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We know: they don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. Turns out they don't eat soda bread with raisins, butter or eggs in it, either. So traditionalists, hide your eyes...

Irish Cheddar and Bacon Soda Bread from Homesick Texan
This savory version includes tangy Irish cheddar and smoky Irish bacon, along with scallions for a bit of green.

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread from Eating Well
Sometimes the addition of whole wheat flour to traditional baked goods seems forced, but not with hearty soda bread. If you can find a wholemeal flour with large flakes of bran and wheat germ, even better.

Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread from Gluten-Free Girl
A mix of almond, sorghum, sweet rice, teff and potato flours combine for a crackly crust, a soft crumb, and firm slices.

Irish Soda Bread Muffins from Recipe Girl
These slightly sweet muffins would work well as dinner rolls, especially if you make them in a smaller muffin tin. Or, make larger ones, slice one in half and top it with a fried egg for an Irish-American breakfast.

Irish Soda Bread Cookies from Food52
Finally, a way to dunk Irish soda bread in your tea (Irish Breakfast, naturally) without it disintegrating into a soggy mess.

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Photo: Lynn Andriani

Just when I'd thought I'd seen every possible iteration of the famed combination of pasta, cheese, butter and milk, along comes a dish that reminds me there are always new ways to reinvent the wheel. This one just happens to be literal.

Spaghetti Pie—which I'd tell you about even if today weren't Pi Day—goes against all traditional mac ‘n’ cheese “rules”: it’s not made with shells, elbows or any other cut pasta, but spaghetti—and you don’t bake it in a casserole dish, but pan-fry it in a nonstick pan. Then you turn it out onto a cutting board and slice it into wedges using a pizza cutter. Chef and restaurateur Marc Murphy, of Landmarc and Ditch Plains restaurants in New York, started making it for his children and their friends as an after-school snack. Turns out adults love it, too. When I made it this weekend, everyone at the table, regardless of age, went back for seconds. Their mouths were clearly too full to express any disappointment over this new twist on a classic.

And if you're still looking for other versions of macaroni coated with cheddar, Parmesan or Gruyere, check out this slideshow of 11 ways to make mac 'n' cheese, from veggie-heavy to lobster-studded.

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The weekend is within reach...let these little splurges make getting there more fun.

Terrarium, $26. This little glass dome, filled with a simple moss ball, comes with its own tiny spritz bottle and a label explaining its kingdom and division. It's nerdy and stylish all at the same time...and is probably really hard to kill, which is always a plus.

Shoe Bag, $16 for 3. These striped, zip-top pouches are just the thing for making sure muddy shoes don’t muck up clean underwear in your suitcase.

Letter Pressed Cookie Cutters, $22. Whether your message is simply “Happy Birthday, Mike!” or something a bit more complicated, tell everyone how you feel with cookies. Bonus for type lovers: each letter of the alphabet--plus an ampersand and an exclamation point--is in a different font.

Pink Stripe Masking Tape, $22. We love this sticky tape for fun jobs, like holding together a birthday present wrapped in brown paper, and for everyday ones, like labeling jars.

Photo: Travis Rathbone

Pop quiz: Which would you rather eat, a big bowl of rice and beans, or a burger made from said rice and beans, packed with flavorful ingredients like jalapeno or feta, topped with slices of avocado or cheese, and sandwiched between a bun?

Thought so. Here are three meatless burgers that are easy to make and infinitely more satisfying than a plain old plate of rice.

Lentils
When chef Nancy Silverton was trying to come up ways to make veggie burgers delicious, she asked herself what she could add to a bowl of, say, plain rice, to make it delicious. Answer: Sharp cheeses like shredded white cheddar, and smoky roasted red peppers. Her burger includes uncooked lentils and freshly steamed brown rice, which is sticky and helps hold the patties together.
Get the recipe: Brown Rice and Lentil Burgers

Keep chugging along with those soups and casseroles, but throw in these four fun foods this month, too.

An Irish souffle. Who says you need to make soda bread on St. Patrick's Day? This collection of Irish comfort food recipes features shamrock soup, a seafood bisque, apple and chive flower salad and other "who knew?" dishes. (Traditionalists, relax: There are also recipes for tried-and-true dishes like shepherd's pie and fish and chips.)

Oreos. The iconic cookie turns 100 years old this month, and while we're loving all the tributes, from using the treat to illustrate the phases of the moon, to a taste test of the real deal versus a homemade "Fauxreo," Ina Garten's recipe for Outrageous Oreo Crunch Bars is at the top of our must-make list.

Photo: Thinkstock

We may be losing an hour of sleep from Daylight Saving Time this weekend, but come Monday, we'll have an additional 60 minutes of daylight. They'll be most noticeable right around dinnertime, so many of us will find ourselves eating our evening meals a little later. Why not use those few minutes to try something new (and healthy) in the kitchen? Here are four fast fresh ways to turn everyday vegetables into meals that wow.

Roast your own peppers. Cheaper and much more flavorful than jarred, homemade roasted peppers are a snap to make. This recipe explains how to do it (and how to make a soup with the finished product).

