happy st. patrick's day!

happy st. patrick's day from noah (who has asked me every day for two weeks if it's st. patrick's day yet)!

on saturday we took noah to an indoor play place that had a little st. patrick's day party for kids and he enjoyed the themed-props for the photo booth!

love, laurie

happy st. patrick's day!

i always say that ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

i've read that 1 in every 5,000 clovers has four leaves and that your odds of finding one are 1 in 10,000.  the four leaves represent hope, faith, love, and luck.

here's a few of our favorite st. patrick's day recipes from over the years . . .
- irish soda bread scones
- rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread
- vegan irish soda bread (with dried cherries)
- shamrock cut-out sugar cookies

wishing you all the luck of the irish today!

happy st. patty's day!

love, laurie

happy st. patrick's day!

i always say that ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  he's my "lucky charm" for sure, and he has found several over the years.  i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

even when we were leaving the sunflower farm after taking our maternity photos 2 days before noah was born, ryan found a four-leaf clover!  i've read that 1 in every 5,000 clovers has four leaves and that your odds of finding one are 1 in 10,000.  the four leaves represent hope, faith, love, and luck.

here's a few of our favorite st. patrick's day recipes from over the years . . .
- irish soda bread scones
- rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread
- vegan irish soda bread (with dried cherries)
- shamrock cut-out sugar cookies

wishing you all the luck of the irish today!

happy st. patty's day!

love, laurie

happy st. patrick's day!

i think ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  he's my "lucky charm."  he has found several over the years, and i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

i've read that 1 in every 5,000 clovers has four leaves and that your odds of finding one are 1 in 10,000.  the four leaves represent hope, faith, love, and luck.

here's a few of our favorite st. patrick's day recipes from over the years . . .
- irish soda bread scones
- rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread
- vegan irish soda bread (with dried cherries)
- shamrock cut-out sugar cookies

wishing you all the luck of the irish today!

happy st. patty's day!

love, laurie

happy st. patrick's day

i think ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  he's my "lucky charm."  he has found several over the years, and i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

i've read that 1 in every 5,000 clovers has four leaves and that your odds of finding one are 1 in 10,000.  the four leaves represent hope, faith, love, and luck.

here's a few of our favorite st. patrick's day recipes from over the years . . .
- irish soda bread scones
- rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread
- vegan irish soda bread (with dried cherries)
- shamrock cut-out sugar cookies

wishing you all the luck of the irish today!

happy st. patty's day!

love, laurie

happy st. patrick's day!

since it's st. patty's day, we're dressed in green and we'll each have a slice of irish soda bread today.  we're not irish, but i think ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  he has found several over the years, and i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

i've read that 1 in every 5,000 clovers has four leaves and that your odds of finding one are 1 in 10,000.  the four leaves represent hope, faith, love, and luck.

i love this picture because ryan found this particular four-leaf clover a few summers ago and i have it hanging on our refrigerator.  every time it catches my eye as i walk through the kitchen, i am reminded how lucky we are, and how lucky i am to have ryan as my "lucky charm."

here's a few of our favorite st. patrick's day recipes from over the years . . .
- irish soda bread scones
- rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread
- vegan irish soda bread (with dried cherries)
- shamrock cut-out sugar cookies

wishing you all the luck of the irish today!

happy st. patty's day!

love, laurie

have a great weekend!

it's finally friday, and this week was a bit of a crazy one.  i'm very much looking forward to the weekend and actually having the next two days off with ryan!  sunday is st. patty's day.  we're not irish, but i think ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  i heard on the news this week that 1 in every 5,000 clovers has four leaves.  he has found several over the years, and i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

love, laurie

vegan irish soda bread (with dried cherries)

happy st. patrick's day!  i'm not irish, and i don't really celebrate st. patrick's day, but i do enjoy homemade irish soda bread once per year.  in the past, i've shared recipes for cast-iron skillet irish soda bread and irish soda bread scones.  this year, i wanted to try something different and try my hand at vegan irish soda bread.  it turns out it's super simple to make this well-known treat vegan, and it is super delicious.  i only had a little bit of raisins left in the pantry, so i added in some dried cherries (which i know is not traditional at all) and they were really great.  i love it served warm with a cup of tea.

vegan irish soda bread
prep time: 10 minutes
baking time: 45 minutes
yields: one 8-9 inch round loaf of bread

ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 teaspoon caraway seeds

directions:
preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  combine the milk and the vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes.  in a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, raisins, cherries, and caraway seeds.  pour in the milk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just until incorporated and a dough forms.  pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed a few times into a ball.  place dough in a greased cast-iron skillet and cut an "x" in the top of the dough with a serrated knife.  bake for 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  once baked, allow the bread to set in the skillet for 10 minutes before cutting.  serve warm.

enjoy!

love, laurie

happy st. patrick's day!

since it's st. patty's day, we're dressed in green and we each had a slice of irish soda bread with breakfast this morning.  we're not irish, but i think ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  he has found several over the years, and i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

i love this picture because ryan found this particular four-leaf clover last summer and i have it hanging on our refrigerator.  every time it catches my eye as i walk through the kitchen, i am reminded how lucky we are, and how lucky i am to have ryan as my "lucky charm."

wishing you all the luck of the irish today!

happy st. patty's day!

love, laurie

rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread

somehow we're halfway through the month of march already and st. patrick's day is tomorrow.  i've mentioned before that i'm not irish, so i tend not to celebrate st. patty's day at all.  however, last year i got a little bit festive and made irish soda bread scones.  we enjoyed them so much that i thought i would make a loaf of irish soda bread this year.

