Baking, Quick Breads

Irish Soda Bread

By | On July 13,17 | 0 Comment

A few days before St. Patrick’s day I was on the phone with a friend chatting about my pup’s recovery (he did amazing and fingers crossed for his next follow-up appointment) from a surgical procedure and she was interrupted by her husband who had a question. He wanted to know if I was baking Irish Soda Bread (he’s not Irish but he loves to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day since I moved in across the street). I said, “of course I am.” It’s one of my favorite breads and I bake it throughout the year, not just on the Wearin’ of the Green day. I was first introduced to Irish Soda bread by my uncle’s second wife. Born and bred in Ireland she moved to the United States in her twenties and kept along with her brogue her Irish traditions. Each year she bought Irish Soda bread from the nuns and that’s how I got introduced to the bread. Even though my family is Irish, no one ever baked Irish Soda bread. Go figure. Well, I set to correct that terrible error and I’ve been baking this bread for years.

I bake my bread on a pizza stone. I love the texture to the bread when it’s baked on the stone. There’s a lot of speculation of the meaning of the cross that is slashed into the dough prior to baking. There are some that say the cross wards off the devil, others say that it lets the fairies out and others who claim that it was an easy way to portion the bread. I select #2, letting the little Irish fairies out.  When you bake your loaf, you can decide. 🙂

The bread comes together quickly so it’s perfect for any meal.

Whenever I bake this bread I think fondly of my late Aunt Bridie. She was a tough old broad with a big heart. That’s the one awesome thing about cooking, even if you’re standing at the counter in your kitchen by yourself, you’re never alone because our recipes keep the spirits and hearts of our beloved ones with us.

If you haven’t tried baking Irish Soda bread before I hope you try this recipe. I’m sure you’ll love it. If you have baked this bread before, who’s recipe do you use? Is it one that has been handed down or did you get it from some place else?

What are quick breads?

They are breads made without yeast. Instead, baking powder or baking soda are used in place of yeast. This allows for the bread to be made quickly because there is no waiting for the dough to rise before baking.

Ingredients:

Flour – all-purpose works the best, I use King Arthur’s

Sugar – gives a little sweetness to the bread along with the raisins

Baking powder – leavening which makes the bread rise

Baking soda – leavening which makes the bread rise

Salt – tasty bread needs a pinch or two

Unsalted butter – gives the bread a scone-like texture

Raisins – optional and can be substituted for dried cranberries or caraway seeds, baker’s choice

Buttermilk – activates the baking soda

Egg – adds richness and density

Reads

Summer Reads

The flip-flops are out, the sunblock is all ready to be applied and it’s time to chill with a good book. Summer and reading go hand-in-hand so it’s always a good thing to have a few books ready to be tucked into a beach bag. Since I launched my newsletter in January I shared some of my favorite reads, with a bonus share of 4 books in June in preparation of the summer reading season. Today I’m sharing those books with you. Happy Reading!

 

Life

Catching Up

By | On June 26,17 | 0 Comment

June has flown by! Wasn’t it just Memorial Day? I’ve been busy and I have some photos. There’s been landscaping, baking, reading, writing and editing.

Lets start with landscaping. As soon as I could, I got outside and began the transformation from a very uninspired garden bed in front of our house to something that looks prettier and more deliberate. I’m not a gardener and that’s why the garden bed looked so uninspired for so many years. But since I had time this spring I decided to tackle the project. It’s not completed yet. I still have to work on the bed that runs along the side of the house and connects with the garden beds that run along the back of the house. I’m focusing on putting in what I like to call the “bones” of the garden. There’s a lot of green right now. Next year I’ll tackle adding perennials that have pops of color.

This is where I started. I dug up and transplanted  what used to be right in front of the house. The soil was in terrible condition. That one last plant got moved after I took the photo. Nothing was safe. 🙂

Right in the center of the above garden bed I planted a dwarf Hydrangea. I love it. And on either side are Boxwoods. Then I dropped inches of mulch to help reduce the amount of weeds.

Still a work in progress. This is the garden bed on the other side of the front step. All the plants are in so I just have to finish weeding and dropping more mulch. That’s the plan for this week.

 

Now lets move into the kitchen. When rhubarb was in season I make a batch of rhubard-ginger muffins. There’s no recipe to share because they really weren’t that great. Maybe I’ll try again next year and tweak a few things.

 

I made a batch of Triple Chocolate Flourless cookies. Delicious! The recipe will be coming soon. I brought a container full of these cookies to the police department when I went on a second ride along and they were a hit. Cop approved. 🙂 I’ll share the recipe soon. But until then, here’s a photo.

 

We did have some unseasonably cool evenings (which I loved) so I did some roasting. For one meal I roasted new potatoes and a tray of string beans. Everything tastes so much better roasted.

 

I managed to get some work done. I’ve finished outlining a new book I’m starting and I also got the edits back for The Uninvited Corpse. This is getting real, people!

 

There you have it. What I’ve been up to these past few weeks. As June eases into July I can’t help but think about a summer vacation. I have a few ideas. What’s on tap for your summer? A vacation or staycation?

Kitchen Snapshots, Life, Writer In The Kitchen

Writer In The Kitchen : Kitchen Snapshots 5/20/17

Today I’m sharing a peek into my kitchen of the goings on this past week. The temps here in Connecticut hit the mid-90s for three days. A heat wave. I’m so not ready for summer. Actually, I’m never ready for summer. I’m much more of a cool-weather type of gal. Give my sweaters and boots any day over flip-flops and humidity. Since today is simply beautiful I’m not going to dwell on the two icky days. Instead, I’m going to focus on the kitchen successes I had this week. Come on, take a look.

This week I worked on a recipe for soft & chewy chocolate chip cookies that will appear in the Uninvited Corpse. I do love this perk of writing.

A pile of shredded sharp cheddar cheese left over from making mac’n cheese.

I know what you’re thinking. What the heck? This is a new purchase and I’m now wondering where this bad boy has been all my life. This power spinner is life changing. Seriously. I’ve only used it a few times but now I can’t imagine not having it in my cleaning arsenal. This handy little gadget paid for itself when it kicked butt on my slider door’s track. Oven door? Awesome. And the list goes on and on. I got it from QVC and if you click here you can read more about it. I’m going to be ordering some new cleaning heads. I want a set for outside and for the bathroom.

Rhubard season! There’s a batch of rhubard-ginger muffins waiting to be baked.

What went on in your kitchen this week?

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