image A Wish for a Friend

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

Thank you friends and gentle readers.

Just wanted to share a recipe for Irish Soda Bread. I was looking for an easy recipe for Irish Soda Bread and was given this one by a co-worker many years ago. Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (I omit these as we don’t like them, except in rye bread)
1/2 stick margarine (or butter)
1 1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in caraway seeds. Cut in margarine (butter) until mixture is crumbly. Add raisins and sugar. In a separate dish combine buttermilk, egg and baking soda. Stir into flour mixture until just moistened.
Turn dough onto a floured board and knead a few times until smooth. Shape into a large ball (or two smaller ones) and place in the center of a well greased 9 inch cake pan. Press down slightly. With a sharp, floured knife, make a 4 inch cross, 1/4 inch deep in the center of the dough.
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees, or until loaf is nicely browned.
Cool on rack

We bake ours on a cookie sheet on top of parchment paper – much easier to clean up.

Hope your St. Patrick’s Day is full of laughter and friends.

[This was supposed to be typed and submitted earlier today. It was delayed by shoveling and chopping ice covered snow on top of more ice; then cooking dinner for the in-laws.]