But there is this brown soda bread which, in my opinion, is so. much. better. The recipe is the one that the wonderful Imen shared at Farmette, where she referred to it as "the president of brown bread". And she was so right. It was definitely worth the extra time spend translating all of the measurements (honestly, does everyone in Europe own a kitchen scale?), and was so delicious that I made another loaf for the neighbours across the road.
Also, I made lamb stew for dinner. Not exactly posh, I know, but I love it. An old friend of ours taught my mom and I how to make it. Her name was Mary, she was from Ireland, and as a child I loved listening to her talk. She used to make this stew every year for the Internatinal Festival the church we went to at the time had. I'll bet you can't guess which booth she ran.
It's a delightfully simple recipe. Take some lamb, potatoes, carrots, and onions, chopped up and put in layers in a pot with salt and pepper sprinkled over it, and add enough water to cover it. Bring to a boil, then take the temperature down and simmer "'til it's done". It's somewhere between one and two hours. The bonus is that it's even better on the second day, so I made enough to have plenty of leftovers.
You couldn't see it in the first picture, but this one is proof of my impatience. Apparently I can't wait the twenty seconds it takes to snap a photograph before starting to eat. (That's also why only half of the bowl is visible in the stew photo; the other half is mostly empty.)
Slan abhaile, and a belated "Happy St Patrick's Day" to all of you.
better than corned beef and cabbage :p
ReplyDeleteTo answer your kitchen scale question ... pretty, much yes. No kitchen is considered properly equipped without one. They are easily available, and often cost only a few pounds, even the electronic ones that weigh in 1g/1/8 ounce increments. How do you cope without them over there?!
ReplyDeleteMeasuring spoons have always been around, and you will find measuring cups in many kitchens now ... it's so we can make the American recipes we find online ;)
Our measurements are mostly in volume, so that's where the measuring cups and spoons come into the picture. But honestly, if I was choosing blind between an American and a European version of the same recipe, I would probably pick the European one. So I am shopping around for a scale to make life a bit easier.
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