Christa: The yarn I'm using for the Lichen Ribbed Socks is Steinbach Wolle "Strapaz Cotton Effekt" in color 2.

It was one of the yarns I bought at "Ewe Knit" in Normal over my Christmas break. I've not really seen Steinbach Wolle for sale lots of places but it does seem like a nice yarn. This one is about 45% cotton, 45% wool, and the balance is polyamid. It makes a nice soft pair of socks.
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Well, this looks to be a cooking/baking enabled weekend chez Fillyjonk. I always like being able to cook for myself or bake bread; there is a dimension of caring-for-oneself to it that appeals to me, and also there's the pleasing practical magic of being able to take some simple ingredients and transform them into something good.

I'm going to make the Golden Potato Soup out of the Mennonite cookbook I was talking about the other day; we had a baked potato supper at church before Maundy Thursday service and because there were potatoes left over, the ladies who ran the supper gave me a few to take home. (That is one of the many things I like about being a part of this church; we eat together a lot, and also, when we eat together and food is left over, it's automatically packed up and sent to the shut-ins [unless they are on special diets] and then any other that's left is sent home with the single people or single parents in recognition that sometimes it's harder to cook when it's just you in the household.)

Last night, I was having a leftover German meat patty and some red cabbage, and I decided I wanted some kind of bread to go with it. There wasn't time to make yeast bread, and I knew I didn't want to venture out to the store (on the first Friday of the month, especially) just for bread.

So I made Irish Soda bread. Which felt even more virtuous as I had buttermilk leftover from the buttermilk pie I made to make to take to the potato supper - I was using up something that might not have been used up.

I tried a new recipe and it was quite good. Some Irish Soda breads, I think they have too much soda in them, and they get a chemically taste. But this one has the addition of a small amount of baking powder to help it rise, and I think it makes it more balanced.

Some soda breads have egg, and those can be good. This one does not call for an egg:

Irish Soda Bread

2 cups unbleached flour (can be part wholemeal if you like)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar (you could probably put less in if you like, but I didn't find it overly sweet)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix the dry ingredients together.

I also added a generous Tablespoon (maybe more, I just shook it out until it looked like "enough") of fennel seed. Some Irish soda breads call for seeds, either fennel or caraway; some don't. I like fennel seed so I always put it in. You can leave it out or substitute caraway (or even anise if you like that - but use less anise; it's stronger).

Cut in 6 tablespoons of cold butter. (You can use your fingers to mix it; I did. I don't much like cutting butter in. It is one of the few places where my patience fails a bit when cooking) The butter is adequately mixed when the material looks like coarse meal or like pie crust before you add the water.

Add 1/2 cup (or slightly more, if needed) buttermilk.
When you add the buttermilk, you can add 1/4 dried currants or 1/2 cup raisins if you like. I used raisins - I like currants but they are hard to find here outside of the Christmas season. The recipe I used suggested adding a generous pinch of cardamom if you used raisins to give a more currant-like flavor. I did, but I think the fennel seeds kind of overwhelmed it.

Mix until combined.

The dough should be moist rather than crumbly - add more buttermilk if you need. (It's better to err on the side of "too moist"). Knead the bread gently a few times in the bowl.

Shape the bread into a round loaf and place it in a buttered pie pan or on a buttered cookie sheet. Brush the top with more buttermilk and cut a cross in it (this is traditional and also it prevents the bread from cracking unpredictably as it bakes).

Bake it in a preheated 375 degree (I did 350; 375 seemed a bit hot) for 45 minutes.

I had to bake mine for about 50 minutes to get it done (quick bread that's not cooked in the middle is a big disappointment; use a cake tester to be sure). At 35 minutes I tented the top with foil so it didn't get too brown.

Most recipes say this is best hot out of the oven but I like it cold, with butter or honey, for breakfast the next day. The bread is a bit crumbly and doesn't do well in a toaster; if you want it reheated you'd probably be better frying it in a pan with a bit of butter.

This recipe makes a nice small loaf. Three or four people could probably eat it up in a single meal.