The eating o' the green: you can be Irish and vegetarian on St. Patrick's Day. (includes recipes)(Recipe Redux)

HOLIDAYS CAN BE TOUGH for vegetarians. Ever since they crawled out of the primordial ooze, most humans have celebrated special occasions with meat. But vegetarians gladly trade in old comfort foods for new and unusual sensations; too bad our family members won't join the parade!

The difference between my food choices and those of my parents were brought home last year when my mother, an Irish-American, visited me for St. Patrick's Day. I had forgotten that she develops an annual craving for corned beef and cabbage around the 17th of March.

In our Irish home, this hearty dish was the traditional accompaniment to St. Patrick's Day, as customary as the parades in New York and Boston. I couldn't believe I had forgotten. …