Soda Bread. Just do it... you'll be glad you did.

March is around the corner, which means St. Patrick's Day is almost here, which means everyone will be making corned beef.  I'm not really sure corned beef is particularly Irish, but neither is green beer, so we'll just let it go at that.  Soda bread is more Irish, but this is a recipe that deserves year-round love, not just in March.  It's moist & just a little sweet, and would perfect with any soup or stew.  This is a 'by hand' recipe, it goes together quickly and you probably have the stuff in your pantry.

Irish Rosie's Irish Soda Bread
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pint sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, beat eggs and stir in sour cream.
3. Add egg & sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients.  Stir with wooden spoon, it will be really thick.
4.  Add caraway seeds.  Don't skip this part.  Even if you don't like them (I don't, really) it's just a little bit and they really add to the flavor of the bread.
5.You may need to knead with your hands a few times to get it incorporated
6. Place batter in a well-greased (I use parchment or foil in the bottom, too) 9" Springform pan.
7.  You may need to dust top lightly with flour so you can pat the dough into the pan.
8.  Make a shallow crisscross on the top.
9.  Bake 50 minutes at 350 F.
10.  Share with friends!

*I found this recipe online years ago.  You can find the original here.

A Green, Orange & White Nightmare...

I've been eyeing those ribbon wreaths on Pinterest...  they look like a ton of work.  Let me tell you, they are.  I was completely suckered in by a St Pat's day sample I saw -"oh, look!  I can do that! they want $100 for this one!  that's nuts!"

Well.  You can't pay me $100 to make another one.

 First, I cut all the ribbon and tied it.  Then I realized I'd cut all the ribbon twice as long as it needed to be.   

So I untied it all and cut it in half.  Because that's fun.   

I used a mixture of these floral pins, some T-Pins I stole from my mom, and regular pins. 

Partly because I knew I wouldn't have enough pins, and partly in an attempt to save time, I tied two ribbons to some of the floral pins.  In case you are wondering, it did not save time.

By this time, I was considering tossing the whole thing.   It took forever, and I'm not super happy with it.  It actually looks cuter in the picture than in real life.  With the 1/2 price ribbon, and the coupon for my Styrofoam wreath, and little clovers & pipe (the leprechaun came from my mom's stash), 

I spent less than $30.