Sourdough Irish Soda Bread #BreadBakers

This soda bread gets an added dose of tang from sourdough starter, texture from oats and a hint of spice. Raisins or none, it's up to you!

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I keep forgetting about how delicious and easy soda bread is - I'm usually embroiled in making slow rising sourdoughs, boules filled with a bunch of grains, seeds and fruit, or a batch of sandwich loaves when my creativity is running low. That said, for some reason in March I get a bit of an injection of Irish inspiration and I dig back into our bread books to see what I can do!

I always feel a touch of guilt tossing some of my sourdough starter every time I feed it, so I went on the lookout for recipes to use it this time around. The Gingered Whisk has a great simple recipe for soda bread that used sourdough discard, so I used that as a base and added flavour, fruit and fibre to it while making it vegan (dairy and eggs are getting expensive here). The result was a slightly sweet, deeply flavoured loaf studded with juicy raisins and just enough texture from the oats to be interesting. 

While tradition would be to tear into this while it is still warm and top with copious amounts of butter, my sources say this was still excellent the next morning for breakfast topped with some grape jam (we are still working through the 30 jars we canned last year!), and for tea with butter and honey.

I am hosting this month and asked the others to join me in sharing Irish Breads in honor of St. Patricks Day which is right around the corner.  Let's see what everyone baked up for us today......

• Barmbrack by Magical Ingredients
• Boxty by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Belfast Baps by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Flakey Cheddar Guinness Scones by Food Lust People Love
• Irish Bread Rolls by Sneha’s Recipe
• Irish Soda Farls by Palatable Pastime
• Waterford Blaas by A Messy Kitchen
• Irish Oat Flapjacks by Cook with Renu
• Sourdough Irish Soda Bread by What Smells So Good?

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Condensed Milk Cookie Bars

These Condensed Milk Cookie Bars are rich, tender and full of vanilla flavour from @nakednutrition #nakedshake Vanilla. Condensed milk creates almost a caramel note during baking (yes please!) and adds to the chew, while a combination of low gluten flours keeps everything melt in your mouth.

They also get a dose of fibre from #nakedfiber along with all the butter and chocolate!

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Well, school is back in full swing (as if you couldn't tell - I know my posts have been spotty!) and with midterms coming up, let's just say the amount of comfort food needed around here has increased. I've been spending a lot of my free time in the kitchen stress-baking, but since I share my creations with people who have other health and fitness goals I have been trying to be cognizant of that fact, making treats that are both delicious and functional. After making countless batches of these brownies and these cookies (with added protein powder) for my sister, I figured it was time to switch things up a bit and use up some pantry staples that were kicking around. Luckily, the lovely folks at Naked Nutrition had just sent me their vanilla flavour to sample (can you tell that I love these shakes?) and I couldn't wait to add it for some extra oomph.

 

Like the other Naked Shake products I've reviewed (and baked with) on here, the vegan Vanilla Naked Shake starts with a great tasting pea protein, with the addition of MCT oil, coconut sugar, and natural  flavors. A serving (2 scoops) contains 120 calories, 1.5g of fat, 20g of protein and only 5g of sugar. My sister was actually the one to try this first, mixing it into orange juice for a creamsicle shake. I'm a coffee fiend so this blended with iced coffee would be a perfect pick me up too - when I'm not baking it into cookies and bars that is!

Mandarin Marmalade - Toast Topper #93

Mandarin Marmalade is laced with homemade Limoncello and is bright, citrusy and as perfect on toast as spread on roasted meats.

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Happy New Year everyone! I am going to try to post the recipes for things I have cooked (and posted on Instagram) in the past but never made it to the blog because - well, timing. Or laziness. Or both! Now that I'm stuck at home for the forseeable future I'm sure new things will be popping up too, so here's to a productive year in the kitchen and at my desk!

I have to say, I haven't been making nearly the amount of Toast Toppers recently as I have in the past - 2021 was definitely not a great year for me physically so the idea of lugging around all the equipment to can was a bit overwhelming. That said, given mandarins are still quite prevalent in the local stores (and I may be a bit inspired from a recent trip to Orange County) I am definitely making this marmalade again. It is bright, refreshing, and with the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The original inspiration for this recipe came from Nigella, and I tweaked it ever so slightly to make a single jar filled with flavour that was both wintry and summery at the same time (is that even possible?).

