Saint Patrick’s Day is coming up. However, I refuse to drink green beer. I will not eat green mashed potatoes. For that matter, I’m not eating any green food that doesn’t start out that color naturally.
If I had a garden, I might plant shamrocks, though.
I don’t like corned beef and cabbage, and I don’t have to eat it. I’m not wearing a silly leprechaun hat or lurid green tee shirt. I will never sport a button that says “Kiss me I’m Irish.”
I don’t want to go to a parade or a bar on St. Patrick’s day when, as a friend of mine used to say, “The amateur drinkers are out.”
I’m not buying green carnations or expecting a leprechaun will lead me to his pot of gold.
But since my mother’s side of the family came from Ireland, I do want to honor the day and my heritage in my own way. Here’s my plan.
First I’ll make my famous (in my own mind) Irish soda bread. Then I’ll set out a pot of tea, a couple of slices of the bread and a bit of butter. And then I’ll curl up with George Bernard Shaw, or Edna O’Brien, or John Banville (aka Benjamin Black), or any one of the other great writers who were born on that small island.
After that, perhaps a wee drop of Jameson. Sláinte!
Irish Soda Bread
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
(or a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup of melted butter
1 cup of raisins and/or currants
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flours, sugar, baking soda, caraway seeds, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and add to the dry ingredients. Mix together. You’ll have a moist, sticky batter.
Turn it out onto a floured board and knead until it’s smooth. Divide it in half and shape each half into a round of, roughly, eight inches. With a sharp knife, score the tops of each into quarters. Put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes.
The bread should sound hollow when you tap it on the bottom.
Let the breads cool a bit before you slice them.