Once again St. Patrick's Day rolls around, and once again vegetarians look for something good to eat. With corned beef and cabbage and lamb stew everywhere, it seems like the day is about as vegetarian-averse as any holiday this side of Thanksgiving.

The trick is to keep in mind the peasanty part of Irish eating. Remember potatoes? And then there's cabbage or kale. Yes, I'm talking about colcannon, a dish about as basic as you can get.

Yet it can be peculiarly satisfying even to a revved-up vegetarian palate accustomed to such worldly tastes as Sriracha sauce or harissa.

First, find some good potatoes. If you don't eat organic normally, you will be surprised how much better organic potatoes taste than do conventionally grown spuds. Then get a different variety of kale from what you might find in the grocery store -- red kale, perhaps, even delicious lacinato.

This recipe from Rachael Ray is nice because it's not as butter-heavy as some. An America's Test Kitchen colcannon recipe, for example, has 9 tablespoons of butter and half-and-half. It's no doubt tasty, just a bit over the top for many people's lifestyles.

And then there's this: You might want to eat your butter -- get the luscious, creamy stuff from Ireland at a natural-foods store -- slathered over home-baked Irish soda bread. Raise a glass of Guinness, and finish off this rib-sticking meal with a tot of good Irish whiskey. Now that's celebrating.