Irish Soda Bread -- It Doesn't Get Easier Than This

Do you want easy?  My Tuesdays with Dorie group decided to make the (appropriately timed) Irish Soda Bread this week--and frankly, for bread, it doesn't get much easier than this recipe.  Seriously--I've been making a different, but also easy--recipe for years.  This is even easier.  Four ingredients.  One bowl.  A bit of stirring and half a minute of kneading/shaping.  Wow.  Busy moms take note--this might just become the new favorite after-school snack.

Irish Scones

Irish soda bread is the usual accompaniment to a traditional St. Patrick's Day Feast.  We've served it for years.  Last year, though, I ran across a recipe for Irish scones, and I was hooked.  Irish scones are rather like buttermilk biscuits--only with eggs inside the batter and a bit of sugar on top.  They are best served warm, but they are also great cold the next day, so I always make a double batch.  They retain their moisture much better than biscuits, and the bit of sugar on top is a nice touch, especially for a holiday dinner.

Kale with Bacon

I started making kale with bacon years ago as substitute for the "cabbage" part of the traditional  corned beef & cabbage that was served when I was a child on St. Patrick's Day.  Seriously-- who wants a side of wilted cabbage when you can have kale?  Isn't that a lovely shade of green?  Frankly, though, the picture doesn't do it justice--perfectly cooked kale is almost vibrant.  Kale wilts a bit when cooked, but it still stays fairly firm--firm enough that you can top it with the bacon.  It also tastes terrific and is absolutely loaded with nutrients.   Kale with bacon is the perfect side dish for Irish spiced beef on St. Patrick's Day. I found the recipe in an Irish cookbook at our local library when I was a newlywed and have tweaked it several times since until you see what you have before you.

Irish Spiced Beef

I love celebrating holidays.  They are a deviation from the ordinary--a chance to do things that you never get to do other days of the year.  There are decorations, stories, music, and of course... food.  I grew up hating St. Patrick's Day when I was a kid, however, because what was served at my home was very salty meat with mushy cabbage.  (Sorry, Mom, but it's true.)  My mother was a fabulous cook, but that combination of food was terrible.  So when I got old enough to be on my own, I sought out recipes for other Irish favorites that could replace corned beef and cabbage, yet still celebrate the spirit of my Irish ancestors.

Especially For Kids -- Peanut Butter Balls

Teaching children to cook is not my forte.  There's just something about hot ovens and kitchen knives that makes me cringe just the teeniest bit inside at the thought of letting small children into the kitchen to do... well, anything.  My mother was an amazing teacher, though she's humble enough that I doubt that she would say so.  She had us in the kitchen from the time that we were very young, perched on top of chairs, draped in over-sized aprons, doing age-appropriate bits of cooking like grating cheese or opening cans of kidney beans.  By the time I was nine, I had a small repertoire of meals that I could make all by myself such as homemade mac & cheese, Mexican casserole, and French Toast.  (Along with the requisite and much larger repertoire of baked goods.  I made a mean peanut butter cookie back in the day.)   I look back on that in wonder because I've been such a foot-dragger about teaching my own children to cook.  Part of that is as I said above--fear of accidents, and part of that is just a time issue.  Most days it seems hard enough to get food on the table at all without adding another 20 minutes or so to the prep time because you have a child in the kitchen learning to chop onions without cutting his or her fingers off.

Tex-Mex Hand Pies -- A Pi Day Main Dish

One of the fun challenges of Pi Day every year is trying to come up with something new to serve for dinner.  It has to be pie, of course, but what kind?  Pizza pie, pot pie, quiche?  We have had a lot of pot pies over the years--and since I frequently make a shepherd's pie in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I was looking for something else  to fix for dinner.  This year, I ran across this recipe at the Homesick Texan's food blog. 

Grasshopper Pie -- A Pi Day & St. Patrick's Day Classic

When I was six, my family moved to Idaho for a year while my father taught economics at Idaho State.   When you are a child and missing your old home and friends, it seems like your new town has very little to offer.  One thing, however, that Pocatello had, was an abundance of grasshoppers.  My older sister and I would capture them by the quart jar full and bring them to my mother.  Then we'd tease her that she should  make grasshopper pie with them. 

Making grasshopper pie on Pi Day almost seems like a cheat after rolling out pastry for pumpkin, pecan, apple, or berry pies.  Paired with a chocolate crust (which I almost always just purchase at the store), the mint filling is spring-like.  It's the perfect compliment to a St. Patrick's Day feast, too.  The best part--you can make it ahead of time, pop it in the freezer, and forget about it until the day of your event.

