AN IRISH BLESSING By Christy Rost   You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. Each year, people with nary a trace of Irish ancestry become Irish-for-a-day and join in the festivities and traditions of this happy-go-lucky holiday.  While a significant percentage of the area’s population will celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with Irish whiskey or green beer, others will sit down to meals of Irish stew or Mulligan stew, a catch-all dish of meat, potatoes, and vegetables thought to have originated in hobo camps during the early part of the 20th century.  One of my favorite family traditions is the makin’-o-the-Irish Soda Bread on Saint Patrick’s Day. A large, round, slightly sweet loaf, with a crusty surface and dense texture, Irish Soda bread is studded with raisins and traditionally features a cross cut into it’s top crust. Reminiscent of a very large scone, Irish Soda bread is sweet enough to serve with breakfast or a cup of afternoon tea, and yet savory enough to serve with dinner. The bread dough is easy to assemble in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, and requires no yeast. The interaction of baking soda and buttermilk in the bread dough creates a tender loaf that slices easily, yet holds its shape. Serve this traditional Irish bread with butter, jam, or honey. And what better way to send you off to your kitchens than with an old Irish blessing from a small book titled, Irish Blessings by Clair Moritz: Like the warmth of the sun And the light of the day, May the luck of the Irish Shine bright on your way. Irish Soda Bread Ingredients: 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons sugar 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter 2/3 cup raisins ¾ cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter 1 tablespoon sparkling sugar or 2 teaspoons granulated sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and sugar. Slice cold butter into 5 pieces. Cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and buttermilk, mixing just until all of flour is incorporated, but do not overmix. If dough is too dry, stir in additional buttermilk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 1 to 2 minutes until surface is smooth. Shape dough into a round loaf. Pat dough to 1 ½-inches thickness with fingertips. Place in a greased round 8 or 9-inch cake pan. Cut a cross 1/2” deep through center of dough with a very sharp knife. Brush top of loaf with melted butter and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake in preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve bread warm or at room temperature. Recipe makes 1 loaf. Get more of Christy Rost's recipes in her archives. Click here. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com