The Weekend Dish-Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 15, 2013 by backyardsisters

The song begins the moment first guests arrive, a ditty all four Keefes learned by heart one summer when an Irish singalong CD was our soundtrack while driving backroads from Dublin to Shannon.
(Go ahead, click play and listen while you read.)

At our house on March 17, “there’s a welcome there for you” regardless of where you hail from. We invite the intrepid and seasoned St. Patrick Day’s revelers in for a taste of tradition dating beyond our family trip to the homeland, beyond the Backyard Sisters’ mom making corned beef, back, back to the maternal and paternal grandmothers who couldn’t let a March 17 pass without corned beef and a haunting round of “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s an Irish Lullaby) sung a capella in the kitchen.

At the O’Keefe’s Hooley on St. Patrick’s Day, “whoever you are you’re one us,” ’tis true. But there are three hard and fast rules for being a good guest.

Sing along.
Wear green.

Maizie the Wonderlab. Photo Credit: James Keefe

And kick off your shoes to kitchen jig.

We take care of the rest by creating a feast based on updated versions of the Irish classics of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes; some sort of green vegetable, an ancient green jello salad recipe, and Irish soda bread.

The corned beef is boiled in the conventional manner, then treated with a catsup, horseradish, mustard, brown sugar, and melted butter glaze which is brushed over the beef, then oven roasted for 30 minutes at 350 to create a savory, almost caramelized coating. Cabbage is oven roasted in olive oil so it browns and remains more crisp than its boiled cousin. Potatoes are mashed, country style with roasted garlic and laced with parsley. Usually by the time I’m finished making all of this, enthusiasm and time left to make soda bread have waned.

And honestly, up until last year, for me Irish Soda Bread wasn’t anything worth troubling over. Some years I whipped up Bisquick biscuits; other times I called Pop ‘N Fresh biscuits Irish, or better yet, I passed out bread duty to guests. As the luck of the Irish would have it, last year my friend Maureen brought the bread that changed my mind about it being a second class citizen at the feast. And wouldn’t you know, this recipe is straight from Ireland by way of her mother.

Eileen Shea’s Irish Soda Bread. Photo Credit: James Keefe

Here’s the story behind the bread, in Maureen’s words.

The Irish soda bread is a very fond memory from my mom, Eileen Shea. Her parents came over from Ireland and met in buffalo NY , settled in an Irish neighborhood there. My mom had been making the bread for many years, always on St. Paddy’s day, along with corned beef and cabbage if course! I began making the bread when I had our daughters and wanted to keep the Irish tradition alive for them…. I make it every St. Paddy’s…I hope the girls will carry on the recipe when they have their own families….

It’s funny because I am out here in the desert with my Buffalo cousins , who have kept up the same tradition and actually brought us a wonderful loaf of soda bread on the plane …we have been eating it as we speak, the same recipe that our moms have shared ….

So cheers to you and cheers to Eileen and Maureen and the Buffalo cousins. “Whoever you are, you’re one of us.”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
~ Catherine

Eileen Shea’s Irish Soda Bread
Preheat oven to 350

4 Cups flour (scant)
1 T baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 Cup sugar
3/4 Cup butter (chilled)
1 Cup raisins
2 tsp. caraway seeds
1 1/3 Cups buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in butter. Add raisins, caraway seeds, and milk. Turn out on a floured board. Knead about one minute. (Maureen divides dough in half and makes two small round loaves.)

Bake on cookie sheet for 50-60 minutes until brown and crackled.

The Weekend Dish – Brownie Cheesecake

Posted on March 8, 2013 by backyardsisters

Culinarily exploring this month’s theme of contrast, I hit upon the brownie cheesecake. It is a delicious, indulgent dessert which is a fine example when used as a study in contrasts. The white cheesecake on top of the dark brownie highlights the tonal contrast. In addition, there is textural dissimilarity between the smooth, creaminess of the cheesecake layer and the chewy, dense brownie layer. When these two components are mixed together, the result is sheer bliss.

