Authentic Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day! At our house, we don't go crazy celebrating this holiday, even though Kevin is Irish. We do usually make a traditional meal with Kevin's favorite foods. If you're looking for inspiration, try pairing colcannon with lamb or corned beef. I love colcannon because it's a mixture of cabbage and potatoes, it's hearty and really tasty! This recipe is very close to what I make, although I usually add cheese. What's better than loaded mashed potatoes mixed with sauteed cabbage?

One thing Kevin loves to make every year is Irish soda bread. This recipe was passed down to us from his great grandmother, so it's both special and authentic!

Authentic Irish Soda Bread
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine,
8 oz. of raisins *optional
2 eggs, beaten
buttermilk (~ 1 cup, enough to make stiff dough)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. Mix the butter into the dry mixture with a wooden spoon, until it is well incorporated. Add in raisins and beaten eggs, mix. Add enough buttermilk to form a stiff dough (probably ~1 cup but this amount will vary). Bake until a knife or toothpic inserted comes out clean, for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. We usually bake it in a cast iron skillet and put a cross in the top of the dough. If it begins to brown too much before it is done in the middle, tent with foil.

Enjoy a slice with butter for breakfast or a snack. This makes a good addition to dinner if you omit the raisins (or not, if you like).

Long time no see.

I had all of these grand plans to get back to blogging more frequently and then I got busy (as usual!). Well, here's what we've been up to the last few weeks!

This February it felt like we had more snow than usual (along with most of the country)! I'm hoping that we can say that we won't be seeing any more snow until next year... However, it was fun and I loved seeing the dogs play in the snow. Rory really loved it, Darcy didn't like it that much. He doesn't like how it sticks to his long hair ;)

On March 2nd, Kevin and I celebrated 10 years since we started dating. We don't usually do much for this anniversary, but we decided that 10 years of anything is cause for celebration! We went to Second Empire for dinner, it was delish, as always. Second Empire is definitely my favorite restaurant in Raleigh, you must go if you haven't. And, you must ask for the fois gras!!

This past week, we celebrated Kevin's birthday! His birthday was on Wednesday and we celebrated all week long. On Saturday we had dinner at my parents and went out in Downtown Raleigh to see our favorite local musician Adam Pitts perform. Always so much fun!

I'll be back soon to talk about all of the things we are working on around the house to get ready for Spring. :)

Oh and, P.S. GO WOLFPACK! So excited that the NCAA tournament starts this week and that NC State gets to play! :)