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.