I had to mute my “healthy eating inner voice” for awhile and turn up the volume on the “oh this is going to be good voice”, (another contrast for me) turning a blind eye to the nutrition information as I added the 4 – 8oz blocks of cream cheese. I couldn’t help thinking of calories as I lifted the 13″ X 9″ pan taking note of the poundage. However, I can report, putting my inner turmoil aside was so worth it. This brownie cheesecake is scrumptious.

I found the recipe on the Kraft foods recipe website but I did make a few adjustments.

Brownie Cheesecake

1 pkg. (19 to 21 oz.) brownie mix (I used Ghirardelli brand double chocolate)
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened. I used two neufchatel cheese (a lighter cream cheese)
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla (I upped this from 1 tsp)
1/2 cup sour Cream
3 eggs
1 cup semi-sweet morsels (Ghirardelli again)

HEAT oven to 325°F.

PREPARE brownie batter as directed on package; pour into 13×9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 25 min. or until top is shiny and center is almost set.

MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Gently pour over brownie layer in pan. (Filling will come almost to top of pan.)

BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen sides; cool. Refrigerate 4 hours.

MELT chocolate morsels in double boiler; drizzle over cheesecake. Refrigerate 15 min. or until chocolate is firm.

You may want to slice before the chocolate becomes to firm or else it pops off the top and the presentation isn’t as nice.

I especially liked the Kraft kitchen tip at the bottom of the recipe:

Balance your food choices throughout the day so you can enjoy a serving of this rich-and-indulgent cheesecake with your loved ones.

You will definitely want to share this with your loved ones. I took half of the pan to share with some friends and even though I would love to keep the other half for myself, I dare not.

You will find me this weekend supplementing my exercise routine by adding another day of walking and climbing an extra flight of stairs or two, also looking for loved ones to share the goodies with and. . . indulging in a few pieces of rich brownie cheesecake myself; savoring every bite!

Indulgently yours,

~ Susan

Look Closer

Posted on February 19, 2013 by backyardsisters

The use of leading lines as a compositional tool can also be applied to macro photography. This week my search lead me to take a longer and closer look at the world around me. Flowers possess built in leading lines; with the stems leading one’s eyes to the flower and the petals drawing attention to their center.

Both can be incorporated in one photo or you may choose to simply use one or the other.

Orchids with their colorful, long-lasting flowers certainly brighten a room and make marvelous photographic subjects.

The remains of a tulip flower after the petals fell off couldn’t escape my camera. Even though the color from the petals is gone, I found some beauty in the starkness of the pistil as highlighted by the stems and stamens.

Here, the repeating lines of the woods rings . . .

lead to the cut side.

The tentacles of the sea anemone create many lines leading one’s eyes to the middle or oral disc.

You can also create your own leading line using your hand and finger as a pointer.

I was happy to see that my hand model’s nail polish coordinated with the sea anemone’s hue.

Food also can either be arranged to create leading lines or as in these photos cut to create them.

When cut in this manner the seeds lead one’s eyes to the core.

A cross section of a red cabbage contains so many lines it can be easy to get lost in them but if you focus on the larger lines, they lead to the core.

This week you too can look closer at your world and search out the leading lines there. Who knows, once you start, you may be lead down a path you never dreamed of.

~ Susan

The Weekend Dish – Roasted Beet Salad

Posted on February 8, 2013 by backyardsisters

Beets, the beautiful beet, is vibrant in color.

Its’ color is festive.

When added to a salad it’s like a party in a bowl. A salad is a fine way to start a meal; leading one into the entree if you will. This roasted beet salad is a wonderfully, delicious way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, or turn an ordinary day extraordinary.

Roasted Beet Salad

6 beets, peeled and chopped into 1″ cubes
1/4 red onion
6 oz arugula
6 oz mixed baby greens
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup roasted pecans

Preheat oven to 400°. Toss chopped beets with enough olive oil to coat and sprinkle with salt to taste. Roast in oven until tender, about 40 minutes.
In a large bowl toss the beets with the remaining ingredients and the dressing. Serves 12.

