Grandma's Piece of St. Patrick's Day

I'm not even a little bit Irish (well at least not that I know of) but I always grew up celebrating St. Patrick's Day with great Irish food.  I always buy extra corned beef in March, just to put in the freezer so I can have it all year.  Once March begins I always find myself looking to bake Irish soda bread.  There is only one recipe I use, the recipe my mom used when I was growing up, oddly enough my Canadian grandmother's recipe. It's honestly the best Irish soda bread I have ever had and is a very simple recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark raisins
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl.  Mix in raisins and then add eggs, oil and buttermilk with a spoon.  Divide dough in half and shape each half into a round loaf,  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-40 minutes.

**Notes:

I don't own a sifter so I use a wire mesh colander to sift the dry ingredients.  I like to throw in an extra tablespoon of buttermilk before making the loaves, it makes the bread extra moist.  Lastly, if you are serving a big crowd (I like to share mine), make one loaf and bake it for an hour.