Irish Soda Bread

This weekend the girls and I will bake a few loafs of Irish Soda bread. My grandmother's family came from Ireland, and my mom always made a few loafs of this bread in the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day. It is a great bread to have with a cup of tea. I like it toasted with butter for breakfast. Yum!

Here is my mom's recipe. It makes two loafs.

4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 cups raisins or currents
1 egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk (I buy dry buttermilk powder that you can keep in the fridge)

Combine first 5 ingredients, add butter, add raisins, beat egg and add to mixture.

Divide dough into two halves. On a floured surface, form dough into a rounded loaf. Cut a cross into the top of the loaf. Bake loaves on a cookie sheet at 375 for 35-40 mins.

Family Lent Devotion - Week 3

Week 3: Jesus’ ministry begins

Introduction: Can you imagine getting up right now, leaving everything, and walking out your front door to follow Jesus? Sounds crazy right? But that is just what many people did when Jesus was alive. They heard Jesus speak or saw Him perform a miracle, and they instantly left their lives behind to follow him. Last week we learned about Jesus’ baptism. Soon after his baptism, Jesus began his ministry. As his ministry began to grow, he was not alone. He was calling men to be his followers. Jesus had followers from all walks of life. In today’s reading, we will read about Levi the tax collector, better known as the apostle Matthew.
Reading: Luke 5: 27-32 The calling of Levi

Discussion Questions:
1. Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him. In Jesus’ time, tax collectors were not popular people. In fact, most people hated them! But, Levi sets a great example. He got up, left everything and followed Jesus. Levi even holds a banquet so that his friends can come and meet Jesus. God wants us to help our friends to meet Jesus too. If you could host a banquet celebrating Jesus, who would you invite to it and what would you share with them about Jesus?
2. It’s easy to think that there are people more qualified than us to teach people about Jesus. What about pastors, elders, teachers, they all know more right? What can we learn from the example of Jesus picking a tax collector to be one of his followers and later an apostle?
3. Reread verses 31 -32. What type of person did Jesus want to follow him? Do we need to be perfect to follow him?

Prayer: Close your devotional time in a prayer. For example:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this time together to learn about your son Jesus. Thank you for the example Matthew gives us. Help us to remember to share Jesus with our friends, co-workers and classmates, just like Matthew shared Jesus with his fellow tax collectors. Thank you Jesus, for coming to save everyone, not just people who are perfect or righteous. Thank you for coming for us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Pete's chocolate cake

Pete loves chocolate cake. Really super, chocolatey cake. The last few years I have made this cake for Pete from The Cake Doctor cookbook. It is such a great cake, I thought I would share it with you all.

Darn Good Chocolate Cake

1 devil food cake mix

1 (3.9) package of chocolate pudding

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup oil (or apple sauce)

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Mix all together, bake in a greased Bundt pan at 350 for 45-50 mins

Pan Frosting:

1 stick butter

4 tbls unsweetened cocoa

1/3 cup whole milk

4 cups confectioners sugar

melt butter in med saucepan. Add cocoa and milk, bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in sugar until frosting is thick and smooth. Frost while warm onto a cool cake. Serve cake with raspberries and vanilla ice cream.

Hope your family enjoys it as much as we do!