A Flavour of Home....

If you went to visit Ireland and were told you were going to have Soda Bread you might think you were going to have a piece of this...

We would call this a 'Fruit Farl'

The word 'farl' is derived from the Gaelic word 'fardel' which literally means 'four part' and this refers to the way that these griddle breads are typically cut and served in quarters.

This is what would actually be served to you...

Irish Soda Bread

3.5 cup flour

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 to 2 1/2 (see note below) cup buttermilk

1. Lightly grease a heavy skillet.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl; make sure the soda is evenly distributed.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add about half the buttermilk. Stir until you have a raggy dough that is very squashy but which looks more or less dry. Add more liquid sparingly until you achieve this texture.

4. Blend until all the flour has achieved this consistency; then turn out immediately onto a lightly floured board and knead for no more than a minute or a minute and a half. Overkneading makes this bread very tough, and it's very easy to overdo it.

5. Shape the dough into a circle about 9 inches by one inch thick and cut into four wedges or "farls." Place in the preheated skillet, with cut edges about half an inch apart. Cook slowly on the stovetop over low-to-medium heat; it should take about 20 minutes for the farls to puff up and turn a light brown on the pan side. Turn them and cook for another 20 minutes.

6. For a softer crust, wrap in a dishtowel after baking.

7. Notes: You will need somewhere between 1 1/4 and 2 1/2 cups of buttermilk, depending on how much liquid your flour tends to absorb. Try to avoid using regular milk. If you must, use baking powder instead of baking soda. Serves 8.

This can be served 2 different ways -

1. You can split them and spread with butter and your favourite flavour of jam, along with a good cup of hot tea this goes over a treat.

2. You can split it and fry it along with 'Fadge'(recipe will be posted tomorrow) bacon, sausage, mushrooms, black pudding, eggs, tomato, and you will have for yourself an 'Ulster Fry'. Typically eaten for breakfast but many also have it traditionally on a Saturday night for 'tea', again you need a big mug of hot tea to swill it all down!

If you would like more history on the Irish Soda Bread you can take time to read all about it here.

Have you ever seen Riverdance?

I decided this morning to have a little reprieve from St Patrick and inject a little humour to my blog but remain with the theme of Ireland.At the St Patrick's Day Parade yeasterday we saw lots of Irish dancing(pictures will follow in a day or two) but we didn't see any quite like this......

This is a take off of 'Riverdance' it is from a wonderful movie called First Snow of Winter. Our kids still love to watch it. (Pause the playlist before playing)

Enjoy!

Here is the real thing....

I used to be able to do something similar....thankfully there is no video of that!!

of course you may prefer this version!......

Have a good day!

Chapter 7 - Patrick's Faith

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy St Patrick's Day.

I think it is fitting that we are looking at the foundation of the Patrick's life and why he was committed to preaching the good news of the gospel to the Irish people.May I also challenge you not to dwell too much on green popcorn, parades, music and superstition but rather on the real Patrick. Think about what he really stands for and on, the Word of God, and ask yourselves 'Is this what I am building my life on or am I building it on the imagination and superstitions of men?

Be like the wise man and Patrick, who built his house on the rock so that when the storms of life crash around you, you have a solid foundation of Christ and His word to stand on...

Patrick was a man of one book. The foundation of his faith was the Bible. His writings are full of scripture quotations and are his sole authority and inspiration for his life.

He does quote from one other source apart from the scriptures near the beginning of his 'Confession'. He sets out a simple scriptural statement of belief, from a creed probably adopted by the British church and thus is of considerable historical interest. Here is part of it...

"....every tongue should confess...that Jesus Christ is Lord and God;and we believe in Him and await his coming which will happen soon, as judge of the living and the dead...the Holy Spirit....makes those who believe and obey to be the sons of God and co-heirs with Christ and we confess and adore Him, one God in the Trinity of sacred name."


He taught the resurrection of the body and emphasized the return of Christ. He also had deep conviction regarding a coming day of Judgement from which said he, "...no one will be able to escape or hide."

Patrick never separated his doctrine from his lifestlye and mission. He believed that Christians were a 'letter of Christ' and he said, in effect, I cannot keep silent, I want to tell the world about His goodness and grace.

Chapter 6 - His Writings

As mentioned in an earlier post, there are two writings that we have of Patrick. One, a 'Letter' and the other his 'Confession'. The 'Letter' is by far the shorter of the two. It was written to a tyrant king and his soldiers condemning attacks on recently baptized believers and calling for others who had been taken captive to be released.

The other work, his 'Confession' was so named by himself in the very last line - "this is my confession before I die".It was not in any way a confession of sin but rather a record of God's dealings with him and a statement of his faith.

Patrick could have added a great deal more to our knowledge of pre-christian Ireland than he did,but that was not the reason why he wrote. He wrote to glorify God. He wrote about spritual matters. they were composed, as he says himself, in the knowledge that one day he would stand in judgement for any false or idle words that he might use.

Tomorrow - Patrick's Faith

Chapter 5 - Ireland Again

The Ireland Patrick came back to was inhabited

by barbaric Celtic tribes.

There were no proper roads, no towns,

and no structured form of central government.

The population would have been less than half a million.

The roof of his meeting house was the sky.

