March seemed to fly by, but not so fast that we didn’t savor the slow thawing of the earth and the promise of warmer days to come. There is something marvelous when the color of budding leaves makes its appearance on the trees, seemingly overnight. All of a sudden, there is an abundant chirping of birds and cacophony of frogs too. A striking shift that creeps in unawares. It never ceases to surprise.

As for baking & cooking this month, St. Patrick’s Day was a high point. But, our eyes (and hearts) are certainly looking forward to Easter feasting!

From the Blog:

Shortly after lamenting the failures and shortcomings of most homemade granola bars with my sister-in-law, Sarah posted her Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Bars. These hit all the marks: tasty, easy, satisfying, not overly sweet, portable, and hold together amazingly well. Huge hit with my two girls! And the adults in the house. - Sophie

Couldn't resist making the Oatmeal Bread Maria posted. Only had quick oats on hand, and used those instead. Also skipped using boiling water & soak by using the hottest tap water and proceeding right away. I also hand kneaded... :) The satisfactory large loaves were tasty, yummy, and so good toasted. Reminiscent of soft store sandwich bread, but way better of course! - Sophie

Since my post last year, I've made Soda Bread much more regularly, following the "authentic" measurements but adding 1 cup raisins and/or 1 tbs caraway seeds. Don't miss the butter or egg from Simply Recipe's and it's such a great, quick bread that everyone welcomes heartily. - Sophie

We've been eating a lot of this Kale Broccoli Cabbage Salad with Red Onion Dressing and we're still not sick of it. - Maria

We make Knish often, but usually just potato and cheese. I threw in a pound of spicy-sweet Italian sausage this month, and boy! are they delicious. Wrapped them in foil & packed them for a road-trip lunch the next day. So handy (haha). - Sophie

A veggie side at Asheville, NC’s Rhubarb inspired me to make Galette this month with a mixture of roasted butternut squash, sweet onion, red potato, and apple tossed with pinches of garlic powder, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Finished with sharp peppercorn cheddar & Romano, it was pretty darn tasty. - Sophie

I actually left the cheese out of this Cheesy Smashed Garlic Potato Soup and used some cream, and it still got rave reviews at a soup potluck. I heard more than one young boy proclaim it to be the best soup he'd ever tasted. - Maria

Tried & Approved:

How to Juice a Lemon via Food52. This isn't exactly a recipe, but a hack, and it works. - Sarah

Corned Beef via Amazing Ribs. After years of considering it, I finally got around to curing some beef brisket in time for St. Patrick's day. Amazing Ribs is thorough, clear, and precise. It gave me great confidence that the end result would be delicious and safe. After a week of curing, an afternoon of cooking, this corned beef was oh so tasty and made some killer Reuben sandwiches. - Sophie

Pork Pernil by Cook's Country via My Year With Chris Kimball. Delicious. Another way to use a big pork shoulder roast. Leftovers for days. (And his blog in general is very helpful!) - Maria

Bangers and Mash with Stout Onion Gravy via Self Proclaimed Foodie. I didn't quite get my pub-food fix this St. Patrick's Day, so I made this dinner the week after and was astonished at how simple and satisfying it was. Always looking for new ways to cook up sausage for dinner. I opted to swap out the Stout (Guinness) for more beef broth, and it tasted great. I also sautéed the onions in the same pan I used to cook the sausage, so that really bumped up the deep flavor of the gravy. - Sarah

Olive Oil Cake via Leite's Culinaria. This cake is bonkers good. So soft and tender and flavorful. It got finished very quickly. - Maria

Tres Leches Cake by Cook's Country via Genius Kitchen. If you have to make a cake for a crowd, make this! It's amazing. - Maria

Coconut Patties from Dorie's Cookies via The Kitchn. I finally checked this book out of the library, read through it in a blur, fell in love with Dorie's style & approach (no surprise, as I adore her World Peace Cookies), and chose a few recipes that stood out to me (an extremely hard task...there were so many!). These are dairy & gluten free (by chance) and are so, so tasty. Literally like a coconut patty! But the zest adds plenty of interest. Yet I don't deny I'm wondering how these would taste dipped in chocolate. - Sophie

On Our List:

Goat Cheese Bacon Pops via Simply Recipes. I'm always on the lookout for savory, gluten-free finger foods & my don't these look fancy! - Sarah

Almond Puff Loaf via King Arthur. Because I'll never get over almond + pastry. - Sarah

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart via Smitten Kitchen. Any and all methods of conveying chocolate and peanut butter into my belly is fine by me. - Sarah

Thomas Keller’s Coconut Cake via Saveur. I’ve been craving a full-out coconut cake. This looks good for Easter! - Sophie