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp black pepper
Whisk ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Ingredients can be adjusted to taste, sometimes, if not tart enough for my taste, I will add a splash of red wine or apple cider vinegar or will add more honey if too tart.

Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day!

~ Sue

You are a human treasure

Posted on February 7, 2013 by backyardsisters

Dear One,
Your compliment, so kind, compels me to remind you how much beauty also lives in you. You, of course, the person, and you the word, so small in all the language. “You” can mean the one, or “you” can mean the many. “You” can mean the Angel who I wrote about last May in “Stop this day and night with me.”

Angel returns one morning last week. I open the oak front door to see him standing on the porch. He shuffles his feet, looks at the stone, points to the empty dirt in my new yard and wonders if I need help planting. His eyes are bloodshot, the scent of alcohol sweet in the morning air. He smiles as he gestures toward the mud.

“Would you like me to put in roses? Fruit trees?”

“Let me check with J,” I say, acting like it hasn’t been months and months since he stopped gardening for me, acting like this newly emaciated body clothed in muddy khaki pants, cinched with a black belt flapping several extra inches at the end, might actually be able to dig holes and tamp mud any better than my own. He has a gift, this man who knows exactly how to coax a growing thing to triumph. Should I stand in the way of allowing him to work?

“Can you come next week?”

“Sure, sure.”

I give him J’s number to arrange a day, a time, a price. Angel calls on Sunday.

“I can’t make it on Monday. I’m in the hospital. For tests. Maybe I can come on Tuesday.”

On Tuesday night Angel calls.

“I have stomach cancer. I have an operation tomorrow. I cannot come and plant your garden. Maybe next week.”

You are a human treasure.

Must I know exactly where I’m going when I compose a leading line?

What if I have no idea how the story ends, or how to compose a view for effect, or how to make any sense of muddy paths leading straight into the fog?

Is it an accident, or part of nature’s wondrous plan that the view when looking up

offers much more hope and light than the gaze that meets the ground? Two muddy feet

Yet it’s on the ground where the growing things begin. Salt of the earth. Grounded. It’s the earth we all return to.

When a writer thinks of leading lines, a writer thinks of books, that first taste of a voice which can make a difference in the way a reader sees the world.

I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids – and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.

from Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison

There is nothing worse I think, than the feeling of not being seen.

Even among books, some seem small in stature, insignificant when compared to the legacy of others based on copies sold, appearances on syllabi, or inclusion in the conversation among critics.

Some books, some lives, are at risk of getting lost. I’d like to highly recommend such a book that might have missed your radar. Dominque Fabre’s The Waitress Was New, (translated from the French by Jordan Stump) is the perfect little 106 page gem to reacquaint yourself with what Fabre describes as the, “genuine beauty, genuine dignity of places or people that have been somehow overlooked.”

It’s the story of an entirely undistinguished bartender. It offers a leading line straight to the very mystery of the beauty of the anonymous life most of us exalt in. It reminds us that we must take the time to tell each other, You are a human treasure. And then, we must live as if we believe it to be true.

With all due respect,
~Catherine

The Weekend Dish – Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Posted on January 25, 2013 by backyardsisters

There are a few food scents that upon detection send me to my “happy place” – cinnamon, cloves, roasting garlic and to a slightly lesser extent coffee and cooking bacon. A new addition is curry. This month, I have been making dishes with curry more than usual and I have noticed it is beginning to have that happy effect on me. Recently, returning home after making this soup, I am transported to my aroma therapy happy place. The faint curry scent coupled with the delicate squash create an olfactory bouquet I view as a little gift to myself. In the five seconds or so I am mentally reveling in this gift, my daughter exclaims, “mmm, smells good!”, a bonus gift!

The squash, with the help of a few supporting ingredients, is elevated to a smooth, warm, savory delight and allowed to shine.

