St. Patrick's Day Dinner

This year for St. Patrick's day I made myself a "New England Boiled Dinner"--corned beef and cabbage, with some potatoes and carrots tossed in for good measure--and some Irish Soda Bread. So far I've only had baking posts, but I'm considering a foray into other foods, too (I like to pretend I can cook now and then). Chances are quite good that anything like that won't happen until summer, but I'm tossing in a not-baked photo at the end here, just to see how it looks!

Soda bread is probably the easiest bread in the universe to make. This is a recipe that I modified a little from a kids baking book that I was given when I was in middle school--it has withstood the (taste)test of time!

Irish Soda Bread
-1 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour (from King Arthur Flour)
-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
-2 t. baking soda
-2 t. baking powder
-1 t. salt
-3 T. sugar
-3 T. unsalted butter
-1 c. buttermilk

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut cold butter into the dry ingredients with knives or a pastry cutter.
2. Add buttermilk, mix until all ingredients are wet.
3. Turn mixture out onto floured surface and knead for about a minute, or until the dough holds together. Form it into a round loaf, and place on a parchment covered baking sheet.
4. Cut a cross into the top of the dough. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350* F.

The dough, pre-kneading. (Yes, those are my bags of King Arthur Flour in the background--a little free advertising for them; they're a VT company, and their products are wonderful!)


You can serve it in slices or wedges. Delicious either way!

Corned beef and cabbage, probably up to my grandmother's standards? And for anyone wondering, that's a Smithwick's in the background!