RUM HALLOWE'EN BRACK

High days and holy days, it seems, are the only times I drop by here. Despite the fact I bake EVERY Tuesday for The Great British Bake Off. Too much to do, too little time, my friends. Anyway, the new twist on my brack is rum. And it's yum! It came about because the heroine of my next novel, Becoming Belle (out Aug. 2018) eats rum cake with her father and I wanted to make it for Christmas. Hallowe'en seemed as good a time as any to try it.

I'm reducing wheat at the mo due to that stomach thing I picked up in China last year, so I've used a mixture of rice and spelt flour, but you can use any flour.

A bench, by night, on the grounds of Belle's Galway home,
Garbally Park, Ballinasloe

IRISH HALLOWE'EN BARMBRACK

RECIPE

150ml tea
50ml dark rum
225g mixed dried fruit
75g brown sugar
1 beaten egg
60g melted marg
125g wholegrain spelt flour
125g self raising rice flour
1tsp bread soda
1 tsp mixed spice

METHOD

- Soak the fruit, sugar, rum and tea in a bowl - leave until cold
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Grease and line the bottom of an 8" round tin (I used a 2lb loaf tin, this time)
- Add the melted marg to the fruit mix. Stir through.
- Add the beaten egg. Stir through.
- Sieve then fold in the flour, bread soda and spice
- Pour into the lined tin (insert wrapped coin or ring at this point, if using)
- Bake for 55 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack.

Eat plain or buttered with a cup of tea. Delish!

GALWAY FOOD FESTIVAL 2015

We went into the city for the annual food festival today. It's a beautiful Easter Saturday here in Galway: dry, almost warm and almost sunny :) The festival continues all weekend and is well worth a visit. Great food, gorgeous atmosphere around Wood Quay and the Claddagh, especially.

We stopped at the Skeff for cakes on the way to the festival - Mr V and I shared a salted caramel brownie.
Juno opted for milk and a giant cookie

Juno Bunny

Giant bunny outside Yes Flowers

Every house in Galway probably has a piece of Judy Greene's lovely pottery

Skeff cakes at the marquees at the Spanish Arch

America Village Apothecary syrups - so pretty

Róisín Fahy of Beechlawn Organic Farm, Ballinasloe

More Skeff goodies

Bowl A Granola

Man of Aran fudge

Creme egg bun anyone?

Easter buns by Goodness Cakes

Man of Aran mint choc fudge

Pad Tofu for lunch in Lime Restaurant in the Claddagh. Yum.

FOODIE DAY IN GALWAY - BOOJUM!

A trip into Galway always means good food. Yesterday we had a lovely time in the brand new - and much needed - Boojum, a burrito bar, which reminds me of Chipotle, an American chain I very much love.

Boojum did not disappoint - we had veggie burritos, stuffed with coriander rice, veggies and guacamole. Mmmm. They were only open a couple of days and so there was free beer and Mexican music and dancing. A mini fiesta on Spanish Parade.

From there we went to The Kitchen Café at the museum for tea and cakes - Tunisian orange cake and a raspberry bakewell - and we also took in the new ceramics exhibition.

I took some phone pics at the market where the very kind man at the Gannets Fishmongers stall gave me a single mussel for a special photograph (possibly part of the cover image of my next novel ... watch this space).

Market pics:

GALWAY FOOD FESTIVAL

We went into the Galway Food Festival yesterday - they had a gorgeous day for it. We enjoyed cakes from the Skeff and bread from Les Petits Douceurs down at Spanish Arch; the market at Woodquay was lively with chocolate makers and comedians, and we had a glorious lunch in Kai on Sea Road.The Festival continues today.

The Food Festival Village at Spanish Arch

Cakes from the Skeff

Bunny biccies from Simply Divine Cakes

Skeff stall

Cake by Niall Diviney of Simply Divine Cakes

Myself and Juno enjoying chickpea curry and 'parslip' soup at Kai

Chickpea curry with cucumber yog, Steve's leaves and mizuna grass

GALWAY FOOD FESTIVAL

The Galway Food Festival takes place the Easter weekend. They have a great blog here featuring some of my favourite spots like Kai and Griffin's Bakery. Worth a look!

GALWAY FOR VEGGIES - CAKE!

My husband and I love food. As veggies it's not always easy to eat out. But Galway city is good. Fantastic veggie food can be found at Da Tang Noodle House; at Ard Bia at Nimmo's; and at Tamarind by the Spanish Arch. These are firm favourites with us.

New places we love for food are Kai on Sea Road, where we had great curry recently, and the ever so cutesie tearoom Cupán Tae on Quay Lane. Think kitschy china, quirky teapots, net curtains and proper cake plates. We had scones, carrot cake and a divine lemon drizzle cake there lately. Droooool. And the staff are friendly! It's our new dessert place of choice but they also do salads and sambos, including a Veggie Deluxe. I look forward to our next trip into the city to sample more of what Cupán Tae has to offer. There are only 40 miles between me and their lemon drizzle cake :)