Little Winnie’s Irish Soda Bread

Courtesy of: Linda Loiselle

This is the one I got from the instructor at Moorpark. Apparently this one is her family's recipe. It looks like it has more sugar and butter.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• ¾ cup of sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar

Sift the above ingredients together.

• Cut in 1 stick of butter or margarine
• 1 ½ cup of buttermilk
• Add raisins 1 cup or less

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

German Soup

Enjoy a tangy broth with just a hint of sweetness that's chock full of veggies and German sausage!

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced and halved
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 clove minced garlic
2 cups water
2 cups chopped cabbage
1 large russet potato or 2-3 smaller ones of any variety
1/2 pound German sausage or bratwurst, cut and uncooked (it will cook in the pot)


1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) chicken broth (you may want more depending on the amount of veggies added)
4-5 tablespoons vinegar (We used a combination of malt and white, but any type will work!)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper -- I recommend more
Oregano to taste
1 can of beer
Minced fresh parsley



Directions: In a 3-qt. saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Add carrots and celery; saute for 3 minutes. Add caraway and garlic; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Add water, cabbage, sausage, tomatoes, potato, chicken broth and brown sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add beans, vinegar, beer, salt and pepper. Simmer, until ready to serve (20-30 minutes at least). Make sure sausage is thoroughly cooked. Sprinkle with parsley.





FYI -- use as much sausage as you like! Same with the vinegar...I love the tangy taste!

Irish Soda Bread

4 C. sifted flour

1 T. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 C. butter or margarine

1 C. raisins, if desired

1 1/2 C. buttermilk

Sift together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly (this is where you can use a pastry blender). Stir in raisins if desired, until evenly distributed. Add buttermilk stirring to make a soft dough. Tun onto lightly floured board and knead to form a smooth ball. Knead lightly and just for a short time because this dough shouldn't be treated as roughly as yeast dough.

Pat by hand on greased baking sheet to 1 1/4-inch thickness. With a sharp knife score into four sections. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 mins. until bread is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter. Dance an Irish jig when finished, or try it with yer pint o' Guiness!

Banana-Chocolate Chip Bars

So I had some overripe bananas on my counter, and my usual mantra is "when life gives you overrripe bananas, make banana bread." But I was a little bored of banana bread, so I consulted my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (a gift from Christmas past, courtesy of our Mether). Even with all of the online recipes sites, I still look to this book quite often for inspiration and great recipes. Using my reference skills I looked to the index for "banana" and what did I find but a wonderful recipe for these tasty treats. As luck would have it, I had all ingredients on-hand except for the optional walnuts (although next time I'll make sure to have these too), so I gave it whirl!

Ingredients

• 3/4 C butter or margarine, softened
• 2/3 C granulated sugar
• 2/3 C packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 C mashed ripe bananas (2-3 medium)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 6 oz package (1 C) semisweet chocolate pieces...or more if you are so inclined
• 2/3 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan; set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter or margarine w/ an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat till combined. Beat in the egg, bananas, and vanilla till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the electric mixer (if you have a KitchenAid, no problem!) Stir in the remaining flour. Stir in chocolate chips and if desired, nuts.
3. Spread the dough in the prepared baking pan. Bake 25 minutes or until golden.
4. Cool lightly and cut into bars. Makes 36 reasonably sized bars or fewer Markle-size bars.