March 2021

The March equinox (this year Saturday, March 20, at 5:37 a.m. EDT) marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator, the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator, from south to north. 

In simpler terms, it marks the official start of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere, a time that can’t come soon enough for most of us suffering through a dreary Covid year.

Now that it’s here, we have some lovely things to look forward to — longer days, warmer weather, and for cooks, baking with bright and beautiful lemons.

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Penny Thorne is one of the most talented people I know. Her Pawcatuck, Conn., bakery—Black Dahlia Baking Company—is incredibly popular. She could probably coast on the quality of her regular baked goodies, but she is well known for accommodating the needs of her customers who have particular dietary needs.

I asked her for a recipe to help usher in St. Patrick’s Week, and these Irish Soda Scones are what she came up with. They can be made with regular flour, but with a minor adjustment they can be gluten-free instead. With yet another minor adjustment or two, they can be dairy-free, as well.

I have celiac, which means wheat flour is a no-no, so good egg that she is—lame bakery joke—she whipped up some gluten-free Irish Soda Scones and shipped them out to me here in Philadelphia. They were extraordinarily tasty. Slathered with a bit of butter? Pure heaven for this Irish-American boy. If you didn’t know they were gluten-free, you’d swear they were made with regular wheat flour.

Here’s what Penny had to say about them:

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