For this simple yet elegant soup. . .

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 Tbsp chopped, seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tsp curry
6 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash (about 3 pounds)
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dry sherry

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook 5 minutes. Stir in jalapeño and curry, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in squash, water, and salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until squash is tender. Place half of the squash mixture in a blender ; process until smooth (or can be processed in pan using a hand held blender). Pour the puréed squash mixture into a bowl. Repeat the procedure with the remaining squash mixture. Return the puréed squash mixture to the pan and stir in the sherry. Can be brought back up to a simmer and kept warm.

The perfect dish for warming a cold, winter day.

Try it this weekend and see if you will be transported to your “happy place”.

~ Susan

The Weekend Dish – Macaroni and Cheese

Posted on January 11, 2013 by backyardsisters

Bringing the focus theme into the kitchen, the idea of recipes that focus on one or two ingredients became the clear and obvious choice for a weekend dish. Macaroni and cheese are two ingredients when combined create a simply delicious dish. In this backyard sister’s kitchen, macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. I don’t mean the boxed variety with the powdered orange cheese sauce but the made from scratch, whip up a cheese sauce and mix with your favorite pasta variety. It was the “go to” dish when I first started playing around in the kitchen with savory dishes. This happened mostly on nights when our parents were going out and we wanted to get creative with a meal. Recently, I turned the dish into an appetizer by putting it in mini muffin tins and baking until crispy.

The Recipe:

Macaroni and Cheese

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
1 cup milk (I use non-fat)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pound grated cheese – I use sharp cheddar, but a mixture can be used with cheddar, gruyere, parmesan; as long as the amount equals 4 cups grated.
1 pound elbow macaroni or your favorite small shaped pasta (I have also used penne before)

Preheat oven to 350°

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, when melted add flour and stir to mix. Pour in the milk, add the pepper and cook over med/low heat until thickened. Add the grated cheese and stir until completely incorporated and smooth.
Add the cheese sauce to the pasta and mix until pasta is completely coated with sauce.
Pour into a greased 9 X 13 pan. Add 1/4 cup of milk to the pan and gently shake from side to side to work milk to the bottom. Bake in preheated oven until top is slightly browned, about 20 minutes. Alternately, if you would like to make the bite-sized version place spoonfuls into a greased mini muffin tin. Use 2 tins or put remaining in a small baking dish. Bake for about 14 minutes or until crispy and browned.

We like to serve with barbecue sauce or ketchup to add a little tang.

A salad and some green beans or broccoli usually round out the meal.

Enjoy and cheers,

~ Susan

Sugar and Spice Sure are Nice

Posted on December 11, 2012 by backyardsisters

Pop a cookie sheet of these cookies in the oven and the house will fill with the scent of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. As the cookies progress from this:

to this:

Molasses Crinkles are another one of the cookies which make an appearance on the Big Platter. The cookbook containing the original recipe is one the Backyard Sisters have turned to many times over the years.

When younger, and the baking urge would strike, we usually pulled out this book and flipped through the pages for just the right confection to satisfy that urge. I don’t remember what prompted the first attempt at Molasses Crinkles. Perhaps it was the exotic sounding ingredients molasses,

and the spices cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Whatever it was, once mixed and baked, they have beckoned with their spicy aroma.

Spices which boast health benefits by the way, and can evoke feelings of comfort and joy.

So, bake a batch and watch them disappear.

The recipe:

Molasses Crinkles

Mix thoroughly in a large bowl:

3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

In another bowl sift together:
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsps. baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt

Mix dry ingredients into butter mixture until blended well.
Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 375°.
Roll teaspoonfuls of chilled dough into balls the size of large walnuts.
Dip the tops in granulated sugar. Place the cookies, sugar side up on a lightly greased or parchment paper covered cookie sheet, 3 inches apart.
Bake 10 minutes or just until set but not hard.
Cool on wire rack.

