A 'bit of Irish in the Kitchen

In honor of St. Patty's Day (my all-time favorite holiday) I'm making some simple, easy Irish-inspired dishes for dinner and thought I'd share the recipes!

The Soda Bread recipe is one I found here at Recipezaar.com. They've got tons of variations on the recipe but I use this one since it is simple and goes well with the Corned Beef & Cabbage dish below.

SODA BREAD

* 6 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3 tablespoons cornstarch
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Add all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Add all of buttermilk at once and stir until soft dough forms.
4. It might be a little lumpy, but don't worry about it at this point. Pour contents of bowl out onto the counter and knead for a minute or so until blended.
5. Divide dough into two portions and shape each portion into a round loaf, with lightly flattened tops.
6. Put loaves on large ungreased baking sheet, preferably the nonstick kind.
7. Sprinkle some additional flour on top of each loaf and with a sharp knife, cut a cross in two slashes across the top of each loaf.
8. Let the loaves sit for 10 minutes and bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 2 loaves.

CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE SOUP

1 head of cabbage cut into chunks
olive oil
1 small box penne pasta
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 can corned beef, chopped (I think it could use 2 cans, but I've only ever made it with one)
fresh carrots, sliced

Heat oil in stock pot. Add cabbage and cook 2 minutes. Add broth and water. Add carrots and corned beef. Simmer 20 minutes. Add pasta. Cook until tender. Salt to taste.

There you have it! The "Irish" menu I'm tackling this week. Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom to see what other moms are tackling this week!