Not a green-dyed beverage in sight

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.

Five

That is the number of ingredients needed to make these biscuits. It's intriguing how good something so simple can taste, and very handy when one doesn't have a lot of time.

Biscuits

2 cups flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
not quite 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup (8 oz) milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Cut in the butter, rubbing it into the dry ingredients with fingers.
Make a shallow hole in the center of the dry mixture with your fist. Add milk slowly to make a soft dough. The dough should be soft and pliable, but not sticky.
Knead dough lightly for a few seconds. Shape the dough into partially flattened balls about 3 inches across.
Place biscuits on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

In which Spring is further delayed

I don't have any photographs to back up my title statement. This being Florida, there is no outward sign of frigidity to be seen, so you will have to take my word for it. Granted, I do have a slightly skewed idea of cold from living here through most of my life, where people get out their parkas when the thermometer gets below 60. It is 57 today, and cloudy.

However, I do not want to give the wrong impression. I am enjoying this return to sweaters, scarves, and my ever-beloved trench coat. It will be hot soon enough.

In the meantime a recipe for muffins, comfortingly delicious when eaten warm. (They are like monkey bread, only in muffin form, thus the name.)

Monkey Bread Muffins

2 cups (about 9 oz) flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons (1.5 oz) butter
1 cup (8 oz) milk
Cinnamon and sugar, mixed
Melted butter, about 1 tablespoon (1/2 oz)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients together and cut in butter, rubbing the butter into the mix with fingers. Make a shallow hole in the center, and add milk slowly. The dough should be soft and pliable, but not sticky. Knead lightly.
Pinch off a small section of dough and roll into a small ball. Dip in butter and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture, then place into muffin tin. Repeat for entire mixture, using about five little balls for each muffin.
Makes one dozen.

Soda bread

The latest culinary export, as you have probably guessed, was soda bread. I have yet to achieve perfection, but this one was good. I think (and hope) that I may be getting close.
There is something therapeutic about making your own bread. It seems to establish a connection with the past.
As I was mixing the dough I started to think about my great-grandmother, the only grandmother I can remember. She died when I was thirteen, but she would have been ninety-nine next week. I still regret that I was never old enough to really talk to her, or ask questions. It's difficult at times to accept that there are so many things I'll never know.
But I digress. On to the recipe.

Soda Bread
(by Maura Laverty, paraphrased a bit by yours truly)

1 lb flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon bread soda (baking soda)
Buttermilk to mix

Sift the dry ingredients together several times. Form a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk gradually, mixing in flour from the sides. The dough should not be too dry, but too much liquid will make the bread heavy. I used just under 2 cups (16 oz).
Knead lightly for a few minutes. Form into a round cake.* Cross the top, brush with milk, and put into a hot oven on a baking tin for about 45 minutes at 450 degrees F.

*Note: This hasn't been working for me as well as I would like. I am going to try putting it in a bread pan next time.