I’ve taken out the raisins and seeds and put in chocolate chips and cocoa. As a result, I’m a very happy girl right now.

The bread itself isn’t sweet (except for the chocolate chips here and there), but there’s a lovely chocolate flavor throughout that makes this quite a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day snack!

Now that the Oscars are over, can I get in on the controversy? Hey, better late than never.

Back in the day, I got really excited about the Oscars. Hey, I was a kid. I didn’t overthink the situation. All I knew was that the fashion was fun and that for a few hours, I could watch celebrities hobnobbing and performing. It was just a fun TV night.

As you know by now, this year things got really heated. There’s no doubt that equal representation in Hollywood (in the movies themselves or at the awards shows) has not yet been achieved, and I am duly upset about it. But there’s something else about all awards shows that bothers me.

Why do we give actors so much screen time for recognition? I mean, we’re talking endless hours of airtime, media coverage, and money that gets poured into awarding people who have made it in the television and film industry. They’re all talented, so I’m not trying to hate on their craft. But why are they the heroes? Why do they get all those moments in the sun?

People risk their lives every day (or actually give up their lives) to save humanity, and I don’t see them being recognized or rewarded. Heck, they’re not even paid that well. Instead, people who pretend to be heroes, who play the part, get all the credit. It’s so much more glamorous to play a firefighter who dies to save others than to actually be one.

The real heroes have been taught not to expect appreciation as a matter of course, and that’s the way it is. But the way we celebrate Hollywood is positively obscene. Do you know about the gift bags that Oscar nominees receive? Some publications have estimated the worth of these gift bags to be around $200,000 each. Really? Is that necessary?

And that doesn’t include the expense of the show itself, or the parties, or the fashion, or the salary bumps that the world’s most successful and well-paid actors receive once they win that gold statuette. I’m not all about the money (I did go into teaching, after all), but that’s just insult to injury when you consider how much time and attention is spent on rewarding people in show business.

Okay, rant concluded. Deep breath. Soda bread.

Every year on St. Patrick’s, someone brings a soda bread into the office. It’s the standard issue soda bread, which has a lovely flavor and texture and goes perfectly with butter. I enjoy it, to a point. But man…those caraway seeds. Not my thing.

What I’ve done here is probably super not okay with traditional St. Patrick’s Day revelers, so I apologize. But I had to. The bread gets a shot of cocoa and some chocolate chips. And it’s not hard to put together at all. The video is the proof!

This bread is simple to make and accessible. Nothing fancy going on here! Nope, we save that for the Oscars. They can have the overdone display of exclusion and artificial emotion. I’ll keep it real with the baking!

You see, most soda breads are made with raisins (good) and caraway seeds (bad). I do not like caraway seeds. Something about their flavor, not to mention their hard little texture, really throws me off. I’ve never been a fan, and I’ve tried them plenty.

Seedless rye breads are delicious, though. As are seedless soda breads. Especially when you remove all the usual fillings and put chocolate chips there instead. Sacrilege, you say? Too bad. I’m going to enjoy St. Patrick’s my way!

In fact, I think we need to start a petition to make St. Paddy’s a bigger deal. You know, we should get the day off. And everyone should eat soda bread all day long with their meals. And we should have some kind of green food contest.

March needs holidays. We can even add another one into the end of the month, some kind of spring forward day without the uncomfortable time change. I don’t know about you, but this year’s time change left me feeling like I was slapped with a Nyquil stick.

Lest you think I’m digressing a lot right now, I’m not really. Because along with my amped-up St. Patrick’s Day should come amped-up soda breads. Why stop at chocolate chips? I dare all of my blog baker friends out there to find out what lengths they can climb to with a soda bread and a dream.

The great thing about soda bread is its inherent simplicity. For you yeast fearers out there, soda bread has no yeast. You pretty much mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients to make your dough. Once the dough has been kneaded a bit, all it takes is a little crisscross pattern to send the bread right into the oven.

You can eat this with butter, or not. Peanut butter, if you’re feeling daring. By itself if you realize (as I did) that it’s pretty rich on its own. But definitely without caraway seeds. We want none of those here!

Either way, it’s time to up the party level. We need more to celebrate in March, from the gradually climbing temps to the existence of chocolate chips. Let the holiday madness begin!