Page 11 - ISI_176_FebruaryMarch

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2022 • IDAHO SENIOR INDEPENDENT
Colcannon,
Soda Bread,
and an
Irish Ditty
BY SHEILA VELAZQUEZ
(SENIOR WIRE) The traditional St. Patrick’s
Day feast is corned beef and cabbage.
Potatoes round out the meal and can be
boiled or mashed. I make them as colca-
nnon, mashed potatoes into which butter,
milk, and cooked and chopped kale is mixed,
then seasoned with salt and pepper.
So simple, so good.
I used the remaining container of fro-
zen kale from last year’s garden to make
a batch. Make extra, because it goes well
with everything. I especially like a scoop on
a plate of eggs.
Corned beef comes as a point cut or a flat
cut, which is slightly more per pound, but
a better choice. Put it in a pot, cover with
water, add the packet of pickling spices that
came with it, bring all to a boil, then reduce
heat and cook for about three hours.
If you want to boil the potatoes and cab-
bage wedges in the same pot, add them before
the meat is fully cooked (or fork tender).
The one-pot boiled dinner likely came
about because Irish peasants did not have a
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Irish soda bread is so simple, and nothing beats it
toasted with lots of butter. © Rojoimages, Bigstock.com.
lot of utensils. A good, big pot was critical
to cooking the meals necessary to feed
large Irish families. It is the subject of an
old tune, “Who Threw the Overalls in Mrs.
Murphy’s Chowder,” which can be heard
sung by vaudevillian Edward M. Favor on a
1901 Edison phonograph and cylinder record
from 1901.
I cannot listen to or sing this ditty with-
out laughing.
The other traditional dish worth
mentioning is Irish soda bread. It’s so
simple, and nothing beats it toasted with
lots of butter.
If you don’t have a wide-slot toaster,
run thick slices under the broiler for a bit.
Once cold, a 15-second microwave nearly
duplicates that warm-from-the-oven fla-
vor. Once you taste it, you won’t want to
wait until next St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy
the caraway and raisin-rich bread that is
appropriate for any meal from breakfast to
the evening snack. ISI
HOME & LIFESTYLE PAGE 11
IRISH SODA BREAD
INGREDIENTS
5 C flour
<
< < 1 C sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
< < 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2-½ C raisins
< < ½ C butter
< 3 Tbsp. caraway seeds
< 1 egg
< 2-½ C buttermilk
DIRECTIONS
1. Into a large bowl, whisk or sift together
flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking
soda. Cut in butter until it is in small pieces.
Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.
2. Mix egg into buttermilk and add. (Note:
Soured milk can be substituted for buttermilk.
Make it by putting 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice or
white vinegar for each cup of “buttermilk”
needed into an empty glass measure. Then fill
with regular milk to the desired level. For this
recipe, that would be 2 ½” Tbsp. of lemon or
vinegar and enough milk to equal 2-½ C total.)
3. Blend by hand only until all is moistened.
Spread in a large buttered pan or divide
between two buttered bread pans. Bake at
350 degrees for one hour or until a knife
or toothpick inserted in the center comes
out clean. If it isn’t quite done, and the top
is well-browned, lay a piece of foil over it
as it finishes up.