Happy St. Patrick's Day!

As an Irish Catholic girl growing up I definitely knew the two most important things to get done on St. Patrick's Day: 1) to make the Irish Soda Bread 2) prepare the Corned Beef and Cabbage. Both of these items were completed today with much love and excitement. I forgot where I had put my mom's recipe for the Irish Soda Bread, but I remembered there were only a few ingredients so I borrowed one from a website and added in dried cranberries as my fruit. What a great soda bread!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for cranberries
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.

With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk and egg together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the cranberries with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you do not want to buy a whole half gallon of buttermilk than you can pull a tip from my Grandma and take the same amount of required of regular or skim milk and add a teaspoon of lemon juice and you are all set!

The Irish Blessing

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

GOOD LUCK!