Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir together. Add buttermilk and mix with a large spoon (or with your hands!) until the dough comes together- it will feel like biscuit dough. The dough should be moist, but not sticky and hard to handle.
Form into a round and place on greased cookie sheet. Slice an X into the top with a sharp knife and bake for about 40 minutes, until dark golden. Rub top with butter while still warm.

Irish Potato Carrot Soup

5 tbsp. butter
1 med. onion, diced
5 clove garlic, crushed
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 carrots, sliced
6 med. potatoes, chopped
16 oz. chicken broth
1 1/2 to milk
1/2 tsp. each: salt, thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook onion, garlic, celery and carrots and potatoes in butter in large saucepan about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and thyme. Simmer 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree. Return to pan. Add milk, salt and pepper stir until heated.

Yum!

Plesniak (Polish Moldy Cake)

No, it's not moldy! In fact, it is quite tasty! I recently made this for a fellowship meal, and not a single piece was left. I used cherry pie filling, but this can also be made with apple or prune filling.

Makes 8-12 servings or 1 (13x9-inch) Polish Moldy Cake - Plesniak

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 9 ounces (1 stick + 2 tablespoons) room-temperature butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 4 large egg whites
• 3 (12- to 14-ounce) cans prune or cherry pie filling

Preparation:

1. To make the dough: In a medium bowl, beat together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until thick and lemon-colored. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, butter and vanilla. Then add the egg-yolk mixture and mix thoroughly.
   
   
2. Divide dough into 3 pieces. Mix 1 portion of dough with cocoa powder until well blended. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.
   
   
3. To assemble the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. Take out one piece of dough and roll it to fit the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the prune or cherry filling evenly over the base of the cake.
   
   
4. Remove the cocoa-flavored dough from the refrigerator and grate it on top of the fruit filling.
   
   
5. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites with remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form, and spread on top of the grated cocoa dough.
   
   
6. Remove the last portion of dough from the refrigerator and grate it on top of the egg whites. Bake 40-60 minutes or until egg whites are set and top is golden brown. Let cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.

Originally published here.

Chłopski Posiłek (Peasants' Meal)

Chłopski Posiłek (Peasants' Meal)

'Peasants' Meal' might not sound very tasty, but this traditional Polish dish is delicious! This is one of those recipes that you can 'fudge.' Have fun experimenting with it.

2 1/2 cups water

2		medium cabbages, chopped
2		lbs. Polish Kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices.
1		large onion, diced
4		cloves garlic, minced (optional)
		Throw all ingredients in the crock pot! I cooked mine overnight on low, and it was delicious!