This rich, hearty, earthy bread is so satisfying, so delicately flavorful, that you will find yourself enjoying every bite. With just a few ingredients, it is very easy to make, and you can have a homemade loaf of bread on your table in a little less than an hour. It’s delicious for breakfast with a little butter or marmalade, or with dinner alongside a bowl of stew or soup.
Sometimes the best things happen as a result of necessity. I often freak out when life throws me a monkey wrench or a curve ball, but really, often, something good comes of those curve balls. Discovering this bread recipe was one of those good things.
Yesterday, the kids and I were snowed in with no bread in the house. After a winter with a relatively small amount of snow (for Michigan anyway), we suddenly got hit with a big snowstorm, and it snowed all day and all night. My husband went to work amidst snow drifts and howling wind, but the kids had a snow day off of school, and I stayed home with them . My husband barely got out of our driveway, so I knew I had a lot of shoveling to do before we went anywhere or he got home. We also lost electricity for a few hours. My original plans for the day vanished into the winter wind.
While the kids and I were sitting close to our gas fireplace to stay warm,(thank goodness for that during power outages!), I found the recipe for this tasty bread in a cookbook my mom recently gave me called The Irish Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Everyday Cooking from the Emerald Isle. As soon as our electricity came back, I made this bread, and then made another loaf this morning. We had it with soup last night, and with breakfast this morning. I am really excited about this bread, because everyone in my family likes it, and it is so versatile. It tastes rustic and homemade, yet only takes around an hour to make, including baking time. There is just the tiniest hint of sweetness from the molasses.
And after raging for a few minutes about losing electricity for the second time this week due to the weather, I found myself enjoying the quiet time. My kids and I ate pretzels and pistachios for lunch, sat around the fireplace together, and listened to music on our hand-crank-powered radio. They went outside and built a fort in the snow, and when they came in, all their wet things dried quickly by the fireplace. Our power came back within a few hours. I didn’t get a lot done that day, but had quality time with my kids and made this awesome bread.
I hope you all have a great weekend! 
I am sharing this recipe with the group of amazing bloggers at Angie’s Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Suzanne @ apuginthekitchen and Zeba @ Food For The Soul.
Brown Soda Bread with Molasses
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of whole wheat flour
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 and 3/4 cups of buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons of molasses
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, oats, salt, and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and molasses. If you don’t have buttermilk, substitute with regular milk and a tablespoon of vinegar. Make a well in the flour mixture, and pour the buttermilk mixture into the well. Gently stir the mixture together, until well combined. Using floured hands, form the batter into a soft ball.
Shape the dough into a circle and place it on the lined baking sheet. Press the ball gently to about 2 inches thick. With a sharp knife with a long blade, cut a deep cross across the top.
Bake in your 450-degree oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 400 degrees. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Cool slightly on a wire rack, and slice. Serve warm. Also tastes great the next day, warmed up or toasted, or just as is. Enjoy!
This recipe is adapted from The Irish Kitchen: 150 Recipes for Everyday Cooking from the Emerald Isle.
The recipe for this simple, yet elegant salad is from my grandmother: a charming, elegant lady who had a beautiful life, yet faced many challenges and struggles with a sense of grace that I can only hope to someday cultivate. According to my mother, my grandma often served this hot chicken salad at the bridal showers she hosted. My mother’s extended family is very large, and grandma liked to have parties, so she had a great many bridal showers at her house over the years. I can remember eating this lovely chicken salad at her house as a young girl, sitting at a table with my cousins and giggling.
I had some extra cooked chicken that needed to be used the other day, and suddenly remembered this salad. I’m so glad I made it, because not only does it taste delicious, it also gives me a chance to write a bit about my grandmother, and to share it here on the blog. This recipe is a classic that does not go out of style (at least in my opinion!)
Today is special for another reason. Today is my father’s birthday. I started this blog a couple months short of two years ago, soon after my father passed away. I had been wanting to start a blog for awhile, so I finally did, in part to honor the memory of him. He and I shared a passion for good food, photography, and writing. By focusing on these things, I felt (and still feel) a connection with him. I know he would enjoy it, and I also want to do justice to his camera that he gave to me when he knew his physical health was in question. I treasure that camera, and my memories of him.
There is a lot of talk these days about chronic inflammation and how it contributes to a lot of health problems, including arthritis, heart disease, auto-immune disorders, and depression. And apparently, in our modern society, many are at risk of developing chronic inflammation with our processed foods, high sugar intake, and fast-paced lifestyle.
I am definitely not an expert on inflammation in the body, but what I read makes a lot of sense. According to Paul DiCorleto, PhD, in an article for the 
Sometimes when I am very stressed out and not taking good care of myself, I can feel like my body is out of balance. That is when I reach for things like this smoothie, and I feel like I am putting good things back into my body, soothing it and energizing it at the same time. It’s all about striving for that balance.
