Magically Delicious

Have you ever written an email, pressed send, and immediately regretted it? When Katherine's teacher sent out a request for someone to bake Irish Soda Bread for their St. Patrick's Day celebration at school, I replied that I would be happy to contribute if he really needed me (meaning, don't call on me). I immediately had second thoughts 'cause I don't know nuthin 'bout baking no Soda Bread! So I held my breath and waited...but the luck of the Irish wasn't with me.

After searching the internet, I found a recipe that was supposed to be authentic, and sounded easy enough to try. So, I tested it today, and it actually came out really good! It has a really rustic and homemade look, and the taste is different, but good. I'm going to bake it again on St. Patrick's Day with a big pot of Irish Stew. It's so easy, I'm including the recipe in case you want to try it for yourself. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can!

Irish Soda Bread

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups raisins, optional but traditionally included
  
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
  
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch round cast iron skillet or a 9 inch round baking or cake pan (one with high sides).
2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and caraway seeds. In a small bowl, blend eggs, buttermilk and sour cream. Stir the liquid mixture into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. You're supposed to knead the dough about 10 to 12 strokes, but the dough was too sticky, so I just put in in the pan and patted it down with floured hands. Using a floured knife or scissors, cut a 4x3/4 inch deep slit in the top of the bread. (This was also hard to do with the sticky dough, but I did the best I could.)
3. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 45-50 minutes. Brush the top of the warm bread with butter. Let cool and turn bread onto a wire rack. Enjoy!
   

Lazy Days

Katherine, Sara and Max all visited their doctors yesterday. Katherine has a virus -nothing too serious. She's enjoying being lazy and catching up on her shows. She should return to school tomorrow.

Speaking of lazy, it seems that Max has gained 3.3 lbs since his last weigh-in. About 30% of his body weight. The vet pretty much summed it up with one question, "Max doesn't move around much, does he?" Only to get to his food bowl.

Idol Chatter

It was wrong on so many levels that Sundance was voted off of Idol and Sanjaya remains. First and foremost, it was a singing contest. Sundance could sing, and Sanjaya could hula. My second argument, and I think we should all rally together and protest on this one, is that Sanjaya should have performed on Wednesday night and had no business being in the same competition with Sundance in the first place. And, if there was any fairness in the world, Sanjaya and Antonella should have been voted off together. They were, without doubt, the two most beautiful, but most untalented participants.

The others were no big surprise. I predicted Derek would go, and although I thought Haley would go before Sabrina, I knew Sabrina was in trouble. I'm thinking that Simon's mean remarks got Haley some sympathy votes because she wasn't an unlikable girl, just not very memorable.

About Katherine

Katherine is loving life! She attends a great school, loves her teacher, and has a very active social life with lots of fun friends.

photo 1 - leaving for school on pajama day

photo 2 - Valentine's Day party at school

Who Am I, Anyway?

I received in the mail yesterday a copy of my first grade transcripts. That's right - first grade. I haven't thought about Mrs. Best in a long time, but thanks to my quest to get a New Jersey driver's license, memories of Mrs. Best and her beehive hairdo are fresh on my mind once again. (Okay, maybe not fresh, but I do remember her name and her hair.)

I'll take partial blame for this. For whatever reasons, I never had the name on my social security card changed when I got married. This hasn't been an issue up until now, though, because I have a U.S. passport with my married name.

Flash back a few months ago. After a grueling 3 hour wait, Isaac in to tow, I was told that I couldn't get a NJ driver's license because the name on my social security card didn't match my other documents (passport, marriage & birth certificates and more). This after sitting for hours next to a clearly unstable man who talked out of his head, rocked back and forth, and muttered, "I'm doing fine. I'm being very patient. How am I doing? I'm doing good..." the whole time. You probably think I'm exaggerating, and considering the fact that I'll be sharing the roads with this nut, I wish I was. But I'm not. So, while I get rejected, he gets his license to drive off over the cuckoo's nest.

I won't bore you with the details of my experiences with the social security administration, (2 more trips and 2 more rejections), but I am now armed with my first grade transcripts. Who can stop me now? And all this in an effort to curb identity theft. Sheesh! It would be easier for me to steal my own identity. You know, on second thought...

SCOTT'S BIG DAY!

It all makes perfect sense to me now. After years of poking fun at those unfortunate souls around him who, in the natural scheme of things, were showing a little wear and tear from their accumulating number of years on this earth, Scott decided to run. He just couldn't face the inevitable. A big MILESTONE birthday! But now it's here. And he thought he could hide. But you know the old saying, "You can run, but you can't hide." It's true. It all started early this morning, with a well chosen card by his mom that blares firetruck sirens when you open it - you know to put out the fire from the candles. Isaac has opened it about every 12 seconds, and Scott has been rethinking his decision to work from home today. In addition to that, he's had other humorous emails, cards, and phone calls. So, his plan to flee didn't work. And now he has to live with the consequences. We'll have his traditional steak dinner like always. Only, it's supposed to be in the 20's tonight at grilling time. That's okay, though. The icicles will blend nicely with all that gray hair!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SCOTT!

OUR WEEK IN REVIEW

Our week in review:

Dylan got her hair cut. I hated to see her pretty locks gone, but it looks really cute!

Scott flew to California on Sunday, worked there on Monday, and was back here on Tuesday morning. He lost a night a sleep somewhere in there. He says going to Europe is easier.

The girls didn't get a full snow day on Monday, but school started 1 1/2 hours late, so they weren't completely disappointed.

Katherine has her first spelling list and will now have weekly spelling tests!

Isaac has climbed on the coffee table 9 times, the breakfast table 16 times, and the dining room table twice. He also drags chairs around to climb on side tables and other furniture, but I lost count at about 93. The girls never did this. Must be a boy thing.

Dylan got her eyes checked and is excited that she's getting reading glasses.

Katherine had a field trip to see a Junie B Jones play and loved it.

Isaac had to get another flu shot and some vaccinations. He was a trooper.

Of course, a large portion of our week revolved around American Idol. We were hoping that Antonella and Sanjaya would get the ax, but we'll have to endure them for another week. The ones we like our still around. I guess Blake is our overall favorite. He's fun to watch, and Dylan especially likes him. That Doolittle lady has a great voice, but there's something kind of odd about her. We also like Lakisha, Sundance, and Chris Sligh. (Well, the girls can't stand Chris' hair, so he's lost their vote.) Still, no one seems to thrill us like Taylor. Maybe he'll make a guest appearance some time.