Ireland

Ireland, the place where St. Patrick's Day originated and more importantly where Niall from One Direction is from. This week in International Foods we took on the country of Ireland.

Ireland is situated in the Atlantic Ocean and separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea. Half the size of Arkansas, it occupies the entire island except for the six counties that make up Northern Ireland. Ireland resembles a basin—a central plain rimmed with low mountains. The potato has heavily influenced Irish cuisine since the late 16th century. Other common foods include beef, lamb, cabbage, shellfish, apples, and pears.

Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients

• 3 T. margarine, softened
• 2 1/2 cup flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/3 cup raisins, if desired
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Recipe

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a baking sheet.
3. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
4. Cut margarine into the flour mixture, until mixture resembles fine crumbles.
5. Stir in raisins.
6. Stir in just enough buttermilk so dough leaves side of bowl.
7. Place dough on a lightly floured board; knead one to two minutes or until smooth.
8. Shape dough into a round loaf, about 6 1/2 inches in diameter; place on baking sheet. Cut an X about 1/2 inch deep through loaf with floured knife.
9. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with softened margarine, if desired.
10. Cool slightly before slicing.

My Thoughts
To say this dish was liked would be a bit of an understatement. Four girls ate the whole loaf in a very short period of time. My group decided not to add the raisins and I'm glad we didn't. We used some different jellies and jams to give it a bit more flavor. The soda bread reminded me a bit of the scones we made last week for England, however. This wasn't my favorite dish we made but it was a good one.

England

England! A country known for its' tea parties and royal family. This week in International Foods we decided to a classic English tea party.

England is a part of Europe's United Kingdom and it is located on the island of Great Britain. It is not considered a separate nation, but it is an independent country within the UK. The staple foods are meat, fish, potatoes, flour, butter and eggs. These are common foods due to England's rolling hills that are not very high, making for the ideal place to live and farm. England’s climate is described as being “temperate maritime”. Winter temperatures seldom plummet below zero degrees Celsius, while summer highs can reach about 30 degrees Celsius.

Scones
Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup raisins, diced
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Cut in butter with a pastry blender.
4. Mix in sugar and raisins.
5. Stir in milk a little at a time, to make a soft dough.
6. Flour a large cutting board.
7. Divide dough in half and roll each piece to 3/4 inches think.
8. Cut dough into wedges.
9. Place triangles on a greased and floured cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
11. Serve hot with jam.

My Thoughts
I had very high expectations for this unit since I've wanted to go to the United Kingdom for so long. Sadly, I was disappointed. The scones were bland and not something I would make again for myself. My group decided not to put in the raisins which could have been part of the reason for the bland taste. I'm also not a big tea drinker so I wasn't fond of that either. Overall, the unit was a bit of a let down for me.