hello weekend

Two years ago on Saint Patrick's Day I shared my grandmother's recipe for Irish soda bread, and last year I just posted a cute picture of Ezra wearing a cheesy shamrock onesie. This year we're getting back to our roots, back to the Irish soda bread that is the foundation of my idea of Saint Patrick's Day. I recently acquired two of my very own cast iron pans that were my grandmother's (not my maternal grandmother's, of the Irish soda bread fame, but my paternal grandmother's, who was French Canadian - go figure) so I didn't have to borrow one from my mom this time. Sadly, the smaller pan was in major need of rust removal but it's cleaned up now and I ate breakfast out of it this morning. (Check back next week for the trick to removing rust from cast iron.) My breakfast was, of course, Irish soda bread! Here's the recipe again with one major adaptation - I substituted butter for shortening because no one wants to eat partially hydrogenated oil anymore... or at least I don't. 


For those of you who are wondering - no worries - scroll down for the Friday link list! Lots of fun stuff around the web this week. First things first, though. I know you want to get baking.

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

3 C flour

2/3 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 3/4 C raisins
1 T caraway seeds

2 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 buttermilk

2 T melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and grease a cast iron pan or loaf pan.  Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.  Combine eggs, buttermilk, and shortening in a small bowl.  Add liquid mixture to dry mixture and combine until flour is just moistened.  Turn into greased pan and bake for about 40 minutes.  Remove from pan immediately.  Allow to cool through before serving. I like to eat my slices with a good smear of butter, sometimes toasted and sometimes at room temp.

I'll be bringing one pan of Irish soda bread over to our friends' condo for a little Saint Patrick's Day shindig tomorrow night. How are you celebrating? Remember: everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day!

Now for the link love.

- some great tips on how to prep for a photo shoot
- make yourself a cute bow headband
- love these beautiful images of a mother and daughter
- I'm always up for trying new ways to make brownies even better
- taking photos in a renovated mill for a maternity shoot works out quite nicely
- these little paper boxes by Alli are so cute
- can't wait to try these peanut butter cookie dough balls
- this mini guide to making fresh pasta has me inspired to make some of my own
- thinking about jumping on the antlers as home decor bandwagon
- how to make your own polka dot pants, via { collected }

I said it Monday but I'll say it again: Erin Go Bragh! Happy Saint Patrick's Day and happy weekend, too.