Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Did you know that St. Patrick’s Day is an official “feast day”? That makes it a good holiday in my book. Here’s the man of honor:

Anyway, where there’s a holiday feast there’s food. And although St. Paddy’s traditional dish is corned beef and cabbage, I learned about another Irish food last weekend—Irish soda bread. I had never heard of this yumminess before! It’s a dense, cake-like bread with raisins on the inside and toasty-brown on the outside. Anne Marie’s mom made us one, and we ate it up.

As traditions go, I think the Irish soda bread is a keeper. I plan to test it out as soon as I get the recipe from AM’s mom.

I leave you with an Irish blessing:

May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine on your windowpane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.