For the past couple weeks we have been making some test batches of various Irish foods. From soda bread, corned beef, cheesecake, etc., it has been very green around the kitchen.

Before I start, I will pop open the laptop and find some good Irish music streaming over on XM radio. They usually have a channel that will play seasonal music and when it gets around St. Patty’s day, you can hear lots of good Irish tunes. I forward this via blue tooth to my stereo and within seconds the house is full of music from the green isle.

I find that when I am cooking, I like to hear music that is somehow related to what I am whipping up. If I am making an Italian sauce, then some Italian music should be playing. It helps me connect better to the recipes roots.

Music stimulates another sense and helps your creative juices flow. Irish soda bread just seems to feel and taste more Irish when I am hearing oh danny boy in the background.

When I cook food with a creole or Cajun flavor, I usually play one of the blues or jazz channels. It brings back some of my personal memories of sitting at the Alpine on Rue Chartres, enjoying some barbecued shrimp, while a trumpet cries out from the corner.

So spice it up, we don’t cook just to eat, but to enjoy life! Pop that CD in the next time your tinkering around the kitchen and you will not regret it!