In an early acknowledgement of St. Patrick’s Day, our office manager organized a bunch of traditional St. Patty’s Day treats today, such as Irish soda bread, complete with Kerrygold Irish butter, Guinness Stout and another Irish beer, among other Irish treats for later in the afternoon. Given that our office is usually quite sparse on Fridays, she decided to have the treats on a Thursday.

When the Irish soda bread was put out, a number of people walked by my desk to ask if I had made it. It’s funny because I’ve always thought about making Irish soda bread, and then when St. Patrick’s Day comes around, I always lose my interest and forget about it. It’s not a hard bread to make at all; it’s leavened completely from the interaction of baking soda with the acidity of buttermilk, hence its name. But it’s odd because it bakes up and even tastes like a yeast bread. Everyone thinks it’s some complex and laborious thing to make, but it really isn’t at all.

I’ve only baked for the office a few times since I’ve been here, yet I’ve already developed a reputation for being the office baker. It still feels nice to be remembered and thought of.