Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Simplicity
Yesterday was a lovely soft drizzly sort of day. The kind of day that makes you want to just curl up on the couch with a book -- the trashier, the better! But, instead, H and I went for a 5km walk into town, and back, for a total of over 10km. Part of my preparations for the Vancouver Sun Run, which is on May 9th. When I arrived in Canada last year it was the day of the Sun Run and my sweetheart came to pick me up straight from the race. This year, I aim to run it with him. Not exactly alongside as my running fitness is still developing, but I plan to finish the 10km route doing run-walk-run intervals and complete in respectable time (which, for me, should be around 1hr 45 min).
I was quite pooped when we got back but a short nap had me as good as new and right as rain. Today I woke up energised and sorted through my dresser top, whipping my accessories and cosmetics collection into workable order. And fuelling my efforts was a simple slice of soda bread, which I made about a month ago and which H has been thawing and refreezing several times. Finally, its time came. A simple breakfast, but let's just say that a toasted slice, slathered with good butter, makes a true virtue of simplicity. Perfect for a soft, gray day like today (and yesterday).
Both Joy of Cooking and the New York Times give recipes for soda bread that are far, far removed from true Irish soda bread, which contains no raisins, butter or eggs. But it's probably a better-tasting loaf for that!
I omitted the caraway seeds given in many recipes. You can make this in an ovenproof skillet which would give it a lovely golden crust. I used a springform 10" pan.
Soda bread
Butter for greasing pan plus 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup currants or raisins
1. Preheat oven to 350 F and butter a 10-inch springform.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Stir in the raisins or currants.
3. Pour batter into pan and brush top with remaining butter. Bake until golden and firm to touch, about 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
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