For this week’s #FoodFriday, we offer two items to add substance to your Christmas meal!

These are drawn from “The Cookbook According to St. Paul’s,” a treasure trove of old recipes curated in 1979 by the Paulist Women’s Club* at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Community, the parish we serve in Los Angeles:

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

4 cups flour, sifted
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp caraway seeds
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup raisins
1 & 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda

Instructions:

Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir in caraway seeds. Cut in butter until it resembles cornmeal. Stir in the raisins. Next, combine buttermilk, egg and baking soda and stir into the flour mixture until just moistened. Turn dough onto floured board. Knead lightly until smooth. Shape into a ball and place into a greased 2-quart casserole. Make a 4-in. cross, ¼ in. deep with a sharp knife in the center (to chase the leprechauns away). Brush with egg yolk or cream. Bake for one hour and ten minutes at 375 degrees.

Cold Christmas Yams:

Ingredients:

1 lb. 12 oz. can of yams, drained
Durkee’s dressing to taste
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Instructions:

Mash yams until smooth. Moisten with Durkee’s dressing. Add green onions, celery, salt, and pepper. Mix well and add chopped eggs. Mix again. Refrigerate. Serves six to eight people.