BAKING SODA

LASDI©

Oh my GOODNESS!  And I do mean GOODNESS.  I made my annual Irish meal for the St. Patrick's holiday.  This year it fell on a Saturday so I decided to make it a Sunday Supper the following day, since that is our reward day and carbs are allowed!  So I went SOOOOO cabacious!!  The meal started with appetizers.  Sweet LAWD!  Home made pretzels, beer cheese dip, cream cheese dip, and creamy mustard dip.  OUTRAGEOUS!  Next we had a shamrock salad - with REAL SHAMROCKS!  It also had almonds, crunchy celery, Swiss cheese, and was tossed in a home made white wine vinegar-vinaigrette.  Main was pulled home made corned beef, cabbage and red potatoes, side of from-skrizzatch Irish soda bread (soft, wonderful, and AMAZING slathered with Irish butter!), and for dessert - grasshopper pie, minus the grasshoppers!  

Though I outdid myself - if I do say so myself, and I DO - my kitchen looked like a tornado had blown through it the next morning.  But ask me if it was worth the clean up.  GO on, ASK ME!  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaasss!

Below, I have the recipe for the Irish soda bread.  So easy you will want to make it way more often than just for March!  Slainte! ('to your good health")

IRISH SODA BREAD

4 cups flour

4 tbs  sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, super-softened

1 cup buttermilk (I make my own!  See notes below!)

1 egg

FOR BASTING:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and butter. Stir in the one cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round of sorts and place on prepared baking sheet (see notes). In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush the top of your round loaf with a little of the buttermilk / butter mixture. Use a very sharp knife to cut an "x"; into the top of the loaf round.  Bake about 45 minutes, or until golden brown, brushing the loaf with the buttermilk / butter mixture every fifteen minutes or so until it's gone.

NOTES:  To make my own buttermilk, I pour two tablespoons of white vinegar into a measuring cup and pour milk over it until it reaches remaining one cup.  Need more?  for each cup of milk you add two more tablespoons of vinegar.  Let sit at least 20 minutes.  It's so easy and you don't have to buy buttermilk and then wonder what to do with what's left over!

SUFFERING SUCCOTASH!

LASDI©

When most people hear, "We're having succotash with dinner", they don't get too excited, and feel they have to suffer through that part of the meal.  I DO get excited.  Now that it's March, and my color-themed OCD has been set to 'green', I couldn't WAIT to make this green-themed side.  It went with our oh-so-succulent sage and brown butter cod.  So we had succulent and succotash.  And it.  was.  WONDERFUL.  It was RICH.  It was ER'THANG. 

SUFFERING SUCCOTASH

extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove elephant garlic (or two cloves regular), minced

1 bag frozen lima beans, thawed

2 medium zucchini, diced

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup white wine

1 large handful frozen sweet peas, thawed

chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

In a heavy pot (I use my cast iron Dutch oven!), sprinkle enough evoo to cover the bottom and let it heat for about two minutes on medium high.  Carefully add the onion and garlic cloves and stir into the evoo.  Let cook without stirring anymore for about two minutes, or until just-brown around the edges of the onion.  Add the lima beans and stir to blend with onion and garlic clove mixture.  Let cook without stirring anymore for five minutes.  I know.  This sounds like it's hard to do, but trust me - it makes for SUCH good succotash because it caramelizes your beans a little.  Once you see the beans browning, add zucchini and stir with onion / garlic clove / bean mixture.  Add seasonings and wine and stir.  Let cook another two minutes.  Remove from heat, add sweet peas and stir.  Garnish with parsley.  And stop eating it all while you're cooking it so as to save some for the others!

Green Eggs & Span (ish Chorizo)

SHE2016©

There are up sides and down sides to my obsessive compulsivity.  I know a lot of people can't imagine what the up sides could be, but I can tell you that for Life As She Does It, they scream volumes about the Bohemian Glitter Girl I am, and help me reach The Masses (that's YOU!), all while being a cathartic-and-helpful outlet.  The particular obsessive complusive part of me I'm referring to (Yes.  There are several) is the monthly themes.  I've been doing it for as long as I can remember.  It stretches from clothing to food, too.  So for example: March = Green or Irish.  Yes, I'm Italian, but the OCD transcends that fact.  I wear green every day in March.  Please don't ask me to explain in one post, just trust that there is a method to my madness.  As far as food in March, I either cook green food items, or Irish food.  This last Saturday morning, I created a Spanish take on green eggs and ham by making scrambled eggs loaded with cilantro with some Spanish chorizo and avocado on the side.  The Spanish chorizo was quite salty, so I drizzled some of the leftover mustard sauce  I made for the corned beef a couple of nights before, and it was absolutely luscious.  Stay tuned for the monthly themes to come; in the meantime, eat green to your heart's content and know Spring is right around the corner!

CILANTRO SCRAMBLED EGGS

4 eggs

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbs cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1` cup packed cilantro, chopped coarsely

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

2 tbs butter

In a medium-sized bowl, scramble the eggs using a small whisk or fork for a solid minute.