Irish Soda Bread

In honor of St. Patrick’s feast day tomorrow, this week’s bread is Irish Soda Bread.

Raisins are sweet treats on their own, but also contribute nicely to sweet and savory recipes. The sunshine, even on cooler days, and the bright flowers helped brighten the week. They are little reminders that spring is coming, that life can emerge from the apparent lifelessness of winter.

Caraway seeds are from the parsley family and have a nutty, anise flavor. While their distinctive flavor can be overpowering, without it the bread lacks character. I started running again this week. I couldn’t overcome the inertia not to run on the short, cold winter days, especially after my running buddy moved away in November. With the return of warmer days, I’m trying to pick up the habit. And my muscles are protesting loudly. (Unfortunately no pain, no gain doesn't work as my motto.)

Buttermilk provides the necessary acid to react with the baking soda. Originally sour milk was used… a brilliant marketing plan to sell something the creamery would normally have to throw out. I thought that I was being clever delegating work to two colleagues. One volunteered, and then admitted she didn’t know what to do it. I showed her how I would organize it and throughout the process verbally checked in on her. I told her the boss need to approve it; she told me it looked great. When I saw the result Friday, it was disastrous. The big picture is great, the details are mediocre, and I cannot believe that it was proofread by anyone. Oy vey.

Baking soda is a versatile, useful in cooking, cleaning, and chemical reactions. But in soda bread it provides the leavening. Conversations with friends and family have helped me to deal with some of the issues of the past week (and month) and generally provide levity.

Flour provides the bulk of the bread, without it there’d be no dough. Celebrating π/pie day made my weekend—the joy of baking and sharing the fruits with friends. JM asked me on Sunday, “When is cake day?” Surprisingly today is, at least in my office. A friend gave me a small cake this morning at school. She was practicing cake decorating with fondant with weekend and made four mini-cakes. Tea time was nice this afternoon.

I hope you've enjoyed the bread and have a good week.

A prayer request:
My father just let us in on a situation that has been brewing for a few months. (He replied to an e-mail I sent him and CC’ed his entire contact list. Classic behavior.) Things seemed good in the fall, but I started to be concerned after Christmas. “My internal anger is growing…” he says. These are some of the scariest words I have read in a while. Please pray for my father that the problems are satisfactorily resolved and that he deals with his anger appropriately.