Let me just say that I will eat almost any ethnic food any time, any where. While I’m not truly Irish, my family would say that we are part ‘Scotch-Irish‘. Like every good American, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day eating the traditional corned beef, cabbage and Irish Soda Bread.
Irish Soda Bread is tasty and simple. The key is to make sure the bread is cooked through by testing with the ‘hollow sound’. It’s delectable served warm with butter, but I love a piece drizzled in honey.
This St. Patrick’s Day:
May your blessings outnumber The shamrocks that grow, And may trouble avoid you Wherever you go. –Irish blessing
IRISH SODA BREAD
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet.
In large bowl, combine flour with soda, sugar, salt and cream of tartar, mix well.
Add buttermilk; with fork, stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn out dough only lightly floured board. Knead lightly until smooth, about 1 minute.
Shape dough into a ball; place on cookie sheet. With hands, flatten into a 7″ circle. With sharp knife, cutting 1/4 inch deep, mark into quarters.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until top is golden-brown and loaf sounds hollow when rapped with knuckle.
Remove loaf to wire rack. Brush top with butter; cool completely.
With the frigid cold this past weekend, it was the perfect time to make Hearty Minestrone. My good friend, Maribeth, introduced this recipe to me several years ago and it is a winter delight! Pair it with a crusty, hearty bread, a nice glass of red wine and you can please family and friends alike.
This soup freezes beautifully! With our busy schedules, what a treat to be able to have this soup on hand for those crazy, busy days we all have. If you are gluten-free, eliminate the noodles.
Mmmm…making me hungry for another bowl of leftovers!
HEARTY MINESTRONE
2 pounds chuck roast
1 teaspoon salt
4 quarts water
1 cup sliced celery
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
3 tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
6 ounces tomato paste
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
16 ounce can dark red kidney beans
15 ounce can garbanzo beans
16 ounce can pinto beans
10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 small zucchini
1 pound Italian sweet sausage, sliced
8 ounce package kluski (homemade style) noodles
In a large kettle, combine chuck roast, 1 teaspoon salt and water. Cover and simmer for 3 hours or until beef is tender.
Remove meat from kettle and set aside. Remove fat from broth by letting kettle cool in refrigerator and then lifting hardened fat off top and discarding. Break meat into 1-inch pieces and combine with broth in a very large stock pot.
Stir in celery, onion, carrot, tomatoes, parsley, tomato paste, salt, oregano, basil, kidney beans with liquid, garbanzo beans with liquid, pinto beans, spinach, zucchini and sliced sausage.
Simmer, covered, until vegetables and sausage are tender, about 1 hour. Soup may be frozen at this point.
To serve, cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse, drain and add to hot soup. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese and crusty Italian Bread.
Norwegian Christmas Bread (Julekake) brings back fond memories of our elderly Iowa friends, the Butlers. Growing up, Anna would bake Julekake, Kringla, and Lefse to share with friends. She would brew a strong cup of coffee for adults and children to enjoy with the seasonal treats. A cup of hot coffee with a toasted slice of Julekake and butter, at Anna’s oak table was the best. Today, I sit at the same oak table in my dining area thinking of the wonderful stories and memories created in that small farm-house so many years ago.
Kringla is an annual tradition with Julekake only every few years. Kneading bread dough is hard for me so I’ve included, along with the traditional recipe, my version for the bread machine. This year I borrowed daughter Sarah’s Kitchen Aid mixer to make the traditional recipe, which I split into two parts to accommodate the smaller size of the mixer.
NORWEGIAN CHRISTMAS BREAD
This is the original Christmas bread recipe from Norwegian family friend, Anna Butler
2 packages dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup chopped citron or candied pineapple
3 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup butter
2 cups raisins
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped candied cherries
2 beaten eggs
1/2 teaspoon crushed cardamom
10 to 11 cups flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Scald milk and then add butter, salt and sugar. Cool to lukewarm. Add to yeast mixture and add 1/2 flour and eggs. Beat well.
Add fruit and cardamom and remaining flour to make light dough. Knead and place in a greased bowl. Let rise until light.
Knead and let it rise again.
Shape into 5 loaves and place in greased bread pans. Let rise 1 hour or until light. Brush tops with egg yolk mixture of beaten egg yolk and water.
Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. After removing from oven, brush top with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar
NORWEGIAN CHRISTMAS BREAD (ADAPTED FOR THE BREAD MACHINE)
This is a conversion of the original Christmas bread recipe from Anna Butler
1/6 cup lukewarm water
1 cup scalded milk (cooled to lukewarm)
1/3 stick melted margarine
1 small beaten egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/6 teaspoon cardamom
3 to 3.3 cups flour
1 package yeast
2/3 cup raisins
1/6 cup citron
Place ingredients in bread machine in the order given but put raisins and citron aside.
Start bread dough in knead mode and add raisins/citron when your bread machine prompts for add-ins.
Cranberry Bread was a favorite of mine back in the day. I would make several loaves to give as gifts for the holidays when I young, single and fancy-free in St. Joe, MO. I’m glad to have this recipe back on my radar screen. The kids loved it. The tartness of the cranberries complimented by the sweet dough is wonderfully delicious warm from the oven with butter.
The bread freezes well to make ahead for holiday gifts.
CRANBERRY BREAD
2 cups flour, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
3/4 cup orange juice
1 beaten egg
1 cup raw cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, soda and sugar. Add the orange juice, melted butter, then add beaten egg.
Mix well and add the chopped cranberries. Put into greased loaf pan and fill half full of batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes and then run knife around the pan to remove loaf.
Hearty breads are a favorite of mine and before I try to go gluten-free again (for health reasons), I wanted to try a hearty bread with the apple butter I was making (see my Crockpot Apple Butter recipe on Friday, October 26). I discovered this recipe on the Good Housekeeping website and it reminded me of an oatmeal bread my Mother used to make.
