St. Brigid Irish Tater Tot Nachos

St. Brigid feast day is February 1. National Tater Tot day is February 2. 

When two dates collide and an idea is born. I have a soft spot for the tater tot. It originated at Ore-Ida Labs in the area where my family lived in Eastern Oregon. And this year in September they are having the first annual Tater Tot festival.  So when I made a chance discovery that National Tater Tot Day was the day after St. Brigid's feast is seemed a perfect pairing.

The idea of tater tots as a substitute for chips to make a potato "nacho" (or totchos) is making the rounds as an appetizer. And the potato is an Irish staple, one of the foods most associated with Ireland, making it perfect for our Irish saint. St. Brigid is the patroness of dairy farmers and milk maids, so pile on the cheese and sour cream.  I suggest Kerrigold Dubliner Irish cheese if available. Several stories connect her to pigs as well so add the bacon. Also avocados (or guacamole) and green onions for the Irish green.  A tasty and easy Irish feast day recipe - for a multitude of Irish saints, not just Brigid.

St. Brigid Irish Tater Tot Nacho Ingredients

Directions:
Fry or bake tater tots per package instructions. Once tots are cooked, top with grated cheese. Place back in the oven or microwave until cheese is bubbly and melted. Top the tots with guacamole or avocado, sour cream, crumbled bacon, and green onion (and extra cheese if desired). If you want them spicy you can add salsa. I had some green taco sauce that I added in keeping with the Irish color theme.

St. Brigid, Pray for Us!

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Hermit Bars to Remember the Hermit Saints

Old-Fashioned Hermit Bars are a classic New England cookie that are spicy and sweet thanks to addition of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. There are several variations, but the basic cookie/bar is full of spices and dried fruits (usually raisins). Origin of the name for these spicy bars is not known - and several theories exist, including that they look like a rough brown hermit's robe. Regardless of the origin, the name is intriguing as it evokes the idea of the hermit saints - those who isolated themselves from society to live a life of asceticism. There is a tradition of holy hermits (Eremites, "inhabitants of a desert" from the Greek eremos). Several well known hermit saints have January feast days: St. Simon Stylites (January 5) and St. Paul, the first Christian hermit (January 15) and St. Anthony of the Desert (January 17), father of Western monasticism. And while a life of asceticism would not include indulgent sweets, in this week of two great hermit saints, you can still enjoy some hermit bars or cookies. 

Old-Fashioned Hermit Bars  

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1½ tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp salt

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar 

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2/3 cup chopped raisins (or other dried fruit, ie cranberries)

1 cup powdered sugar

5 tsp milk

Instructions

In bowl combine together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and egg and continue to mix. Gradually add the flour and spices mixture until just combined. Stir in the raisins.

Chill the dough for 30 minutes.  While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 375° and grease a large baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

After chilling shape it into a ball and divide in two. Shape each half into a log, 12 inches long and arrange on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 3 inches between the logs. Press down lightly on the tops of the logs with your fingertips to give them a slightly squared-off shape.

Bake on the center rack for 15 minutes, or until the edges are just barely crisp.

While bars are cooling, combine the powdered sugar and milk until smooth but not too runny. Drizzle over the baked logs while they are slightly warm.

Allow the icing to firm up then cut into bars.

[Variations on the hermit cookie genre can include drop cookies or flatten the dough in a baking dish for brownie style.]

There are so many hermit saints of the Church, that Hermit Bars can be a feast day item throughout the year. 

St. Paul, the Hermit - Pray for Us!

St. Anthony of the Desert - Pray for Us!

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