Brought To You By the Letter "I"

Last week was represented by the letter "I" in Peyton's kindergarten class. Each week, a different parent is in charge of bringing in a couple foods that start with that week's letter. And you're supposed to try to bring in fruits and vegetables and new foods that the kids might not have had before. And you're also supposed to bring in some facts about whatever you bring. "I" week was my week, so I brought Iceberg lettuce and Peyton, Ella, and I made Irish soda bread.

I know you're waaaaaay smarter than a kindergartner, but I bet you didn't know:

Iceberg lettuce got its name from the way it was shipped in the old train carriages that used to transport it to the markets. Since there was no refrigeration, ice was piled on the cartons of lettuce to keep it cold. When the train carriages were opened to unload the lettuce, they looked as if they were filled with ‘icebergs’. That’s the reason we now call it Iceberg lettuce.

You can go ahead and file that under: Useless information. And also, I totally plagiarized that info from some website.

And I know what you are probably thinking - LAMEST POST EVER! Why should you care about what stupid "I" food I took to Peyton's class, right?

This is why you should care: IRISH SODA BREAD! I never would have made it except for this letter "I" nonsense. Irish soda bread is delicious! It almost tastes like buttermilk biscuits. If I ever end up on death row and I'm requesting my last meal you can bet buttermilk biscuits with butter and honey will be the base of that meal. I'm not the only one who has already decided on my death row meal, right? RIGHT?!?

Whatever. Anyway, I had never had it before, so I was kind of excited to make it. I got the recipe from Allrecipes. There are a bunch, so I just picked one and went for it.

Oh. Freakin. Yum.

I know there are probably a zillion more ways to make it, and Peyton's teacher even told me she puts beer in hers. Which, for some reason, made me love her even more. And I don't even like beer. When she told me about it in the children-lined hallway, she felt the need to be a responsible adult and whisper the word "beer." But I barely heard her, so I stupidly repeated, "EH? WHAT'S THAT? YOU PUT BEER IN YOUR BREAD?" Sometimes I'm such a jackass.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Irish Soda Bread Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Ingredients 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/3 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 cups buttermilk 1/4 cup butter, melted Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor. Makes 1 loaf. Enjoy!