Hello, there.  I am Athena’s Irish friend, Shannon, and you can find me blogging over at Dresses & Desserts.

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and it is one of my favorite holidays.  Everyone loves to embrace their heritage, but I believe that you do not have to be Irish to have a good St. Patrick’s day.

Having grown up in the suburbs of Boston, followed by four years at the Catholic Providence College, there was no shortage of Irish folk to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with.  Every year my mother would dress my sister and I up in festive attire.  From a green onesie, to a Shamrock sweater and kilt, to a shamrock necklace, we were always showing our Irish pride.

Last year, I traveled to Ireland with six of my Irish college friends on a trip that I will never forget.  It was quite an adventure, but we all survived and learned a lot.  Quite a few of the stereotypes about Ireland are true:

• It truly is the Emerald Isle, everything is so green.
• The roads are extremely narrow so be careful if you are driving.
• The music in the pubs is amazing, especially in Doolin.
• They really do say “Top o’ the morning to ya.”
• We had to stop the car because there were sheep in the road (just like in the movies).

If you ever get the chance to go to Ireland I strongly recommend it.

(I also recommend bringing many additional bags as well, if you plan on buying a lot).

Now the Irish are not known for their food.  Their main dishes are stews, lamb, potatoes, and fish and chips; and none are the healthiest of foods.  But who can forget the classic Irish soda bread?

Here is the recipe that I use for Irish soda bread:

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 2 tsp caraway seeds – if you are having trouble finding them, check Whole Foods, or read about my adventures finding them
• ½ cup raisins
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

Melt butter and stir in with buttermilk.  Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and caraway seeds in a separate bowl.  Gradually stir flour mixture in with the butter mixture.  Once they are combined stir in the raisins.  Place in greased 9” loaf pan.  Let stand 15 mins and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

You can serve the bread plain or put a little jam on the Irish soda bread.

Not sure Fitness & Feta would approve, but I like to eat my Irish Soda bread with cheese…

I hope that you enjoy it and have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!

Slainte,
Shannon

Thank you, Shannon, for your guest post!  If you guys want more delicious recipes, sewing projects, and crafts by Shannon please check out her blog at Dresses & Desserts and like her Facebook page here.  She has a whole week’s worth of posts dedicated to St. Pat’s stuff, that’s more than what this Greek has to offer!

What’s everyone doing for St. Patrick’s Day?