Telling food stories, one kitchen at a time
These were originally named Chewy Pumpkin Cherry Breakfast Bars, but my roommate really wanted to name them Sunny Chewies, so we compromised with Sunny Pumpkin Cherry Bars. Sunny Chewies is less of a mouthful, so if you want to call them Sunny Chewies, that’s fine by me.
The thing is – when you’re naming a recipe that you created, you want to make sure the title relays all the goodstuffs in there. In this case, that includes:
…
Helloooo friends! Happy, happy Monday! Happy Carrot-Pumpkin Bread with Cider Glaze Monday!
Why the good mood today? So many reasons:
Plus, Mondays I’ve declared my Blog Days. And on Blog Day Mondays I get to go to Camino Bakery after work, after a run, after a shower, and I get to order a spiced chai latte or a glass of red wine and I work on my blog for hours. It makes Monday a day worth looking forward to.
…
Yesterday was Therapy Day.
Therapy Day usually includes a full eight hours of sleep, a cup of coffee on the porch, sometimes a homemade breakfast. (Mine did.) It can include lounging on a pool float and getting slightly crispy with some friends. (Mine did.) It may include evening drinks with the girls or with the guys or with the neighbors. (Mine did.)
And Therapy Day, for me, always includes baking.
…
I’m officially obsessed with Basic Overnight Steel-Cut Oats. Like, can’t-go-a-morning-without-this obsessed. Like, might-cry-into-my-bowl-once-it’s-empty obsessed. Why? Because they’re EASY and chewy and satisfying without added sugar and with plenty of protein and fiber.
So normally I eat eggs for breakfast. By normally, I mean almost every day because they are delicious and because they are a good source of protein and because they keep me full until lunchtime. But eggs are now the stuff of Breakfasts Past and now I’m all about the Basic Overnight Steel-Cut Oats.
…
You just need one bowl for this Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe. In about 90 minutes, you’ll want to have the kettle on for a cup of tea and the Irish butter getting soft on the counter, ready to enjoy slice after slice of soda bread.
Let’s take a few quiet seconds to look at and adore this loaf of bread. Ahhhh… sighhhh…
It is a thing of beauty. That golden, perfectly cracked top crust.
If I had to pick one carb to eat for the rest of my life, it might be this bread. Although it’s a toss-up between Irish Soda Bread and Aunt Janet’s Cinnamon Rolls.
What I love, I mean <3 <3 <3 LOVE about this recipe, is how easy it is. If you love soda bread, and you’ve ever tried to make it at home, and that experience made you hate soda bread, then this recipe is for you.
Let me give you a little history of me and soda bread:
When I lived in New York, I used to eat at this little Irish diner once a week called Eileen’s Country Kitchen. (2018 Update: I just found out the place CLOSED! Bah!) The food was okay, nothing special, a little pricey maybe. BUT THEY REELED ME IN WITH THE BREAD. I couldn’t. stop. going. back.
A free basket of Irish Soda Bread. Fresh. Soft. Made irresistible with a pat of butter on top. That bread basket would get me every time.
Me talking to me: “Danielle, wait until after dinner to eat that bread. Don’t ruin your supper! Oh my gahhh, but look how fresh it is today. and soft white. and I’m so hungry. It’s just calling my name. Just one. Okay, but where is the food? Should I have a second slice? Okay, have a second slice, but you MAY NOT have any more for dessert. [20 minutes later:] I’m so full, but I need just a little something sweet now. Just ONE bite. or slice. with a little butter…”
Every. dang. time.
So I asked Mary, of Mary’s Celtic Kitchen, could I please have her bread recipe? And I took that little scratch-paper recipe home with me and within a few hours, had my own loaf of Irish Soda Bread in the oven. And an hour after that, I pulled a pretty, albeit lop-sided, round loaf out of the oven. And about an hour after that, I had a raisin-spotted concrete block sitting on my kitchen counter.
But then one of my colleagues made this ↑↑ bread and I NEEDED the recipe. Like, hounded her for the recipe. Mayyyybe got a little aggressive about it. (Just kidding about that last part… or am I?) Her loaf was so perfect. Could this be the answer to my soda bread wishes?
I really think it is. It was so easy to make and turned out perfectly. That first bite took me back to all my evenings sitting in the booth at Mary’s Celtic Kitchen and my internal struggle – to eat or not to eat a bajillion slices?
The crust is crispy and toasted perfectly, sitting right on top of the soft, chewy insides. Sweet, plump red currants. Just a touch sweet, but not too sweet that I can’t eat slice after slice after slice, with that airy baking soda taste. Do you know the taste I’m talking about? It’s light and mellow and addicting and I want to keep eating more bread, so I can taste that taste and figure it out.
Now go put the tea kettle on and eat! The bread is perfect on its own, so eat a slice plain. The bread is also perfect with butter, so eat a slice with butter too. And then, if you’re me, eat all the other slices in the loaf because, ya know, good bread gets old quickly. Wouldn’t want that to go to waste. No way, nuh uh! Must eat it ALL, NOW. Then wash it all down with a steaming cuppa Irish tea.
KitKat likes it too. She’s just like her momma.
You just need one bowl for this Easy Irish Soda Bread recipe. In about 90 minutes, you’ll want to have the kettle on for a cup of tea and the Irish butter getting soft on the counter, ready to enjoy slice after slice of soda bread. | Lightly adapted from The Food Network
These are whole wheat.
Whhaaaa….?! I know. Whole wheat baked goods go against everything I stand for. If you’re gonna eat a bakery item, eat the real deal. Right?!
Except… These aren’t really cupcakes, they are muffins. And muffins are totally allowed — actually, muffins totally should be made in the healthiest way possible. A la the Bran Muffin, which is my fave muffin. Ugghhh, now I’m thinking about Carrot Bran Muffins — WHY didn’t I think of that when I was in the planning stages? Hmm… disappointed I missed that opportunity this go-round. These Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins will have to satisfy.
And sat.is.fy. they do.
…
I’m literally pulling this pan out of the oven as I watch snow come down outside.
I’m pulling cinnamon rolls out of the oven and I’m simmering a spicy posole for tonight’s supper. It’s THE ONLY way to get through a cold, snowy night. It makes me feel all warm and cozy on the inside.
Now I know these Cinnamon Rolls are the ‘ish because I already did a test run this weekend. While it was 20 degrees out on Sunday morning, I wore my *most flattering* sweatpants and made someone a special Valentine’s Day breakfast. ♥ ♥ ♥ (←All those hearts are for the cinnamon rolls…)
…
I heard on the radio the other morning – so it MUST be true – that Americans weigh the most in October and January.
(Uhmm: Does that mean people are dieting in November and December? Who does that?
(And uhmm: How are they even tracking this? Big Brother is scary.)
In honor of this, I’m delivering the second biscuit recipe of the month — before we’ve even made it through Day 3. I have been indulging crazing-cramming-my-face with biscuits for the past three days. (I’ve eaten an undisclosed amount between five and 10.)
…