The jar disappeared quickly of course, since not only was it perfect on toasted sourdough but my mom used it over pork chops and as an ingredient in stir fry as well. Citrus has such a way of working with caramelized flavours that it really isn't hard to imagine it working with other things as well!

A Canadian Christmas Feast: Indulge, But Don’t Forget Your Teeth

If there is one time of the year everyone looks forward to, it is the festive season. This is the time that you can spend a lot of quality time with loved ones, including family and friends that you do not see at other times of the year. In particular, one thing that everyone likes to do at Christmas is indulge in delicious foods and enjoy alcoholic beverages. This is part of the celebrations and we all know that the most popular New Year’s Resolution is to lose the holiday weight.

But, one thing you need to make sure that you do is look after your teeth. Your visits to the Jane and Finch dentist (in Toronto) over the course of the year absolutely allow you to enjoy your food this holiday season. You want to have fun at this time of the year. But, you cannot neglect your oral health. Let’s take a look at some ways you can make sure that you are looking after your teeth.

Be Aware of the Sugar

There are so many delicious foods available around Christmas time. For example, everyone likes to indulge and have mince pieces, puddings and Christmas cake. But, one thing you do have to be aware of is that there is a lot of sugar in treats like these. Of course, sugar is something that is not good for your health or your teeth. So, try to be mindful of how much sugar you are consuming and brush your teeth after high-sugar foods.

Always Follow a Routine

Over the festive season, you are going to have a lot of plans. It is likely that you will have time off work and your normal schedule will be all over the place. But, one thing you have to make sure that you stick to is your routine when it comes to your teeth. In other words, no matter how busy or tired you are, make sure that you are brushing your teeth at least twice a day. This includes flossing and other healthy habits. This time of year can be hectic but you have to ensure that you do not pick up any bad habits along the way.

Remember the Bottle Opener

It is actually very common for people to experience broken and cracked teeth around Christmas. The reason for this is that everyone is celebrating and are using their teeth as tools. In other words, they are using their teeth to open bottles during the festive celebrations. This is something that you never want to do. It is very risky and could cost you a lot of money to repair. Therefore, make sure that you have a bottle opener before Christmas day. This way, you are not going to be tempted to dry to open the bottles with your teeth.

 

Enjoy Some Cheese

You may be wondering why you are being encouraged to eat cheese during the festive season. Well, there is a good reason for this. Cheese is a useful food that is able to achieve neutral acidity in your mouth. This is something that is beneficial for your teeth and it can mean there is a lower risk of decay and damage from other foods you are eating around this time.

Hot Cocoa Protein Cookies

Is there anything better than hot cocoa on a winter day? These Hot Cocoa Protein Cookies have all the flavour of my favourite drink (thanks to Naked Nutrition's Hot Cocoa Protein Powder) but are easier to share - that is, if you let anyone!

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Okay, I know I said in my last post that my Chocolate Cherry Panettone with Almonds would be my last post of 2021, but I apparently don't do well with downtime over the holidays! Since the Marbled Peanut Butter Biscotti was such a hit at Christmas, my sister asked me if I could make her some chocolate cookies with the Naked Shake that I had, and since I didn't have anywhere to go and the kitchen was free today (yay!) it was the perfect opportunity to get baking. I started off with a mini-batch of Gosh Darn Good Cookies using coffee concentrate, and while that chilled I started this dough inspired by All Things Mamma. 

What I love about this cookie is how easy it is. I did it all in a bowl with a fork and spatula, it only needed an hour in the fridge and the batch made 25 perfectly portioned cookies - more than enough to satisfy the chocolate hounds here! I decided to up the chocolateyness (yes, that is a word) of the recipe with dark chocolate miniatures instead of Hershey's Kisses, which we aren't a fan of. The minis melted beautifully due to their thinness, and added that bitter edge to an otherwise sweet cookie. I'd imagine couverture discs would be lovely here as well!

Have a sweet New Year everyone!