Irish Soda Bread

I know today in most states, there is no way anyone is going to stay inside and cook. But I couldn’t think of anything better to write about today. So, in memory of St. Patty’s Day (which is coming soon)…I give you the recipe for Cheddar and Bacon Irish Soda Bread.

*Note that I do not eat pork bacon (and no I am not Jewish). You can exchange pig bacon for turkey bacon or vegan bacon if you desire.

 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

8 ounces cooked bacon

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 cup grated cheddar (8 ounces)

4 green onions or scallions, chopped, green part only

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

*If you don’t have buttermilk, take regular milk and mix in a tbsp of vinegar.

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-In a skillet on medium-low heat, warm up the oil. Add the Irish bacon to the skillet, and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet and chop the bacon.
-In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, granulated sugar, Irish cheddar, chopped Irish bacon and green onions until well blended. Pour in the buttermilk and mix until the dough comes together.
-Form the dough into a round loaf and place on the baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut a cross into the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the loaf is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Serve Warm

How are you going to enjoy this day today?

Embracing Your German Heritage

The theme today is German.

German food, german entertainment, and german people.

Why?

It was my dad’s birthday yesterday. My dad takes his German heritage very serious. Some common phrases that he always uses are…

“Eat your sauerkraut.”

“Let’s go to Mater’s (a german restuarant)!”

“Auuuu Shuitz. We’s German. Eat yourrr sauerkraut.”

Now please note that the last phrase he says is done in a very fake German accent. He sounds like a Polish man who got his teeth pulled.

Anyway, to start the day off…why not listen to some German music?

Who knew that that song was also done in German. Learn something new every day.

Now that we got the music out of the way…how about other German stuff?

Opps. Just kidding. Forgive my for my dry sense of humor…but I just couldn’t resist.

Alright. The moment that everyone has been waiting for.

German Food.

Now I debated whether to write about Pretzel Rolls or Kohlsuppe.

But because my dad just loves sauerkraut so much, I’m going to give the recipe for Kohlsuppe.

Kohlsuppe (Cabbage Soup)

Ingredients:

4 Slices Bacon, Thick, Diced

2 Onions, Sliced

1 Turnip, Sliced

2 Carrots, Diced

2 Potatoes, Cubed

1 Head Green Cabbage, shredded

4 c Chicken Stock Or Bouillon

2 c Water

6 Sprigs Parsley

1 Bay Leaf

Directions:

In a 6-quart saucepan or pot, combine all ingredients except salt, pepper and cheese. Simmer partially covered for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Discard the parsley bundle; season to taste. Pour into hot soup bowls and serve.

Happy Birthday to my dad. May he enjoy his music and soup.

Have any of your family members swear to a specific culture or food? What food did you always eat when growing up? How about music?

Leave your interesting and creative comments if you’d like.

 

Pineapple Flower Cupcakes

I have a confession to make.

After refusing to have yet another social media account (facebook, google+, myyearbook, myspace) I heard of pinterest.

I didn’t really know what is was or how to use it. But I did know that for some odd reason not known to man, I just had to sign up.

And boy, I do not regret it.

If you don’t have any idea what pinterest is, it has pictures of weddings, styles, food, art, cars, car parts, hair styles, etc. Anything that you would normally look for on google images. But the difference between google and this…you can “pin” the pictures to your wall and get inspiration for decoration your house, getting a new wardrobe, or just admiring the very attractive male models and actors. You can see what your friend likes and get ideas for a birthday gift…without really asking. “Connect with others by using your interests”.

Now that we have that squared away…I found this great recipe using pinterest and I just had to share it (and the pictures I used in yesterday’s post…they came from pinterest).

Pineapple Cupcakes

1. First you have to make your cupcakes and frost them. Make chocolate, vanilla, yellow, green, whatever. Frost them with white frosting and set aside for later.

2. (Now for the good part) Take your pineapple, cut the top and the bottom off, and proceed to cut the rind off. If you have no idea how to cut one, I have no idea how to explain it. Maybe you could find out using pinterest (just kidding).

3. Now, if there is any leftover rind pieces on the pineapple, be sure to cut them off (or dig them out). Eating them ruins your pineapple eating experience.

4. Then, using a knife or a handy slicer tool, cut the fruit into very thin, almost see-through, slices. Lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 225 degrees for 30 minutes. After 30 min. is over, flip the slices onto the other side and bake another 30 minutes. The idea here is to dry them out.

5. When they are all shruken and dried out, take the slices and place them in cupcake tor muffin tin. The slices need to curve when placed in the tin, to look like a flower. Let them sit overnight in the pan (or just the whole day).

6. Take them out, slowly with little force, you do not want to break them. Take your cupcakes you made earlier and place them on top of the cupcakes. Serve. Enjoy.

*Instead of placing them on cupcakes, you can put them all on one cake..or top them on your ice cream.

So what do you guys think about the flowers? How about pinterest? Leave your interesting (or boring) comments.