first is so you can avoid making expensive<br />
mistakes. The second is to keep control<br />
over the whole process. Whether you<br />
intend to do the work yourself, bring in some<br />
consulting or help or hire someone to do<br />
everything for you, you want to end up with<br />
your garden, not someone else’s. You will<br />
want a landscape you’ll love living in for<br />
The Cougars’ hannah Green (West Ranch high) began at Sonoma State before transferring to College of the<br />
Canyons. She led the state in blocked shots this year and was third in rebounds. in one game, she had 15 blocked<br />
shots.<br />
Basketball<br />
continued from page 20<br />
ago at the William S. Hart Union High School<br />
District after 37 years. He spent the last seven<br />
years of his teaching career at the Academy<br />
of the Canyons and has also taught and<br />
coached basketball at Hart High.<br />
COC freshman Marina Rojas has been a<br />
strong asset for Herrick as she runs the floor<br />
from the point guard position and led the<br />
team with 15 points and two steals in its final<br />
home game of the year.<br />
In 2014, Herrick won his 500th game as<br />
head coach. He currently has an overall<br />
record of 514-223.<br />
-----<br />
The Valencia High girls’ basketball team<br />
beat West High of Torrance by 30 points in<br />
the first game of the season. So you would<br />
think it wouldn’t take much effort to at least<br />
record a win against the same team in the<br />
CIF-SS 1AA quarterfinals. But West High rallied<br />
for a 43-41 comeback win in the playoffs<br />
to upset the No. 2-seeded Vikings and end its<br />
season, much to Valencia head coach Jerry<br />
Mike’s dismay.<br />
The Vikings were outscored 17-9 in the<br />
fourth quarter and ended the year with a 23-<br />
7 record.<br />
The Vikings won the Foothill League with<br />
a perfect 10-0 record and were led by the<br />
play of Kenadee Honaker, and Kayla Konrad,<br />
who finished the night against West with 13<br />
points. They received clutch long-distance<br />
shooting from Sabrina Thompson all season<br />
long.<br />
many years.<br />
A plan breaks everything down into understandable<br />
pieces and can keep you from<br />
feeling overwhelmed. You can even do your<br />
installation a little at a time in accordance<br />
with your time and budget and still be confident<br />
all the pieces will fit together in the end.<br />
Drawn or printed designs offer you control of<br />
your over-all budget by allowing you to plan<br />
ahead and prioritize.<br />
Start with basic design principles, make<br />
sure everything works practically, consult experts<br />
to avoid making major mistakes and<br />
have that physical landscape plan in hand before<br />
breaking soil. This will be your most important<br />
tool in creating a landscape you can<br />
love for years — with or without a lot of rain.<br />
The Vikings won their second-round game,<br />
63-28, over Downey High after receiving a<br />
first-round bye.<br />
----<br />
The Hart girls’ basketball team made it to<br />
the second round of the CIF-SS Division 2A<br />
playoffs before a road loss ended their season<br />
against Dos Pueblos of Goleta, 68-65.<br />
Coached by Terra Palmer, the Indians ended<br />
the year at 15-13. Nicole Benz led the team<br />
with 25 points and seven rebounds in the<br />
final game.<br />
----<br />
Trinity Classical Academy fell in the quarterfinals<br />
of the CIF-SS Division 5A girls’ basketball<br />
quarterfinals, 48-41.<br />
Trinity junior point guard and co-captain<br />
Taylor Oshiro led her team with a game-high<br />
31 points in the loss. Trinity head coach Jessica<br />
Bethke’s Knights ended the year 16-6<br />
and advanced to the division quarterfinals for<br />
the first time.<br />
The only other player to score for Trinity<br />
besides Oshiro was JaNasjia Bethke, who had<br />
10 points.<br />
----<br />
Santa Clarita Christian girls’ basketball<br />
team did much of the same as Hart, falling in<br />
the second round of the 5A playoffs in a 49-<br />
28 loss to Avalon of Catalina Island. Payton<br />
Schwesinger led SCCS (13-8) with 20 points.<br />
R<br />
Steve Pratt reports news and notes and from<br />
in and around Santa Clarita Valley press boxes,<br />
locker rooms and coach’s offices.<br />
Don’t balk at spending a little money and/or<br />
time here. It will be worth whatever you invest<br />
and could end up saving you thousands<br />
of dollars. R<br />
You can find Jane locally at Gates & Croft<br />
Horticultural Design where she offers garden<br />
consultations and quick-sketch or formal landscape<br />
plans (www.gatesandcroft.com). A professional<br />
artist and writer, she is the author of<br />
“All the Garden’s a Stage” and “Design a Theme<br />
Garden”. She is a licensed landscape contractor<br />
and a member of the Association of Professional<br />
Landscape Designers, Garden Writers<br />
Association and Great Garden Speakers. Jane<br />
is a resident and avid gardener here in Santa<br />
Clarita.