Archives for July 2013

Would You Marry A Farmer? Confessions of an Irish Farmerette

July 20, 2013 by Irish American Mom 7 Comments

Today’s post introduces a new book-in-progress by Irish farmerette, blogger, writer, wife and mother, Lorna Sixsmith. Married for over twenty years, Lorna and her husband Brian live with their two children on a busy dairy farmer in the South-East of Ireland. Her new book will tell the story of life as an Irish farmer’s wife.

When Lorna Sixsmith, aka Irish Farmerette, decided on a whim to write a blog post entitled ‘Advice to those considering marrying a farmer’ almost a year ago, she had no idea that it would reach over 50,000 views and form the inspiration for her upcoming book.

‘Would You Marry A Farmer? Confessions of an Irish Farmerette’ will be self published and available before Christmas.

Lorna is running a crowdfunding campaign on FundIt to generate pre-orders for her book, increase publicity and raise funds for some of the self publishing costs. Lorna describes the book as being a social history of farming with plenty of humour.

The original blog post was shared over 9,000 times on facebook. Farmers (men and women) all over the world empathised with her experiences as a wife to a busy dairy farmer in the South East of Ireland and laughed at her descriptions of standing in gaps, separating cattle, having to be telepathic and acting as a chauffeur to her sleep-deprived husband.

‘Some women, particularly if they are from cities or towns, just don’t realise that farming is such a 24/7 occupation and many find it stressful and isolating at times. Many will be relieved to know that it isn’t just their husband who announces a cow is calving just as you are dressed up to go out for a party which, of course, means that you aren’t going anywhere.’

While the book is going to be written in a tongue-in-cheek style, it will also have serious social messages such as highlighting the invisibility and non-acknowledgement of many female farmers at times, not to mention spinsterhood, bachelorhood, marriage and the mother-in-law.

Cows from Garrendenny Lane Farm — Some Cows Of Garrendenny Lane Farm

The Irish Farmerette is providing some ‘sneak peeks’ into some chapter sections in the form of blog posts so do keep an eye on her blog. Lorna has decided to self publish her book and it will be launched in November so will make a perfect Christmas gift for farmers or anyone who used to be associated with the land.

To partially fund the self publishing, she is running a crowdfunding campaign whereby people can pre-order a copy and be amongst the first to receive it. Other rewards include one of her social media online courses and part of her top reward is to write a blog about a designated calf for the pledger, it will be updated once a month from the calf’s birth as she moves into the milking herd and beyond.

Currently over half way through the 35 day crowd funding campaign, the project has been funded by 35%. Using various social media platforms to reach those who might pre-order a copy or opt for one of the other rewards, Lorna has found twitter to be the most successful means of generating pledges.

garrendenny interiors-49 — Lorna and her family on their farm in County Carlow

‘Some pledgers have been tweople I’ve been chatting to for some time, others for a matter of weeks and some are complete strangers but saw a retweet of my tweet and then engaged with me’.

‘Crowdfunding is like a second job while the campaign is running’ she adds. You can be extremely organised for Christmas by pre-ordering a copy of Lorna’s book and be part of her journey towards publication.

This book won’t happen this year without our help. Pre-ordering a copy of Lorna’s book through her FundIt page will help bring this wonderful publication to fruition. Crowdfunding works on an ‘all or nothing’ basis. If she doesn’t make her total goal, she doesn’t get a penny. Your credit or debit card will only be charged if the project successfully reaches its target.

If you feel like ordering some Christmas presents early, then why not go ahead and support Lorna’s project. I’ve already ordered mine, and am looking forward to a great read next winter.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Potato Bread – Yeast Recipe

July 16, 2013 by Irish American Mom 10 Comments

Potato bread made with yeast, flour and mashed potato is a hearty bread, perfect for serving with soups and stews. Here’s my version of these rustic loaves.

Ingredients:

The ingredients for this Irish bread are simple. The key to successful potato bread is time and patience to allow the yeast dough plenty of time to rise.

1 and 1/2 cup mashed potatoes (2 – 3 medium)
1/2 cup reserved potato cooking water
2 packets active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each)
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°to dissolve yeast)
1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or oil (to grease the mixing bowl for the bread to rise in)

Directions:

The first step is to boil and mash the potatoes. If you have left over mashed potato feel free to use it. However, I don’t recommend using mashed potatoes laden with butter and cream. The extra fat in the potatoes upsets the balance of ingredients in this bread recipe.

So first, peel and cube the potatoes, and cover them with water in a small saucepan. Bring them to a boil, turn the heat down, cover and simmer them for 15 to 20 minutes until tender.

