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Odlums, the well-known Irish flour mills has produced a very charming booklet that arrived in the mail a couple of days ago. Called [i][/i]Baking this Easter[i][/i], by Catherine Leyden, it is a 16-page booklet with a nice glossy color cover. One of the recipes, the Simnel Cake, is a favorite in our family. You can visit the Odlums site online to request this little book. Their were two 50c coupons, one for Odlums Cream or Self Raising Flour and one for Shamrock Products, which would carry the raisins, currants, and other baking delights. Odlums is a household name, and this is a nice Easter gift for its customers. One of the most important articles I read this week spoke about the psychic need for people to maintain their traditions and customs even though economic circumstances may have suffered. The Easter treats from Odlums will surely help you to celebrate the season of renewal in a special way this year. Cheers, Mary Irish Culture, Host

Mary, I checked the site. I love the Easter cake with the little bird's nest on top.

Yes, it's very cute. I love that you could make such a lovely little nest with a bit of shredded wheat and some easy ingredients. I'm so glad to have the chance to do a bit of baking for some little ones at Easter. Forsooth, the sweet tooth! I'm working on a Simnel Cake recipe. My mother had one; there's a very nice one on the Odlum's site and elsewhere on the web, but I'm tweaking them a bit in the interest of authenticiy. Authenticity (adn economy!) here is that I'm going to make it with what I have on hand in the house. It is said that the Simnel Cakes were made of the remnants of the dried fruits and nuts from the winter's larder, and the servants made cakes from fine flour and these remnants to bring home for Mother's Day (Palm Sunday in Ireland), and which were enjoyed for Easter. Wish me luck!

I didn't sign up for a book - did they mail it from Ireland or do they have an outlet here?

The one I have came directly from Crumlin in Dublin. I'll see if they have anymore. Odlum's is a real staple in Irish cupboards. I love the brown bread mix.

Do they have an outlet here? I see you are from "up north" and there are usually more opportunities to sell specialty items there. (I remember, I'm originally from NY myself.)

Food Ireland is the mailorder source I use for Irish food products in the US.

Some of the local markets carry Irish foods from time to time, but it's not something I can count on.

I just got two big bags of brown bread mix by UPS today. One loaf is already half consumed, along with a quarter pound of butter and a pot of marmalade. Teenagers!<G>

YUM!