Irish Soda Bread and Tea

Top of the Morning to You! This post is from March 2012. The Irish part of me is sad to be spending the day on the sofa nursing a sore leg instead of dancing a reel and baking soda bread, but I could not let St. Patrick's Day go by without sharing a bit of the green on my blog!

It's the second week of March, and in our house that means Irish Soda Bread. After lunch today College Girl got the ingredients out to make a fresh loaf of bread: buttermilk, flour, baking soda and salt.

Always remember to forget the troubles that passed away, but never forget the blessings that come each day

If you have not made soda bread before you may be surprised at how few ingredients are needed and how simple it is! I turned to one of my favorite recipes from the May 1996 Bon Appetit magazine.

            May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies, and quick to make friends~

To make the White Soda Bread you need~

• 3 and 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk

Combine dry ingredients. I usually put my baking soda through a strainer to alleviate lumps. Pour buttermilk into the dry ingredients, stir until large clumps form.

Turn out onto floured surface and knead for one minute. Shape into 6" by 2" round~

Place round on cookie sheet. I prefer to sprinkle cornmeal on the cookie sheet under the dough, but I did not have any on hand today so I used parchment.

Cut an 'X' in the top; bake for about 34 minutes at 425 degrees. Loaf should be browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

May those that love us, love us; and those that don't love us, may God turn their hearts; if he can't turn there hearts, then may he turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limp~

When the bread was cool it was time for a cup of tea!

This afternoon we had Lyon's Gold Blend tea.

With good Irish butter and some blackberry preserves, we had a snack any leprechaun would trade some gold for, don't you think? A red-headed 'cailin', or girl, joins us with flowers in her hair~

She wears a claddagh on her dress and around her neck~

Her green eyes sparkle and her cheeks are kissed with freckles~

She dances jigs and reels. 'Da' (Dad) plays the bodhran and she plays simple tunes on her whistle~

Her curls bounce when she laughs~

She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me,
Oh, no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever beaming
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.
The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading,
And Mary, all smiling, was list'ning to me.
The moon through the valley her pale rays was shedding
When I won the heart of the Rose of Tralee.

W. P. Mulchinock

For each petal on the shamrock this brings a wish your way.
Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day~

On the table was our Slainte shamrock. Slainte is a spoken Irish toast and literally means 'health'. A quick online check for the pronunciation gave me: Sláinte means 'health' in Gaelic and the pronunciation depends on your dialect.
In the South and West you'd say "slawnt-yeh" or "slant-yeh", in the North it's "slain-cheh".

The tea was hot, the bread was warm and the company was sweet! We used our claddagh footed mugs ~

                    May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head,
                   May you be forty years in heaven before the devil knows you're dead~

                                ~which have shamrocks on the reverse side~

The handles are sweetly curved~ There is no mark on the bottom, so I don't know the manufacturer.

Do you do something to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? I'm not one for green beer but would love to try the recipes for Baked Cabbage, Potato Soup or Apple Blackberry Pie I spotted in the magazine!

 

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon the fields. And, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

musical LEFTON CHINA teacup

Fresh bread eaten at our kitchen table - great joy in simple pleasures!

sharing with:

 Antiques And Teacups
Gratitude Sunday 

St Patrick's Day Blog Crawl at Cuisine Kathleen 

Sunny Simple Sunday 
Share Your Cup 
Seasonal Sundays 
Let's Get Social Sunday 
A Bouquet of Talent 
Make It Pretty Monday 
Marthas Favorites 
Artful Affirmations 

Irish Soda Bread and Tea~

It's the second week of March, and in our house that means Irish Soda Bread. After lunch today College Girl got the ingredients out to make a fresh loaf of bread: buttermilk, flour, baking soda and salt.

                      Always remember to forget the troubles that passed away,
                                   But never forget the blessings that come each day

If you have not made soda bread before you may be surprised at how few ingredients are needed and how simple it is! I turned to one of my favorite recipes from the May 1996 Bon Appetit magazine.

            May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies, and quick to make friends~

To make the White Soda Bread you need~

• 3 and 1/2 cup unbleached flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt

1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk

Combine dry ingredients. I usually put my baking soda through a strainer to alleviate lumps. Pour buttermilk into the dry ingredients, stir until large clumps form.