This is a simple quick bread that would be great for breakfast, with a hearty soup, or, as you’ll see on Friday, a dessert.
OATMEAL QUICK BREAD
1 cup milk
1 cup quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 tablespoon quick-cooking oats, uncooked
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 8 1/2″ by 4 1/2″ or 9″ by 5″ loaf pan. In large bowl, combine milk and 1 cup oats; let stand 5 minutes.
To oat mixture, add eggs, margarine or butter, and brown sugar; mix well, making sure there are no lumps of brown sugar. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt just until blended.
Spoon batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle top with remaining oats. Bake 55 to 60 minutes in 8 1/2″ by 4 1/2″ pan (bake 35 to 40 minutes in 9″ by 5″ pan) until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
Recipe from Good Housekeeping, Oatmeal-Quick-Bread
Zucchini seems to multiple like rabbits. One day nothing on the vine, the next day a mega-zucchini is staring you in the face. My zucchini, however, produced zilch, nada, nothing. Luckily my buddy, Jan, and daughter, Megan, were anxious to part with their extra zucchini (Megan stooped to begging). Every year I try new recipes, but I always make my tried and true Zucchini Bread, so moist. I love nuts, but make it without since the family isn’t as ‘nutty’ as I am. Enjoy!
ZUCCHINI BREAD
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated, peeled raw zucchini
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix ingredients in order given.
Pour into two greased bread pans. Bake for 1 hour, or until done.
Kolaches originated in the Slovak countries and our Smaha family brought this Bohemian tradition to America when they immigrated to Iowa in the late 1800s. This tradition has been passed down in our family for many generations. Kolaches are wonderful any time of the year but especially wonderful at Christmas. My family tradition is to have them Christmas morning while we are opening gifts and sipping coffee or hot chocolate.
Christmas Morning and Kolaches 1987
This picture was taken in Christmas morning 1987 with my Mother, Mother-In-Law, and oldest daughter, Megan. Let the Kolache feast begin!
My all-time favorite Kolache is cherry. This season I was fortunate to buy a large container of fresh frozen tart cherries that I’ve been saving for Kolache filling this Christmas. Other years, I have used canned cherry pie filling. I have made Kolaches from old-fashioned sweet dough recipes but a new favorite is the sweet dough recipe for the bread machine. In a pinch, I have used frozen bread dough, even though not sweet, is very good.
Traditional Kolache come in many flavors including the timeless Bohemian prune or poppy-seed fillings. My Mother’s Kolaches were fabulous and we waited with excitement while they baked, poised to snatch one as soon as they came out of the oven.
Everyone’s Kolaches are a tad different. My Mother didn’t add the crumb topping to her Kolaches but a wonderful farm neighbor, Nellie, made Prune Kolaches with crumb topping in her old wood stove. You haven’t lived until you’ve had Kolaches from a wood cooking stove. My Aunt Lora, baked Kolaches that she pinched closed at the top and sprinkled with sugar. Equally wonderful.
Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas and many cherished family traditions.
SWEET BREAD DOUGH (FOR BREAD MACHINE)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup less 1 T. water
All ingredients should be at room temperature. Add the ingredients in the order listed above.
Run the machine through the dough cycle. Remove and work on floured board to desired loaf, rolls, etc.
CHERRY FILLING
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup juice from cherries
3 cups pitted tart red cherries (water pack)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring
Combine 3/4 cup sugar with cornstarch. Stir in cherry juice.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, till mixture thickens and bubbles; cook 1 minute longer. Add remaining sugar, cherries, butter and food coloring and cook until thickened. Mixture will be very thick. Let stand while preparing bread dough for Kolaches.
PREPARING THE KOLACHES:
Pinch a piece of dough about the size of a walnut (or ping pong ball) and place on a greased baking pan. Cover with wax paper then a towel and let rise until double in size. When risen, push centers of balls down and fill with cherry filling (or filling of choice). Let rise again and bake at 400 degrees.
KOLACHE CRUMB TOPPING (Optional)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using margarine)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together (use a pastry blender) until crumbly and use as a topping for Kolaches or coffee cakes.
Fruit Bread conjures up visions of old-fashioned fruit cake that is hard as a rock and entire communities have contests to see how far they can chuck the cake. NOT the case with this Fruit Bread recipe. In fact, it is really a banana bread with chocolate chips and chopped cherries. It makes a festive bread to give or to serve during the holidays.
This recipe originated with my Aunt Joyce. When I was younger, she made it every Christmas and it quickly became a family, and personal tradition. Each year I make several batches and give to family and friends. I hope that you’ll try the bread and it will become one of your traditions!
FRUIT BREAD
Double or triple the recipe to make several loaves.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour (plus 2 T. if baking at high altitude)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup maraschino cherries
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs & beat well. Sift baking soda & flour; add to egg mixture alternatively with mashed bananas. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
November is not complete without Pumpkin Bread. When I was growing up, Pumpkin Bread was often baked in tall tin cans so that the finished product of round slices was pretty for women’s clubs and gatherings. I am fine with the traditional loaf and it tastes equally as yummy. The bread freezes so well. I like to freeze several loaves to share during the season with friends and family. It’s tradition!
PUMPKIN BREAD
3 cups sugar
1 cup salad oil
4 eggs beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup water
2 cups canned pumpkin
chopped nuts (optional)
Combine sugar and oil in a large bowl. Add 4 eggs and beat until completely mixed.
Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add dry ingredients alternately with water. Mix well. Add pumpkin and mix well again.
Pour into greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 65 to 75 minutes. Enjoy!
Fork Lore 