Foodie

TASTE OF THE TOWN

SODA BREAD

Soda Bread is a quick bread that does not require any yeast. Instead, all its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk.

INGREDIENTS

1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk 1 large egg 4 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 3 tbsp granulated sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 5 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed 3/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk buttermilk egg together. Set aside. Whisk flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Mixture will be heavy.

Stir in the raisins or dried cranberries. Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir.

Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.

Place on baking sheet. Using a very sharp knife, score a 1/2-inch-deep X into the top.

Bake until the bread is golden brown and center is cooked through, about 45-55 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/ spreads.

FISHERMAN’S PIE

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp unsalted butter 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion 1 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup frozen peas 1/2 cup whole milk 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill 1/2 cup chicken or seafood stock 1 tbsp cornstarch 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper 8 oz. cubed Atlantic Haddock 8 oz. Wild Gulf Shrimp 2 ½ cups mashed potatoes (homemade or store-bought)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400ºF and place a large baking sheet on bottom rack of oven to catch drips from pie.

Lightly grease a 9-inch pie pan with cooking oil.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add onions and carrots. Sauté 5-7 minutes.

Whisk together milk, stock, Dijon mustard and cornstarch. Add peas, haddock and shrimp to skillet. Pour in milk mixture and bring to a simmer. Add dill, salt and pepper. Cook until sauce is thick.

Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Top with mashed potatoes. Smooth evenly.

Bake for 20 minutes, until top is browned and filling is bubbly. Broil for the last 5 minutes of baking.

Leave at room temperature for 5 minutes. Serve hot topped with additional dill.

BREAD PUDDING

INGREDIENTS

6 slices day-old bread 2 tbsp butter, melted ½ cup raisins (Optional) 4 eggs, beaten 2 cups milk ¾ cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Break bread into small pieces into an 8-inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Cool.

TRAVEL TRAVEL TRAVEL TRAVEL TRAVEL

A 12-Year-Old’s Advice on Traveling

I am lucky to have had great travel experiences. Just over the past year, I traveled to New York City for the Thanksgiving Day Parade and to Jamaica for Spring Break. I am happy to share some of my thoughts on what kids like to see and do when traveling…

NEW YORK CITY

The flight to New York was excellent. Since we flew at night, when we landed at LaGuardia, we went right over CITI Field, home of the New York Mets baseball team. I love baseball and so, for me, it was special. I would say, when traveling with kids, even if it is something little, try to incorporate – if you can – something that they love.

The next day was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We were lucky enough to get tickets on the parade route, but that meant getting up early to get in line. Getting up early was hard, but I think it was worth seeing the parade. All the balloons, including Baby Yoda and Snoopy, were right on top of us. It was such a different experience!

We did many other things in New York, including seeing a Broadway show – Hamilton. Before, I had never been to a live show, especially not on Broadway. We had great seats right at stage height in the middle of the theater. The show was great. I would recommend to anyone who has not seen Hamilton live to do so – or to any other Broadway show. It was a brand-new experience, and I really liked it.

We made sure to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center. It was really cool how people were looking down watching you, and you felt like you were the center of attention. Also located at Rockefeller Center is the Lego store. We had to wait in line, but once we were in, we could see up close some of the huge 3D Lego builds. They had a New York City taxi built out of Lego bricks that you could actually sit in. They also had a large “Tree of Discovery” that was made up of more than 880,000 bricks!

Times Square was a must. The Disney Store is in Times Square and has almost every single Disney toy available. We had our picture taken and paid a little extra to have it broadcast on the giant screen above the store in Times Square. That was cool…

If you are planning a trip to New York City with kids, my advice is to make sure you visit Times Square and Rockefeller Center. Catching a show would be great too if it’s the right one. What I loved about the trip is that I was able to see things that I love (CITI Field and the Lego store), saw and experienced new things (the Thanksgiving Day Parade and ice-skating at Rockefeller Center) and was able to enjoy walking around the city.

JAMAICA

It is not on every trip that you get to go out of the country as a kid, so traveling to Jamaica was cool. However, getting there was a headache.

We got to the airport early in the morning, and it seemed like a standard check-in at first glance. We soon realized that the line was barely moving, and it had already been 30 minutes. Our flight was at 6 AM, and as we got closer, we started to panic. When the flight was scheduled to leave, we still weren’t even at the gate for the plane. The airline had delayed the flight 15 minutes to see if they could get us on the flight, but that still didn’t work. So, the flight left, leaving us behind. We were all disappointed, but we managed to get a flight at the same time the next day. If you are planning a short trip to Jamaica (or any other island) with kids, my advice is to make sure you are prepared for a long flight and potential delays.

After we finally arrived in Jamaica, I had fun running around on the beach, playing in the water, and collecting seashells. The drinks and food there were really good and tasty. They had sodas in many flavors, pineapple, cream, and orange. The best local soda is TIng and they had a sparkling grapefruit flavor. Don’t ever be afraid to suggest new things to kids. Although we may be unsure and say no, once we try it, we might love it.

Since we missed a day due to missing the first flight, we crammed a lot into a day and a half. I went snorkeling in the ocean and saw pretty fish. I collected a lot of cool shells that had some cool patterns on them. There was a lot of marine life on the beach, and there were even starfish in the water. I am looking forward to going back when we have longer.

If you are traveling with kids, no matter where you go, try to remember to be patient and flexible. For me there were a lot of new things I got to experience on these two trips, and I am looking forward to being able to help plan our next trip somewhere fun. Hopefully where there’s an aquarium and a pool.