Did you know?

... that the diet of northern European peasantry relied heavily upon the potato ever since it was imported from Peru in the sixteenth century?

In Celtic Britain it was taboo to harvest any potatoes before the festival of Lugnasa, and so the event was met with great anticipation. A dish traditionally served on Lugnasa is the colcannon, a potato and cabbage dish of numerous variations. The ritual directed that all members of the family must share the dish or risk offending the agricultural spirit that protects the crop. After the first bite everyone would shout, "Death to the Red Hag!" to drive away the spector of starvation.

The best-named colcannon dish, I think, is rumpledethumps, which uses cabbage, leeks, broccoli and cheddar cheese.

*This bit of epicurean trivia was supplied by Moosewood Restaurant, the famed natural foods restaurant in Ithaca, New York, which is operated by a Collective and has published healthy recipe cookbooks great for vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.