Makes 4 dozen.

Or bake some and share with friends and family.

~ Sue

The Great December Cookie Bake

Posted on December 4, 2012 by backyardsisters

Come December, the Backyard Sisters take to the kitchen. We buy pounds of flour, sugar and butter and rummage through the pantry for chocolate chips, food coloring, sprinkles and other various ingredients. The main objective – cookies, and lots of them. There’s nothing like the sweet buttery scent of sugar cookies in the oven to put one in the mood for elfish activities. This month, we are sharing some of our favorite cookie recipes, photos and stories from our great cookie bakes. Closer to Christmas, all the sisters and cousins who are in town get together for the annual great Christmas cookie bake. Energized by Christmas carols and each others’ company, we sift, mix, dance, roll out dough, laugh and decorate the day away. Just about every year there is one batch that doesn’t come out as planned – like the year the snowball cookies came out resembling hockey pucks more than snow balls. . .

still not sure what happened there. Or, the time the fudge turned out powdery; prompting careful monitoring of the second attempt.

Usually, though, things go smoothly.

And after a day filled with rotating cookies sheets in and out of the oven and ending with a delicious artistic expression. . .

we produce a platter over-flowing with the sweet, crispy, tasty, fruits of our labors. ( Note the usual snowball cookies front left.)

At this backyard sister’s house, the first batch to kick off the season is sugar cookies.

These are crisp and delicate with a hint of vanilla.

For many years, the youngest backyard daughter and her friend have made a batch to sell in front of the house, along with cocoa, to the many people streaming through our neighborhood to enjoy the light displays, but, most importantly, the “Big Guy” likes them too.
From our house to yours:

Extraordinary Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter                                        4 1/2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup powdered sugar                          1 tsp baking soda
1 cup oil                                                1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs                                                  1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in oil and eggs. Beat well. Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and extracts. Mix until well blended. Chill the dough. Roll about heaping teaspoon size amount of dough into a ball and roll in sugar (can mix colored sugar in with granulated sugar) then flatten with bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

~ Sue

The Weekend Dish-Savory Bite

Posted on November 30, 2012 by backyardsisters

Since tomorrow is the first day of December, I thought it might be nice to share an appetizer recipe for your holiday gatherings. I belong to a Bunco group. Bunco is a game played with dice. We get together monthly to play and eat. We are a Bunco group that likes to eat, and everyone brings either a dessert or an appetizer. One month before Bunco I was trying to decide what to bring while looking in the refrigerator and pulling out ingredients that just might go together . . .

What to make with these ingredients

I came up with this appetizer. The Bunco ladies liked it and hopefully you will too.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crostini

1 loaf of french bread baguette sliced
1 lb. crimini mushrooms (you can use any kind, I prefer these)
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp red wine
balsamic vinegar
goat cheese
black pepper

Toast the bread slices under the broiler until lightly browned. Finely chop the mushrooms, onion and garlic; a food processor works great for this. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan on medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic until translucent about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until the liquid released from the mushrooms evaporates. Add the soy sauce and red wine and cook until most of the juices have evaporated. Spread the mushroom mixture on the bread slices and sprinkle a little balsamic vinegar on each (just a sprinkle, don’t want it running all over the bread). Place about a quarter inch slice from a goat cheese log on top of the mushroom mixture on each. Sprinkle with coarse ground black pepper. Put under the broiler until the goat cheese is warmed, about 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on it.
Serves 12 as an appetizer.

Let the festivities begin-

~Sue

backyard sisters

Saving ordinary moments from the brink of oblivion

Tag Archives: food photography

The Weekend Dish-Irish Soda Bread

The Weekend Dish – Brownie Cheesecake

Look Closer

The Weekend Dish – Roasted Beet Salad

You are a human treasure

The Weekend Dish – Curried Butternut Squash Soup

The Weekend Dish – Macaroni and Cheese

Sugar and Spice Sure are Nice

The Weekend Dish-Savory Bite

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