since i'm not irish i don't have an irish grandmother, but if i did this is the type of irish soda bread i imagine she would have made "back in the day."  this is classic irish soda bread at its finest made in a cast-iron skillet which gives it a very crusty outside and a tender inside.  it's filled with raisins and it's not sweet at all.  it's just right.

the best part about this recipe is that it is such a quick and easy bread recipe.  there's no yeast, just baking soda (hence the name soda bread) so you don't have to wait around for dough to rise!

rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread
prep time: 10 minutes
baking time: 45-55 minutes
yields: one 10-inch round loaf of bread
adapted from sally's baking addiction

ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
5 tablespoons cold salted butter, divided
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 cup raisins

directions:
preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  in a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda.  cut 4 tablespoons of the cold butter into small cubes and work the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter (or a fork) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  fold in the raisins.  in a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and the egg.  add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently fold with a wooden spoon or spatula until all ingredients are incorporated.  turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently kneed for a few moments to make sure all of the flour is incorporated and the dough is not too sticky.

place the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the skillet and place the skillet in the oven.  let the butter melt for a few minutes then remove the skillet from the oven and evenly spread the melted butter around the bottom and the sides of the skillet.  place the dough in the prepared skillet.  use a serrated knife to score an x shape in the top of the dough.  bake for 45-55 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the bread is cooked throughout.  (if the top starts to brown too much, cover with aluminum foil partway though to avoid getting too dark.)  once baked, remove from the oven and allow the bread to set in the skillet for 10 minutes before removing it from the skillet and transferring it to a wire cooling rack.  serve warm with butter and/or jam.

enjoy!

love, laurie

lucky charm

ryan must have the "luck of the irish" (even though we aren't irish) because he seems to have a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  he has found several of them over the years, and i've kept most of the ones that he has found.  (i save them by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

this particular four-leaf clover has been hanging on our refrigerator between two pieces of wax paper since he found it this past summer.  i saw it hanging our our fridge this morning and it made me stop to realize how "lucky" we are, and to be grateful for what we have.  ryan certainly is my "lucky charm."

happy st. patty's day!

love, laurie

green foods to celebrate st. patrick's day

i'm not irish, so i tend to not really celebrate st. patrick's day at all.  however, here are a few festively green foods in honor of st. patrick's day tomorrow . . .

- green shamrock cookies
- green smoothie
- broccomole (broccoli guacamole)
- simple basil pesto
- arugula, mint, and pistachio pesto
- smashed chickpea and avocado salad sandwiches
- cream of asparagus soup
- cream of broccoli soup

and of course, st. patty's day wouldn't be complete with irish soda bread.  i really love these simple irish soda bread scones!

love, laurie

irish soda bread scones

i mentioned yesterday that i'm not irish, so i tend to not really celebrate st. patrick's day at all.  however, once in a while i do get a craving for irish soda bread.

so, in honor of st. patrick's day i decided to be festive and to make some irish soda bread.  instead of making it into a loaf, i made it into scones.

this recipe was so easy.  honestly, it has to be the simplest "bread" recipe that i have ever made.  there are only a handful of ingredients, and they come together in just a few moments to make the most delicious scones.

buttermilk is brushed on these scones before they bake to give them a wonderful crust on the outside, and the butter inside makes them perfectly flaky.

seriously, these things are addictive.  i made them on saturday morning, and we polished them off in no time.  they are great with some scrabbled eggs for breakfast, or just as a treat with a cup of coffee or tea.

this recipe is a keeper for sure.  i can't wait to make these again!

irish soda bread scones
prep time: 15 minutes
baking time: 20-25 minutes
yields: 6 scones
adapted from a cozy kitchen

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons salted butter, cold
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup buttermilk

directions:
preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  in a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and sugar.  using a box grater, grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients.  cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the butter is well distributed.  add the raisins and toss to coat them in the flour.  make a well in the center of the mixture, and pour in the buttermilk.  use a spatula to incorporate the buttermilk into the flour mixture.  turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it comes together.  form the dough into a circular disk approximately 8-9 inches in diameter.  cut the dough evenly into 6 triangles.  place the triangles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  freeze the triangles on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.  remove the baking sheet from the freezer, and brush the triangles with buttermilk.  sprinkle the tops with a bit of salt and granulated sugar.  bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.  serve warm with butter.

enjoy!

love, laurie

shamrock cut-out sugar cookies

happy st. patrick's day!  i'm not irish, so i tend not to celebrate st. patty's day at all.  however, i couldn't resist an excuse to bake some treats to bring into work for my co-workers today.  so, i made sugar cookies in the shape of shamrocks.

if you're looking for a good recipe for cut-out sugar cookies, look no further.  i have made this recipe on several different occasions, and it turns out perfectly every time.  it makes the best sugar cookies for decorating, which is great for holidays, birthdays, wedding/baby showers, etc.

to be festive, i decorated them with green royal icing and sprinkled them with some green sugar crystals too.

cut-out sugar cookies
prep time: 10-15 minutes
baking time: 10-12 minutes
yields: approximately 30 cookies
adapted from bake at 350

ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cold
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

directions:
preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  cut the cold butter into small pieces and place in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  cream the butter and sugar together.  add the egg and vanilla.  beat well until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  sift the flour and baking powder together.  gradually add the flour mixture and beat until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.  turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it together with your hands.  roll the dough out (about 1/4 inch thick) and cut into shapes.  place the cut-out shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  freeze the cut-out shapes on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then bake for 10-12 minutes.  once baked, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.  decorate as desired.

enjoy!

love, laurie