Slice your greens. Adding leafy greens like arugula and spinach to couscous or quinoa isn't always seamless: rip the vegetables into shreds and they overpower the tiny grains; chop them finely and they get lost. Slicing them into slender ribbons takes some time but ensures they'll be easy enough to pick up on a fork with the grain, and still lend substance to the dish.

Photo: Thinkstock

If you're like my mother, you keep all food except bananas in the refrigerator, and have a strict toss-it-after-two-days policy. If you're French, on the other hand, your fridge is set at a barely cool temperature, and eggs and butter sit out on the counter, right alongside the brie and baguette. Where's the happy medium? A new infographic on healthy living site Hella Wella explains how long all different kinds of foods will keep, refrigerated, from soup to lunch meat; while artist Jihyun Ryou's Save Food From the Fridge project is finding untraditional ways to store foods to help them last longer.

So what's the best way to store eggs? Hella Wella's infographic says they're fine in the fridge for three weeks. But Ryou prefers to keep them out. She explains that an egg has millions of holes in its shell, so it absorbs odors easily--leading to an off taste if you store it in the same closed space where you keep onions, ground beef and blue cheese. Ryou's solution: A shelf hung on a wall, with a clear cup of water hanging off of it, so you can test an egg's freshness (it's best when it sinks).

I'm taking advice from both the chilled and non-chilled camps, printing out the handy infographic and taping it to the inside of a kitchen cabinet. But Ryou's suggestion to store apples and potatoes together is one smart step I'll definitely take: the ethylene gas the apples emit prevents potatoes from sprouting. Brie and baguettes, though? They're easy to decide about: they don't stick around long enough in my house for storage to be an issue.

Read More:
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Photo: Gretel

The weekend is within reach...let these little splurges make getting there more fun.

Tea Light Holder, $22. So smart: A narrow vent down the side of this glass vessel lets you bring a lit match down to the tiny candle’s wick without burning your hand.

Swimming Soap, $12. Sized to fit in your palm and shaped like a fish, this scaly carved soap has notes of fresh citrus, bergamot, lemon, cucumber and watermelon.

Box of the Month, $30. Get a  personalized present delivered every 4 weeks...for yourself. A style questionnaire helps ensure the gifts are spot-on.

Egg Cup, $6. Put your soft-boiled egg, still in its shell, in this modern, arch-like holder, and suddenly breakfast becomes a very hip affair.

Hot Chocolate on a Stick, $10 for 3. Step 1: Pour steamed milk into a mug. Step 2: Stir hot chocolate stick into milk. Step 3: Happiness.

Photo: Thinkstock

We know--Brad Pitt will probably be calling you any minute now with the news that Angelina has a cold and he needs you to stand in for her on Sunday night... but it's good to have a back-up plan just in case. Settle in for a long evening of ballgowns and tears with some fabulous food inspired by the nominated films, whether it's a Southern spread inspired by The Help or a French dinner a la Midnight in Paris. Here, a few ideas to get you started—and be sure to check out our Oscar Party Menu, which includes 16 cocktails, snacks, mains, sides and desserts that you can eat on the couch, with one hand holding your ballot. (Oh wait, is that Brad's publicist calling?)

The Help
Brothers Matt and Ted Lee, who are from Charleson, S.C., have based their recipes on ones they've found in slender church pamphlets, spiral-bound fundraisers for the Junior League and other sources. Their Lansdowne Punch and Shrimp and Deviled-Egg Salad Sandwiches will bring you right into one of the film's ladies' bridge party scenes.

Midnight in Paris
Channel your inner Parisienne and serve gougeres, little cheese puffs that go perfectly with chilled white wine; beef stew with cognac and horseradish mustard, perfect for a February night; and lavender creme brulee, which we can totally picture Owen Wilson's character lapping up with gusto as he goes on about la vie en rose.

Photo: Thinkstock

News from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economics Research Service: The cost of bleached white flour skyrocketed to $19.52 per 100 pounds in January, from $14.13 in May 2010. That's a 38% jump! And while the price hike is hitting commercial bakers much harder than it's affecting your Aunt Edna, no one wants to drop a bundle when making a simple batch of cookies. As it turns out, Crain's reports, flour isn't the only baking ingredient that's gone up in price lately. Sugar and nuts have also gotten more expensive (a 50-pound bag of sugar that cost $29.50 two years ago now goes for $37.50; a pound of pecans was $5 or $6 last year but is now more than $8).

But there's good news: The price of butter and eggs has actually gone down recently. Which means if you're trying to save money but still want to enjoy home-baked goodies, shortbread is a godsend. Like most recipes, Jamie Oliver's relies heavily on butter and has just 3 other ingredients, and produces crumbly cookies perfect for dunking in tea. These butter cookies also fit the bill; decorate them with pastel sprinkles and think spring. And Pick-Me-Up Muffins are another cheap treat; you probably have all the (budget-friendly) ingredients in your kitchen already.

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