Beware the Pi of March -- Perfect Pumpkin & My Mom's Fabulously Flaky Crust

All right... I'll grant you that pumpkin pie in the middle of March is pretty unconventional.  But hear me out.

I love pumpkin pie.  I really do.  When I was growing up, I looked forward to Thanksgiving for one and only one reason:  pumpkin pie.  I kid you not.  My mother's crust was to die for and the filling was perfect--not the blonde, barely pumpkiny fillings of some pies, nor the dark, overly spicy fillings of others.  It was right in between.  But then Thanksgiving was over.  No more pumpkin pie for another year.  This was not to be borne. 

Beware the Pi of March -- Blackberry Mini Pies

Happy Pi Day!  (3/14 = 3.14)  With a math professor in the family, we take Pi Day seriously here.  There has been a lot of baking & filling of pie shells here for the last few days, and I thought I'd pass along a few of our successes.

First up is the Mini Blackberry Pie you see before you with the holes cut to look like pi.  Heh.  Didn't see that one coming, did ya?

Made in tartlet pans, these mini pies are perfect for one, or could be shared by two.  They go together fairly quickly for what they are.  Unlike apple pies, berry pies don't need any peeling or chopping for the filling--just toss the berries in a little sugar, etc., and you are good to go.  I made them as one idea to give away to our children's math teachers.  Though I ended up doing something else altogether, the fact that they can stand to be out of the refrigerator for a while made them a good candidate.  If Pi day is being celebrated in your town, consider this recipe for the pies you hand to your children to bring to school. 

Indian Luncheon: Vij's Chicken Curry and Red Lentil Curry

It's been a week since I last posted, and with good reason.  Last Wednesday, we said goodbye to our oldest son, who was leaving for a two year adventure out in the wilds of San Jose.  Hopefully he will come back wiser, and not just older.  The rest of the week was spent cleaning up after the chaos that we called packing.  Meals were basic--leftovers were involved on two different days.  Some of the leftovers were from our son's last home cooked meal, which I will post about later.  Today, though, I thought I'd share with you a couple of recipes from the world-famous Indian restaurant, Vij's, up in Vancouver, B.C.

Tuesdays With Dorie: Rugelach

 I've always been more of a bar cookie sort of girl.  Brownies are by far my favorite--and not just because they are chocolate.  Five ingredients, one bowl, and forty minutes later, I have a treat ready for kids coming in through the door or a room full of hungry adults working out the details of one or another community activity.  So, it was with great trepidation that I looked over the directions for today's recipe that my Tuesdays with Dorie group was baking and blogging about. 

The March 6th recipe that the Tuesdays with Dorie group decided to work on was rugelach.  Rugelach is a traditional Jewish dessert that is usually made rolled up like a croissant, though it can also be made by rolling up the dough jelly roll style and slicing it before baking, which was how this recipe was made.  Filled with an assortment of dried fruits and nuts, the pastries come out soft, moist, and extremely flavorful.  They are certainly a unique and delicious dessert.  I am glad that I had a chance to try making them this week.  The recipe can be found on p. 325 of Baking with Julia or at Jessica's website My Baking Heart.  Jessica's pictures are wonderful, but she left out a few extra bits of the recipe, so I will post them down below.  

Texas Sheet Cake

Growing up in a family of eight, the first thing that I learned to do in the kitchen was help with the dishes.  We didn't have a dishwasher until I was in my late teens (my father always claimed that we had six dishwashers), so I learned at a very young age how to tackle mounds of pots and pans, plates and cups, glass and silverware.

The next thing that I learned how to do was bake.  Baking has always been a joy to me since then.  Until... now.  Well, three and a half years ago.  What changed?  Our elevation.  We moved from sea level to nearly 5000 feet above, and as anyone knows who has half-glanced at the back of a box of cake mix, there are special directions for high altitude baking.  I've lived at a high altitude before, but never quite so high.  At about 2500 feet, an extra tablespoon or two of flour is about all that it takes to right the ship and keep your cakes and quick breads from falling in.  At 5000 feet, it gets a little more complicated. 

Lemon Tart

One of my sisters in law came up to our house with the cousins last weekend to see our oldest son off.  He's going to be gone for a couple of years, and everyone is trying to say their goodbyes.  Now, when the family gets together, good food ensues.  It's just the way that it works.  We made homemade pizzas, which is a fun activity for little cousins as well as being tasty and much healthier than the fast food version.  And of course, no gathering is complete without dessert.

My sister in law is not a big fan of chocolate, so I made a lemon tart.  This is the perfect lemon tart.  The crust has lemon zest in the dough.  The filling is luscious and tangy.  The crust to filling ratio is perfect.  It's like a lemon bar dressed up to look like a fancy pie.  It's perfect for company.