Irish Authors and Cinnamon Bread

Happy belated Easter! We celebrated with a cold egg hunt in the backyard and a relaxing Sunday at my sister-in-law’s house in Chicago. It definitely does not feel like spring, because this morning, April 18th, we woke up to snow! Beautiful, and not that cold for a snowy day, but still. I’m so ready for spring. I want everything to be green and in bloom. I want to plant vegetables and cook and eat outside. Instead I’m wrapped in an electric blanket reading books and thinking about baked goods.

I’ve read some really great books by Irish authors lately and I’ve been contemplating the possible reasons that so many of the world’s best authors, past and present, are Irish. Is it the weather? The religious and political turmoil? I just read Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, a short piece of fiction about the Magdalene Laundries - institutions run by the Catholic order which operated in Ireland from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, and where hundreds of young unwed mothers and their children experienced abusive conditions, cruelty and even death. It took just an hour to read but was so moving. And truly thought provoking. It made me think about the role of religion and morality in society and the tough decisions humans are faced with.

Immediately after finishing Small Things Like These, I listened to the book Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan. It received a lot of praise and I was intrigued, but didn’t even know that it was by another Irish author until I started the audio version. I have to tell you, this one made me wish that all audiobooks could be read by people with Irish accents. The narrator of the book had such a clear and lyrical voice. And her accent just carried me away. I could not stop listening. The book, though sad and disturbing at times, was beautiful and compelling.

I have no idea what it is about Irish authors. But thank goodness for them. Especially because it is still snowing in late April. I may have to get another few books to carry me through this cold spring. And some more cold weather recipes as well. Here’s a good one that I cannot believe it took me so long to make; cinnamon bread.

This is the chocolate version. The first few loaves went to fast for us to photograph.

My kids recently developed a fondness for cinnamon bread. I made the mistake of buying it on sale at Piggly Wiggly earlier this year and they were hooked. These little half-loaves of cinnamon bread cost about $5 each! I get that there’s butter in there but doesn’t it seem way too expensive for grocery store bread? It feels that way, especially when my kids can polish a whole one off in one sitting. Of course my first thought was that I could make it myself without too much effort. And that it would be much cheaper (and better). I have my frugal, immigrant father to thank for that reaction I suppose. Thanks (for the bread) Dad!

My most trusted source when it comes to baking, is King Arthur Flour. They relentlessly test their recipes and manage to make them mostly impossible to mess up, even for amateur bakers like me. As suspected, they have a foolproof recipe for cinnamon bread. It’s super simple and really, really good. I started out by making a single loaf and made a double batch the next day. A couple of days later, I made another double batch but instead of making both cinnamon, I made one chocolate and one cinnamon.

These loaves disappeared so quickly. I laughed to myself that it would have cost $50 if I let my family consume that much store-bought cinnamon bread! And in addition to the savings, my house smelled amazing. There is no air freshener in the world that beats the smell of fresh bread. This bread also makes really good french toast. I made some the other day - in the oven, on a baking sheet - and it was so easy. Highly recommend.

Roll out the dough; Brush with egg wash: Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar; Roll up and put in the pan: Let rise until puffy and filling up the pan; Bake.

For cinnamon bread, I followed the recipe here, doubling it for two loaves.

For the chocolate version*:

Instead of using cinnamon sugar, I added mini-chocolate chips to one side of the bread as I rolled it out, and added cocoa powder and sugar in about a 1:1 ratio in place of the cinnamon sugar. I threw some extra mini-chocolate chips on top of the filling before rolling it up.

*The chocolate version was a hit, but don’t make this if your kids are chocoholics like mine are or they will never want the cinnamon version again.

Dead Simple: Parsley Sauce for Your Saint Patrick's Day Meal

Hi there. How are you? I'm having a hard time believing that March is around the corner. Where did the last few month go? I am totally looking forward to the days getting longer and longer and  it warming up around here.  Plus, we are all psyched that the next major Holiday (besides Emmett's birthday, as I am reminded EVERY.SINGLE.DAY) is Saint Patrick's Day!

Spring means mixing things up with evening trips to the park, more eating out (even though that has been scaled back by the arrival of this), and possible getting the grill out. But for the next few weeks it's business as usual around here.

My father-in-law, Paddy, and I take turns hosting Sunday dinner. It’s an informal affair, just Paul and I, the kids, Paddy and my brother-in-law, John.  Nothing fancy, more often than not, dinner is just what we would normally have.  But, it’s nice to sit down to a meal together, and it’s a part of the week that we all look forward to. Last week, Paddy and John did more than their fair share. They drove to our house so we wouldn’t have to get the kids bundled up AND they brought an Irish bacon. There really wasn’t much for me to do to make dinner happen.