Strain the potatoes over an oven-proof bowl or jug. A little of this liquid is great in the bread, but if you are using older mashed potatoes, and don’t have any reserved potato liquid, just replace it with an additional half cup of warm water.

Mash the potatoes.

It’s important to make sure there are no lumps in the potatoes, so I like to press them through a strainer. A food mill works great, but I’ll have to wait until Christmas for one of those. As you can see from the photo the strainer works just fine.

Set the potatoes aside to start preparing the yeast and dough.

Add a half cup of warm water to the mixing bowl of an electric mixer. The water should be between 110° to 115° F. Sprinkle the contents of two yeast packets over the water. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. The yeast is ready when it starts to bubble and grow foamy.

While the yeast is working its magic, sift all of the flour into a large bowl.

Once the yeast is bubbly add all of the wet ingredient. First add the warm milk and a half cup of reserved potato cooking water.

Add the sugar and salt.

Toss in the softened butter.

Add about 4 cups of the sifted flour (a little over half of all the flour).

And whatever you do, don’t forget the mashed potatoes. Just toss them in on top of the warm liquids and flour.

Knead with a dough hook of an electric mixer.

Gradually add an additional 2 to 3 cups of flour to form a stiff dough. Knead it in the mixer until the dough is smooth and glossy, which takes about 8 minutes of constant kneading.

If you don’t have a mixer with a specialty dough hook, you can add the flour by kneading it into the dough on a clean, floured work surface. Great work for building those arm muscles.

Grease a large bowl with oil or melted butter. Place the kneaded dough in the bowl and turn it over to oil up all the surfaces of the dough.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel. Set in a warm, draft-free space and let the dough rise and double in size (about 1 hour).

I like to put the bowl in my cold oven. I find it is the best way to control cold air drafts, especially when the air conditioning is blowing in the summer.

See how much the dough rises.

Punch the dough down. My little girl loves to watch the dough deflate.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it into two equal halves. Take each section,and knead it lightly to shape it into a loaf.

Place each dough section into two greased loaf pans (9 inch x 5 inch). When I make this bread I always make two loaves. All the waiting and kneading seems wasted on just one loaf.

Cover again and let the dough rise for an additional 30 minutes until doubled in size.

While the dough is rising for the final time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

It’s amazing to see how much the dough expands over time. Lightly dust the top of the loaves with flour if you like a rustic looking crust.

Bake the loaves for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. The loaves are cooked if the base sounds hollow when tapped.

I dusted the loaf on the left with extra flour for a rustic crust.

Remove the loaves from the pans and cool them on a wire rack.

This bread is delicious when served fresh. It freezes well for up to two months.

This is a great bread to accompany soups and stews, or for rustic sandwiches with thick slices of hearty bread.

Hope you enjoy this bread as much as my family does.

Here is the printable recipe:

Potato Bread – Yeast Recipe

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cup mashed potatoes (2 - 3 medium)
1/2 cup reserved potato cooking water
2 packets active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each)
1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°to dissolve yeast)
1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or oil (to grease the mixing bowl for bread to rise in)

Directions

Step 1	Peel and cube the potatoes. Place in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until tender.
Step 2	Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
Step 3	Mash the potatoes. Press through a food mill or strainer to remove any lumps. Set the potatoes aside.
Step 4	Empty the yeast packets into a large mixing bowl. Add the warm water and set aside for about 10 minutes until the mixture is foamy.
Step 5	Add the warm mashed potatoes, warm milk, reserved potato cooking water, melted butter, sugar, salt and 4 cups of the flour.
Step 6	Knead with a dough hook of an electric mixer. Gradually add an additional 2 to 3 cups of flour to form a stiff dough. Knead it in the mixer until smooth and glossy, about 8 minutes.
Step 7	Grease a large bowl and transfer the bread dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel. Set in a warm, draft-free space and let the dough rise and double in size (about 1 hour).
Step 8	When risen, punch the dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal halves.
Step 9	Take each section, knead lightly and shape into a loaf.
Step 10	Place into two greased loaf pans (9 inch x 5 inch). Cover again and let the dough rise for an additional 30 minutes until doubled in size.
Step 11	Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the loaves for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. The loaves are cooked if the base sounds hollow when tapped.
Step 12	Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake

July 3, 2013 by Irish American Mom 14 Comments

Blueberry lemon crumb cake is deliciously moist, and speckled with scrumptious, juicy blueberries baked right into the batter, and topped with crumbly, rich streusel.

Cake for breakfast! A very American phenomenon. I was astonished at the first pot-luck breakfast meeting I experienced here in America. I didn’t quite understand how we would eat ‘breakfast’, but I dutifully brought a gallon of orange juice.

