They say that everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and I hope that’s true, because I love the Irish–for their music, their literature, their Guinness Stout, and believe it or not, for their food.  It’s been many years since I was in Ireland, but I remember swooning over the fresh, wild salmon, buttered potatoes (of course), and the moist and flavorful brown bread.  But brown bread’s not particularly festive (or green!), and Zoe and I don’t have a recipe for classic Irish soda bread, which is made without yeast (for that, I rely on James Beard’s recipe in Beard on Bread– the first bread I ever made).  Then Zoe reminded me about our broccoli-and-cheddar buns in Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  Turns out that four-leaf clovers aren’t especially Irish, but they’re very lucky!  Sprinkled with cheese, these make a lovely accompaniment to corned beef and cabbage.  One little disclosure– the broccoli doesn’t make it all that deeply green, as you can see.  Some would have used green food coloring, I suppose.  Bain taitneamh as do bhéil!  Hearty appetite (I think)… Continue reading →