Irish Soda Bread Recipe

We made this easy recipe for Irish Soda Bread for St Patrick’s Day and it came out perfect!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk(or low fat milk and vinegar)
• Raisins (Optional) 1 small box

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with canola spray or you can line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir dry ingredients together with a fork or wisk. Make a well in the center and add 1 cup of the buttermilk. If you do not have Buttermilk you can pour 1 & 1/2 cups of milk and add about a teaspoon of vinegar and let it sit for about a minute. Combine dry ingredients and buttermilk with a fork, stir until a soft dough is formed.

Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface for 1 minute. Flour your hands too. Form into a slightly flattened circle. Place on a sprayed orparchment lined (or silicone baking mat) cookie sheet. Mark a large 1/4-inch deep X with a sharp knife and bake soda bread for 40-45 minutes. Check on it after 40 minutes. The bread is ready when it is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Yield 1 round loaf (8-10 wedges or slices).

Enjoy!

Preparing for Halloween!

We are in the midst of preparing for Halloween!  First there was Kimberly’s costume choice.  Oh my, what to choose; the possibilities are endless.  Without taking too much time to decide Kimberly picked a character out of her favorite video game, Kingdom Hearts Two.  The character’s name is Kairi.  She wears a pink dress covered with zippers and has red hair and carries a giant gold key wrapped in flowers.  Now the dilemma was how to recreate this look.  With my Mom’s help; a genius when it comes to costume creation- Kimberly sent her grandma lots of photos of Kairi.  And the results were stunning. 

Kimberly as Kairi from Kingdom Hearts II

The costume is exact!  But then it was up to her dad to help her create the giant key.  Oh my.  It included a trip to home depot and some gold spray paint.  Then there was the hairspray fun.  Kimberly got some red washable hairspray, which she loved so much she began to streak her hair with it.  Yikes.  Well anyway we still have some work to do to add to the giant key- it needs flowers and vines.  Kimberly also selected some cool shoes.  I will show you the finished look on Halloween.  Here is a picture of the character- and the keyblade- . Then we had to shop for pumpkins and of course the candy for the trick or treaters.  Just as I thought we were almost ready:  we decided on a halloween party at work- oh my.  Make a treat and wear a costume- what pressure!  Oh well.  It will be fun but more preparations!  I will probably be a pirate since Kimmie was a pirate a few years ago and I can borrow some accessories from her and I will be making chocolate cupcakes.  Does anyone have some great chocolate cupcake batter recipies- for 12 cupcakes?

Anyway happy preparations to you too.  Let us know what you are preparing for Halloween too!