Irish Soda Bread

I recently attended a reunion with 35 women I graduated with from Nazareth College. We had a ball talking, eating and cooking together! Some very good recipes were used which I'd like to share with you. One of my former classmates, Mary Beth, showed the "girls" how to make Irish Soda Bread. It was a fun experience as well as a very delicious one! Unlike what I always thought this bread was like, it turned out tender, tasty and not the least bit dry. We made enough to each take home a loaf. Thanks, Mary Beth!

Recipe Makes: 2 loaves
Preheat Oven: 375º

4 c. flour
4 T. sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
12 T. butter
2 or 3 handfuls of raisins
1 1/3 c. buttermilk

1. Combine flour, sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter until it resembles small crumbs. Mix in raisins. Add buttermilk, saving a tad to brush the tops of the loaves.

2. Mix with a large heavy spoon. Finish working the dough with your hands until the milk is well incorporated.
(Hint: Dough will be very dry. DO NOT be tempted to add more milk. That only makes it tough.)

3. Form a ball, then divide it in half. Place each half on either end of a cookie sheet. Press the dough down slightly. Brush with buttermilk.

4. Bake in a preheated 375º oven for 30 minutes.

NOTE: Rotate the cookie sheet and continue baking for another 20- 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

The bread freezes very well. Wrap in foil to freeze.

Fish Omelet

This may sound kind of weird, but I made it and it was delicious! Cod fish, my favorite, was on sale for $5.99 a pound at Tops so I bought a couple pieces and decided to cook them all at once, while they were still fresh. I made an omelet with some and saved the rest to put on my salad for another day. If you have any omelet left over, wrap it up and heat the next day.

1 lb. fresh cod fish
1 pat butter
2 T. lemon juice
Trocomare or your favorite seasoning
1 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, grated (opt.)
2 eggs
2 T. milk
2 T. grated Italian cheese
1/4 c. cheddar cheese

Spray a medium frying pan and when hot, add butter, fish, lemon juice and seasoning. Cover until fish flakes and becomes white. (That means it's done!) Remove the fish. Put oil in pan and add onion & peppers. Cook until tender then add about half of the fish and save rest for another time. Combine eggs, milk, Italian cheese and 2 T. cheddar. Whisk until combined and pour over fish & veggies. Cover and cook on low heat until firm. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar and serve.

I made another fish omelet today and used spinach and a little hot pepper instead of peppers and onions. That was delicious, too!

Chocolate Peanut Butter

This recipe for "nutella", a hazelnut and chocolate spread was in the Buffalo News. It said to use a food processor. I changed it a little by substituting peanuts for the hazelnuts and made it in my Vita-Mix Blender (which is a very powerful machine!) I wouldn't recommend using an ordinary blender, but try a food processor if you don't have a Vita-Mix. It probably won't come out as smooth, but it will still be delicious, especially if you love peanut butter and chocolate!

2 c. roasted peanuts
½ c. cocoa powder
1 c. powdered sugar
3 T. oil

Put peanuts in Vita Mix and puree` until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until combined. Delicious!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Here's another soup recipe from Allrecipes.com.


¾ c. chopped celery
¾ c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped carrots
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 c. tomato-vegetable juice cocktail
2 c. water
1 leek, chopped
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
1 c. long-grain white rice
1 T. soy sauce
¼ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried dill weed

1. In a large pot over high heat, combine the celery, onion, carrots, tomatoes, tomato-vegetable juice, water, leek, potato, peas, corn, beans, rice, soy sauce, thyme, ground black pepper, garlic powder and dill weed.

2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Whole Wheat Beer Bread

This recipe is from Allrecipes.com. It was very good and made great toast!

1½ c. white flour
1½ c. whole-wheat flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 (12 oz.) can beer*
1/3 c. brown sugar, packed

In a large mixing bowl, combine white flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Pour in beer and stir until a stiff batter is formed. It may be necessary to mix dough with your hands. Scrape dough into prepared loaf pan or shape and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes.

* I used 11 oz and drank the rest! It was good!