Cinnamon and Sugar Soda Bread

I used the same soda bread recipe I made last week and added what the Internet claims is the best ratio of sugar to cinnamon (1/4 cup sugar to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon).

I had to add more buttermilk due to the additional dry ingredients. The dough was a lot softer than last time because of the sugar I assume.

It turned out and smells great! We’ll see how it tastes over coffee tomorrow 🙂

Update:

It turned out really well and was a hit at work!

The sweetness and cinnamon hinted through, making it a nice breakfast loaf. The consistency was kind of between bread and cake which was nice.

I had a lot of people pass my cube with compliments, partially filled mouths, and slices in their hands. It’s a keeper!

Michael’s Cinnamon-Sugar Soda Bread

  • 375g all-purpose flour
  • 125g whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • About 14 oz buttermilk (I haven’t hammered this out yet. The sugar and cinnamon I added need more milk to balance them).
  • Powdered sugar for dusting.

Combine and mix dry ingredients. Mix in 1/2 buttermilk and combine with a spoon. Add remaining buttermilk and combine with hand.  Tip out on a floured surface and knead lightly by folding it over itself (trying to get more air into it). Work quickly. Shape into a dome. Cut into quarters, all the way through.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for 40 minutes at 375 Fahrenheit or until internal temperature is 200 Fahrenheit. Remove to a cooling rack. Dust the four edges with powdered sugar.

Soda Bread: First go at it

Here’s my first attempt at a soda bread.


Soda breads use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) instead of yeast to get their rise. The alkaline in the baking soda reacts with the acids in the buttermilk to create air in the loaf.

I’m tempted to try it, but I think I’ll leave it uncut for work tomorrow. 🙂

The ultimate trifecta: Positivity, appreciation, and food.

Last week, I was further up north in the middle of Michigan helping a small practice go live on our health system’s EMR.

I love getting out of the office and helping with go lives. It takes me back to my days at Allscripts and reminds me that I still have a calmness in the face of a storm that got me through 3 years of implementing EMRs across the country.

I had an experience at this practice that was entirely unexpected. About midweek, someone suggested the idea of a potluck on Friday. Seeing that we had all already clicked pretty well, it wasn’t surprising that the mere suggestion was quickly taken as fact by everyone as we gave previews of what we might bring.

I told everyone about a chip dip we call “Normandin Dip” (recipe below) in my family. This simple concoction of cream cheese, miracle whip, and an ungodly amount of onion always causes my family to hover around the island during Thanksgiving, when it makes its annual appearance. Addictive doesn’t start to describe it.

So on Friday, we all came in with our special dishes creating a smorgasbord of top-notch family recipes.

Venison Stew. Whipped Pumpkin Spice Dip on Graham Cracker Cookies. Creamy Coleslaw. Baked Beans. Cheesy Potatoes. Fresh Tossed Salad. Refried Bean Taco Dip.

One of the doctors started it when he said, “This is so cool! I love that this happened!”

Every few minutes as we ate, talked, and laughed, another person would come to the same realization, as if it wasn’t already said: “This is so awesome! Everyone brought incredible dishes! I love it!”

And so on and so on. It was like an echo chamber of positivity and appreciation. Each time someone acknowledged it, it just crescendoed again and we all nodded and took another bite of something even more delicious because of the good vibe.

Looking back, I can safely say it was my best experience with food. It makes me smile to think back about it.

More proof that thoughts are things and positive ones are contagious.

Normandin Dip

16oz Cream Cheese
6 – 8 oz of Miracle Whip
One medium-to-large red onion

Soften the cream cheese at room temperature. Chop the onions and add them to the cream cheese. Beat the mixture together with a hand blended or fork (we think getting the juices out of the onions with a hard beat is part of the secret). Add Miracle Whip (at least 6oz) to the desired consistency.

Leave in fridge over night. Serve with Ruffles or similarly strong chips. The dip tends to break them.

Western Road Trip with Ian

5 days, 4 stops, 3 states, and about 1,300 miles. The journey was the destination.Originally, our plan was to hang out Phoenix, but at the last minute Ian’s wife, Jaja, couldn’t join us so we decided to lay out a road trip.

Phoenix –> Joshua Tree –> San Diego –> Las Vegas –> Grand Canyon –> Phoenix.

What’s great about this route is that you’re never more than 4-hours drive from your next stop.

More than just visiting the places on our itinerary, I was most looking forward to some time on the road, catching up, and traveling with only a set of destinations and few plans for when we got there.

My kind of trip 🙂

Stop One: Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The landscapes and changing wildlife made you feel like you were traveling much further distance than you actually were. The views were spectacular and the weather was perfect.

To cap it off, we caught an awesome sunset looking over the San Andreas Fault with a group of fellow sunset gazers. There was something refreshing about being with a bunch of people taking in the same view. Good vibes, good times.

Stop Two: San Diego

I really had no idea what to expect from San Diego. That seems to be the best orientation before going somewhere new. 🙂

We spent some time walking around Balboa Park before realizing we really needed some way to tour the city. Enter the $30 hop-on-and-off city trolley 🙂

We bopped around San Diego and stopped off at places for lunch and a pier-side restaurant where we could kick back and do some people watching over a beer.

I had one of the tastiest pizza slices of my life at the righteous NAPIZZA in Little Italy. Truffle Porcini and a slice of chicken pesto pizza.

Stop Three: Las Vegas

No photos were taken here. 🙂 And, really, I don’t think it had anything to do with Vegas. Ian and I caught Cirque du Soleil’s Love (The Beatles). The show wasn’t as acrobatic as most Cirque shows, but if you never had the opportunity to see The Beatles live, this is as close as you’ll get.

After the show, we milled around Fremont, checked out The D, had a coney, and donated a few dollars to the casinos.

Stop Four: The Grand Canyon

This was Ian’s favorite stop. I think he loves the Western expanses more than I do.

We probably could have used more time here (got a late start from Vegas), but even the few hours that we spent were memorable. It doesn’t take more than a second of the Grand Canyon to slip into an awesome mood.

Every 100 yards or so, it seemed like the Canyon rearranged and repainted itself beneath you. The park is really maintained and whether they intended it or not, I loved that you could step out beyond the marked path and walk out and perch on some rocks overlooking everything. Even with tons of people there, it still felt like you could find a little spot, a little moment for yourself.

After the Grand Canyon, we overnighted in Flagstaff. More of just a lodging stop, it still got me thinking about winter due to the nearby slopes.

It was a great trip and a fun chance to catch up with Ian who moved away from Chicago earlier this year. Sorry Jaja! We’ll get you on the next one. 🙂

New York, New York

Empire Point of View 🙂

After so many years of investing, it was fun to see where some of it goes down. Went to a nice beer garden nearby. Ordered a Bell’s Double Cream Stout for Mitten State solidarity 🙂

Walking along High Line Park. It took you up and close to so many modern and old buildings along its abandoned rail line. My mom loves the shade of blue on the building in this picture.

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