You're in Luck

to start a memorable month

March has a lot going for it...consider these dates but know there are many more 
wacky, bizarre celebrating type days out there.
March 1 NATIONAL PIG DAY

love Sandra Boynton's take on the day
March 2 DR. SEUSS BIRTHDAY and annual date for  READ ACROSS AMERICA 
March 11th DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS
March 14th PI DAY
March 15th IDES OF MARCH
March 17th ST. PATRICK'S DAY 

March 20th SPRING STARTS
Black History and Women's History are month long observances so a little something for everyone.

You're in luck today with an unexpected recipe. 
Ina Garten recently posted her Irish Soda Bread recipe in the current issue of Food Network Magazine. I adapted it slightly since she did not include an Ever Ready addition of raisins and caraway seeds soaked in Irish Whiskey.  Serve warm out of the oven with butter. YUM so DELICIOUS! 

Irish Soda Bread is a traditional product of a poor country. Originally the bread was made with only the most basic of ingredients: flour, baking soda (used as a leavening agent instead of yeast), soured milk to moisten and activate the soda, and salt. Before baking, a cross was cut on the top with a knife, to ward off the devil and protect the household. From the earliest times, bread-making was an integral part of daily life in almost every home. Families lived in isolated farmhouses where most kitchens had only open hearths, not ovens, so the breads that developed were baked on griddles or in large three-legged black iron pots over fragrant turf fires. This method resulted in a loaf that was tender and dense, with a slight sour tang and a hard crust. Being quite perishable, it was made every 2-3 days and eaten with the main meal, not as dessert.The poorer families couldn't afford the extravagant ingredients such as raisins, currants, nuts, etc., that are found in newer recipes.

Soda bread is shaped in different shapes based on the region of Ireland in which it is being prepared. In the Southern regions it is shaped and baked as a round loaf with a cross marked on top. In the North regions of the country, the soda bread is flattened into a round disc and divided into four equal triangular shapes; each triangle is then cooked on a flat griddle. This method of cooking the soda bread is very quick, ideal for when unexpected guests arrive for a bit of banter. The traditional service of the bread is for a section to be broken off, the piece then split and buttered warm.

A link to Ina Garten's Irish Soda Bread 
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-recipe-1949134

and a link to Ever Ready's Irish Soda Bread
http://sockfairies.blogspot.com/2015/03/irish-soda-bread.html

During March Ever Ready will post a variety of books for different age levels in conjunction with Black History and Women's History Month. I'll begin with a picture book by Malala Yousafzai.  

This is an inspirational story abut her childhood in Pakistan. A story that needs to be told and a message to share.