We typically eat our Irish bacon (and corned beef for that matter) with Coleman’s mustard on the side.  But since I was only responsible for vegetables, I decided to make some parsley sauce to go with the bacon.  This sauce is a basic bechamel with chopped parsley and lemon juice mixed in. It goes great with bacon and would probably be nice with fish (fish Friday idea!) or to spruce up some simple steamed broccoli or spinach.

You can make this sauce in the time it takes to cook some carrots and cabbage on the stovetop. I will definitely be making it again with my corned beef on Saint Patrick’s Day. With some Coleman’s mustard on the side, of course.

Parsley Sauce

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Salt to taste

Place butter and flour in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.  I like to use a high quality salted Irish butter, such as Kerrygold, for this.  If you use salted butter, you won’t need to add much salt at the end.

Stir butter and flour together until if makes a homogenous paste and bubbles but does not brown, about 2 minutes.   

Pour milk in slowly and cook, whisking constantly, for 4 or 5 minutes, until sauce thickens.  I add milk a little at a time, keeping in mind that sauce will be slightly thicker when taken off the heat. You may or may not use all the milk.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and parsley.

Season to taste.  

To say I love Irish bacon would be an understatement.  If you are looking for something to do with leftover Irish bacon, look no further. 

I've used it in all of these: 

Bacon and Pea Risotto

In soup with white beans

In split pea soup

Dublin Coddle

and, it makes a regular appearance at our house in fried rice, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, even biscuits, cornbread and scones. Bacon is my weeknight, breakfast, anytime hero.

Donegal Oatcakes and Tomato-Rosemary Jam

I’ve been home most of this week with FOUR sick kids.  I’m only just getting used to having four children, let alone sick ones.   It’s been snowy and cold here, so if there is a time to be taking care of sick little ones and baking, that time is now.  

This whole cold, snowy weather, sick kids thing could really be a bummer, and while I hate that the kids are off their game, I’m feeling fortunate that it’s not this nasty flu everyone else is getting.  Also, since I’m on maternity leave, I can be here to take care of them.  And do what I would probably be doing anyway: Bake.

It’s funny how I think most people who know me would say that I’m an extrovert, outgoing, social and talkative (“excessive talking” was the comment I would get from every single teacher on my elementary school report cards).  I’m all of those things, but I’m also a homebody to the core. I can go days, weeks even, without leaving the house. I always have a list of projects I want to tackle and it’s so easy for me to just get lost in one or a few of them.  When I’m focused, I don’t notice the hours or days go by.  Paul tells me that he can identify the look in my face when I’m “in the zone” and he knows to just get out of the way. Haha.

My point is, that for me, being snowed in with sick littles isn’t so bad. It’s an opportunity for me to get things done around the house, including trying some recipes I’ve had on my list.  So, once again, I find myself cooking comfort food from the pantry.

I’ve been wanting to try this simple recipe for Donegal Oatcakes by Darina Allen for ages.  When I surveyed the contents of our fridge and saw tomato-rosemary jam, a by-product of Paul and I both buying grape tomatoes on the same day, I thought it would complement these oatcakes perfectly. Well, as it turns out, I was right. These were nutty and homey and another easy and delicious way to use my favorite Irish flour. They are also great with fruit jam and clotted cream, creme fraiche, or greek yogurt.  They can be taken in the direction of dessert with a generous swipe of nutella - sort of like an oaty, nutty, chocolate digestive. With just five ingredients, and a little time, they couldn't be easier to make.

Put the kettle on.

Donegal Oatcakes

• 1 cup stone-ground oatmeal
• 1 cup whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter or lard, cubed and chilled, plus butter for serving (optional)
• 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
• 1⁄2 cup boiling water

Tomato- RosemaryJam

• 2 cups grape tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅓ to ½ cup of sugar

For tomato jam:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer until tomatoes cook down and the mixture reaches a thick, jammy consistency, about 1 hour.  Remove rosemary sprig, its ok to leave some whole leaves that have fallen off in the jam. Serve with oatcakes, brown bread, on a grilled cheese or even with chicken, fish or pork.  

For oatcakes:

Add oats, flour, butter and salt to food processor and pulse until butter is in pea-sized clumps.

Drizzle in boiling water until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a ½” thick square.  Place a kitchen towel over the top and let sit to dry out for about an hour.

I rolled the dough out between the parchment I baked them on and a sheet of saran wrap. 

Preheat oven to 250F.  You can cut the cakes out with a biscuit cutter and gather and reuse the scraps or just cut them into squares as I did.

With this approach, they don't look identical (unless you rolled them out in a perfect rectangle) but I don't mind the "rustic" look.

Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and bake, flipping once, until golden and slightly crisp, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature with butter (or Irish cheddar) and tomato jam.

It's tough to tell from the photo but these did brown slighty on both sides.  They are crisp on the outside and a soft on the inside. 

These last about 1 week in an airtight container.