He came with his Latin bible(or part of it), some form of financial support, and the backing of a few Christians. He determined he would never leave again. It became his adopted country and for some 30 years he spread the gospel far and wide, believing he was fulfilling the 'Great Comission'. Bear in mind the great continent of America had not yet been discovered and so when he looked across the waters of the Atlantic he believed he was in those uttermost parts of the earth!!

Patrick marvelled at the fact he had returned to bring the gospel to those who had dealt so treacherously with him and his family...."Who compelled me?" he asked and then gave credit to the Spirit of God. "...it was not my doing, this holy compassion that I have towards that nation which once took me captive and dealt havoc among the men and women servants of my father's house."

Chapter 4-Back in Britain

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia...

begging him, "come over to Macedonia and help us"

...we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia

concluding that God had called us

to preach the gospel to them.' - Acts 16:9,10

Shortly after his conversion he deserted his master, travelled 200

miles across country and found a ship about to sail.A slave on the run would have been exposed to considerable dangers and hardship but Patrick gives us few details except to say that he journeyed without fear and that the Lord guided him. After a 3 day sea crossing and a series of fascinating adventures he eventualy made it back to his parents' residence in Britain.

For 6 years he was denied all those things which we would regard as vital to any real quality of life, but speaking of that period he would later testify that the Lord "guarded me and comforted me as a father would his son." His association with Ireland , however, had not ended - it was only the beginning.

One night he says he had a vision in which he saw a man called Victoricus coming to him with a great number of letters. He read the title of one which said " THE CRY OF THE IRISH" and at that moment he seemed to hear the voice of the people who lived by the *Wood of Voclut*.Unitedly they said "Holy youth come and walk among us." Patrick was so moved that he could read no more. *See below



A return to Ireland was hardly in his plans but this changed everything. It would seem that from that moment there was born in his heart a burden to bring the gospel to that nation from which he says. pointedly, "I was only just able to escape."

Some years of preparation now followed. He became a 'deacon' in the local church and then was appointed an 'overseer'- typically he remarks "...I was not worthy." Some friends tried to persuade him to call off his mission to Ireland but he refused to be moved. Again typically, he says "...no thanks to me, it was God who prevailed in me."

*This area has been fairly positively identified as being in the north of Co.Mayo near the present day town of Killala in the west.This would strongly suggest that it was here and not Slemish in Co.Antrim that Patrick spent his years of captivity and would also explain why he had to travel 200 miles to get passage to Britain. Slemish is only approx 30-50 miles from the north and east coast.

Chapter 3-His Conversion

Slemish Mountain, Co. Antrim where St Patrick was said to look after his sheep. However,it is more likely to be Co.Mayo in the west of Ireland where Patrick was taken as a slave.

Chapter 3

"The experience of those captured for the slave market would be anything but humane:Patrick recalls that he experienced "hunger", "nakedness", and "being near the point of collapse."He was sold and eventually found himself working for a sheep farmer where conditions, initially at least, may not have been much better.Whatever religion he had was of the nominal sort, but now his hopeless and desparate plight moved him to earnestly seek God. Alone in Ireland, with no help but the Holy Spirit and his memory of the gospel, he was wonderfully converted.


Up to that time he confessed "...I did not know the true God...," but "...lay in death and unbelief,"and "...took no thought for my salvation..." Then he said "The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart that I might recall my sins and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God."

After his "faith began to grow" one immediate result for this new born believer was an urge to pray. He records that he lifted his heart to God while at his work "out in woods" or "on the mountainside" as many as "one hundred times a day." He would rise before dawn for prayer "...in snow and frost and rain, and felt no ill effect." Looking back, he attributes his health and energy at the time to "...the Spirit glowing in him."

The reality of that experience was woven into the remainder of his life. Near the end of his career, casting an eye back, he could say that from that time on "...the love of God and the fear of Him have grown in me and up to this day by the favour of God I have kept the faith." He never lost a sense of thankfulness to the Lord for what he often referred to as the "gift of God."

The Real St. Patrick-(cont'd)

Chapter 2

"Patrick was a Briton. In fact, he is the only ancient Briton of the Roman occupation that we really know anything about. To give a date for his birth is impossible but it was probably near the end of the fourth century - 390AD has been suggested.

He was of an aristocratic, well-to-do, religious family.His father Calpurnius, in addition to being a 'deacon' in the church held an official position associated with the Roman administration and owned a villa and estate near to the village called Bannavem Taberniae (there is some doubt about the exact name).Thought to lie somewhere near the west coast of Britain. Patrick's native tongue was an old Celtic language of which the present Welsh is a modified form, he was also familiar with Latin.

One fateful day a party of fierce Irish raiders descended on the estate; some of the servants were murdered and sixteen year old Patrick, along with many others, was overpowered, dragged to the boats and shipped across the sea to a life of slavery in Ireland. It was a frightening , traumatic experience, the memory of which remained with him the rest of his life.

As they headed home the pagan raiders could not have had the faintest notion that their brutal activities tht day would change the history of their island nor that, sixteen centuries later, the name of one of the captives huddled in the bottom of the vessel would be a household word, better known than that of St. Augustine or even Constantine the Great."

Tomorrow - His Conversion