Turn out onto floured surface and knead for one minute. Shape into 6" by 2" round~

Place round on cookie sheet. I prefer to sprinkle cornmeal on the cookie sheet under the dough, but I did not have any on hand today so I used parchment.

Cut an 'X' in the top; bake for about 34 minutes at 425 degrees. Loaf should be browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

May those that love us, love us; and those that don't love us, may God turn their hearts; if he can't turn there hearts, then may he turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limp~

When the bread was cool it was time for a cup of tea!

This afternoon we had Lyon's Gold Blend..an Irish favorite sent directly from Ireland by my friend CathiO.

With good Irish butter and some blackberry preserves, we had a snack any leprechaun would trade some gold for, don't you think? A red-headed 'cailin', or girl, joins us with flowers in her hair~

She wears a claddagh on her dress and around her neck~

Her green eyes sparkle and her cheeks are kissed with freckles~

She dances jigs and reels. 'Da' (Dad) plays the bodhran and she plays simple tunes on her whistle~

Her curls bounce when she laughs~

She was lovely and fair as the rose of the summer,
Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me,
Oh, no, 'twas the truth in her eyes ever beaming
That made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee.
The cool shades of evening their mantle were spreading,
And Mary, all smiling, was list'ning to me.
The moon through the valley her pale rays was shedding
When I won the heart of the Rose of Tralee.

W. P. Mulchinock

For each petal on the shamrock this brings a wish your way.
Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day~

On the table was our Slainte shamrock. Slainte is a spoken Irish toast and literally means 'health'. A quick online check for the pronunciation gave me: Sláinte means 'health' in Gaelic and the pronunciation depends on your dialect.
In the South and West you'd say "slawnt-yeh" or "slant-yeh", in the North it's "slain-cheh".

The tea was hot, the bread was warm and the company was sweet! We used our claddagh footed mugs ~

                    May you have food and raiment, a soft pillow for your head,
                   May you be forty years in heaven before the devil knows you're dead~

                ~which have shamrocks on the reverse side~

The handles are sweetly curved~ There is no mark on the bottom, so I don't know the manufacturer.

Do you do something to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? I'm not one for green beer but would love to try the recipes for Baked Cabbage, Potato Soup or Apple Blackberry Pie I spotted in the magazine!

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon the fields. And, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

sharing this post with~
Rose Chintz Cottage
Marthas Favorites
Artful Affirmations
Uncommon Designs
Cuisine Kathleen
Alderberry Hill
Sweetology
Mrs. Fox's Sweets Irish Party

Mail~ Coming and Going

At this time of year we never know if we are going to have sunshine, rowdy Santa Ana winds or rain...or maybe all three in one week! It rained today, but winds are in the forecast for tomorrow.

A package arrived today from Cathi in Ireland~ she sent me some delicious tea and a wonderful cup. Thank you, Cathi! I love what you sent, and will think of you every time I use them. I immediately steeped up a pot of tea and put the cup to good use!

Today is also the give away day for the recipe cards~ Lisa won them. Lisa wrote,

I love turkey dinners but treasure the tradition of making peanut butter balls. This has been something I have done for several years with my mom and cousin but over the last few years, it has mostly been with my little girls. My mom is included when she can, we live about 1 1/2hrs away from each other. My "family tradition" book shows the recipe and pictures withing the first few pages. Fun to have connected with you,
Blessings,
 Lisa
Lisa, send me your addy so I can pop those cards in the mail to you. Thanks, ladies, for sharing what culinary treats you enjoy during the holidays. 

And today I took some photos...told you I would!...of the mantle where we display some of our toy soldiers and nutcrackers.

Our walls are a soft millet gold, which does not show up in the flash.

 I sewed the handsome guy sitting atop the box, then detailed him with fabric paint.

Nesting soldiers~

The soldier on the left holds a small soldier bowling pin set; small soldier 'pins' and a wooden ball. The center soldier is a metal candlestick, and the nutcracker on the right is a clock maker.

Last, but not least, this petite soldier hangs inside a glass and makes a lovely sound when you gently ring the bell.