St. Patty's Day Pickins

St. Patty’s Day Pickins

by Chrysa Smith

Oh, St. Patrick! I love your feast day; dislike your food. In fact, the one Irish dish I’ll even cook up is Irish Soda Bread–not only because it requires no fights with yeast, but it is quite delicious.

History is said to date back to 1817, when a British editor at The Gentleman’s Magazine was asked to come up with a recipe using soft wheat. Soft wheat, or poor wheat was readily available and even though much of the country had converted to hard wheat (a better quality), the Irish opted to stay soft. The resulting recipe was Irish Soda Bread–using baking soda, not yeast as leavening.

Although I’m warming up to corned beef, I find Irish Potatoes to be awful as well as Stoudt. So for now, I’ll be a bread-maker and stick with a can’t miss recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Ina Garten–aka: The Barefoot Contessa. Enjoy with a good, strong cup of tea.

And, whether baking, working or resting, may the luck of the Irish be with you this St. Patty’s Day.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-recipe/reviews/index.html#user-reviews-top

About the Author: Mary Fran Bontempo

MARY FRAN BONTEMPO is a speaker, author and humorist who teaches audiences to control their most powerful influence: Self-Talk. Author of The Woman’s Book of Dirty Words, and Not Ready for Granny Panties, Mary Fran proves small changes in self-talk yield big life changes, allowing individuals to redefine their lives both professionally and personally in a rapidly changing world. A Huffington Post and Thrive Global contributor, and regular columnist for Women’s Voices Magazine and Best Kept Self, Mary Fran inspires and motivates readers and listeners to tame the self-talk beast, leading them to personal and professional renewal and success. After thirty years’ experience as owner of a full-service recruiting firm, and finding herself in the middle of a perfect life storm—turning 50, a crashing economy, and most devastating, a son with serious addiction issues—Mary Fran created the blog, Not Ready for Granny Panties, authoring two books in the series and developing a life-affirming brand full of practical wisdom and wit. A frequent media guest and speaker, audiences delight in her empowering and entertaining message.