I had visions of pouring cold cereals into bowls with milk, but was pleasantly surprised by all the tempting breakfast cakes to start the day off on a sweet note.

“What a great country,” I thought. “You can’t beat cake and donuts for breakfast.”

My waistline has since realized it may not be such a good idea after all.

One of my favorite breakfast cakes is streusel topped crumb cake with loads of juicy blueberries baked into the cake batter. Yummy!

Just in case you all thought I cook nothing but Irish recipes, the time has come to start sharing the results of my American cooking evolution. Over the past twenty years I have tried and adapted many American kitchen favorites, to suit my Irish palate.

To mark Independence Day this year I thought we might celebrate the red, white and blueberry, with my version of this delicious breakfast cake.

Ingredients:

Cake

6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick)
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 cups plain yogurt
1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salk
1 and 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour the inside of a 9-inch round cake pan. I like to use a springform pan for easy release of the cake when baked.

Tap the pan upside down over the sink to remove any excess flour. Here’s how the prepared pan looks. Alternatively, you can use a flour infused cake pan spray.

I like to make the streusel topping before I make the cake batter. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, and cut the butter into small pieces, adding them to the flour.

Using a pastry cutter or the tips of your clean fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. This time the crumbs will be very coarse and lumpy. The ratio of butter to flour is far more than would be used to make pastry.

Add the sugars and the grated lemon zest to the mixture and mix well together.

Most American recipes for this type of cake call for cinnamon and nutmeg in the streusel topping. I prefer a hint of lemon. I think it compliments the blueberries beautifully.

Set the streusel mixture aside while you make the cake batter.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set it aside at this point.

Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes. Be patient. Incorporating lots of air into the butter results in a lighter cake. Stop the mixer every few minutes to scrape the sugary butter down from the sides of the bowl using a spatula.

The mixture is ready when the butter turns a pale ivory color.

Add the eggs, one at a time, combining into the butter mixture on low speed. Don’t overbeat, since the eggs can curdle.

Add the vanilla, lemon zest and plain yogurt.

Continuing on low speed, add the flour mixture gradually. I add one or two spoonfuls at a time, mixing it slowly until fully combined. Do not overbeat the mixture at this stage.

I love blueberries. Don’t they look great going into this cake.

Blueberries aren’t often found in Irish supermarkets. Next time I am back in Dublin, I think I might try this cake using Irish blackcurrants instead of the blueberries.

Use a spatula to clean the batter from the sides of the bowl and gently fold in the blueberries.

Spoon the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Smooth out the top using a spatula or knife. The back of a spoon works great too.

I felt compelled to show you this photo of my mixing bowl scraped clean with a spatula to remove all the cake batter.

Does it ever annoy you to see television chefs leave half the batter behind in the bowl? I never understand why the show’s editors can’t include an image of a cleaned out bowl. I think my fear of wasting food has created this pet peeve.

Anyway, back to the cake. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the cake batter.

Bake at 350° F for 50 to 60 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Place the cake pan on a wire tray and cool for ten minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a the wire tray.

Serve the cake when cooled. It’s delicious with a side of blueberries. This is perfect breakfast cake in my book.

Here is the printable recipe:

Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake

Print recipe

Ingredients

Cake

6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick)
3/4 cups sugar
2 Large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 cups plain yogurt
1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour the inside of a 9-inch round cake pan.
Step 2	First prepare the streusel topping. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter or the tips of your clean fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Step 3	Add the sugars and lemon zest to the mixture and mix well together. Set aside.
Step 4	Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
Step 5	Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until the butter turns a pale ivory color (takes 4 to 5 minutes).
Step 6	Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing into the butter mixture on low speed.
Step 7	Add the vanilla, lemon zest and plain yogurt.
Step 8	Continuing on low speed, add the flour mixture gradually, mixing slowly until combined. Do not overbeat.
Step 9	Use a spatula to clean the batter from the sides of the bowl and gently fold in the blueberries.
Step 10	Spoon the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Use a spatula to level the top.
Step 11	Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the cake batter.
Step 12	Bake at 350° F for 50 to 60 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Step 13	Place the cake pan on a wire tray and cool for ten minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a the wire tray.
Step 14	Serve plain for breakfast or with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Irish American Mom

Archives for July 2013

Would You Marry A Farmer? Confessions of an Irish Farmerette

Potato Bread – Yeast Recipe

Ingredients:

Directions:

Potato Bread – Yeast Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

Streusel Topping

Directions

Blueberry Lemon Crumb Cake

Ingredients

Cake

Streusel Topping

Directions

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