Irish soda bread

This is the family Irish Soda Bread Recipe. It is not like any other: it's rich, moist, and could have changed the course of Irish history.

2 greased loaf pans- oven at 375 degrees-

Mix:

4 cups flour
1 teas. salt
1 tbls. baking powder
1 teas. baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teas. cardamon (or a bit of nutmeg or mace)



Mix liquids:

4 oz. sour cream
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I just add a teaspoon of vinegar to regular milk)

then mix those two together.

Add 1 cup raisins, and 1/4 cup caraway seeds- this can be omitted (heresy) or altered


Now, melt 1/2 cup of butter and stir that into the mix.

40 minutes at 375....

eat hot, cold, spread with more butter, plain, toasted, fried....

Dominican sisters prepare for Pink Martini

In preparation for the Pink Martini show in Portland (Maine), the Dominican sisters got together for diner and talk. Some political musings, some family updates, some future planning, a great big bottle of pre-made cosmopolitans. bruschetta, wine, a visit from the delightful Amanda, and we were on our way to the concert, which was a fun mix of styles, songs (all pre-dating 1964), and languages. Pink Martini is based in Portland(Oregon), my home away from home, which I will be visiting for a long weekend in early May. Yippeee!!!!! Crank up the espresso, baristas of the west coast- I'll need to recover from jet lag pretty quickly with only a four day trip to acclimate during.

Knitting: the fiddle head scarf from Morehead farm, the Koolhaas hat from Brooklyn Tweed, the lupine cardigan from Meg Swanson and the coriolis socks from Cat Bordhi: famous knits, all, though brought down to earth by my tendency to simplify, simplify, simplify. Pictures to follow- one of these days.