Beautiful Lough Oughter and historic Clough Oughter Castle. One of the last outposts to hold out against the forces of Oliver Cromwell.

Clough Oughter Castle,  Co Cavan

Starkly beautiful 400 year-old island fortress. One of the last outposts to hold out against the forces of Oliver Cromwell. Owen Roe O’Neill, the revered commander of the armies of Ulster, met his death in 1648. Boat,canoe and kayak trips available form Cavan Adventure Centre. Source: THIS IS CAVAN

Royal Hillsborough Farmer’s Market @visitbelfast

Royal Hillsborough Farmer’s Market, Co.Down

Come and explore over 50 stalls of artisan food produce, craft, art and sustainable homewares at the Royal Hillsborough Farmers Market.

Royal Hillsborough Farmers Market returns this Saturday 28 September. With 50 stalls of the finest local and seasonal farm-to-market produce and artisan food from across Lisburn and Castlereagh for you to discover. Guest traders from across Northern Ireland will join them to present a fantastic array  of local food, art and artisan crafts.

Food and drink is at the heart of Royal Hillsborough Farmers Market so you can expect to find regeneratively farmed and outdoor reared heritage meats from local farmers. Plus fruit and vegetables, breads, cakes, Irish cheeses, jams, chutneys and pickles, olives, pesto and tapenades, charcuterie, chocolate, coffee, fresh fish, shellfish and smoked salmon.

Stalls will feature foodie favourites to include Kin and Folk, Round House Bakery, Tori’s Bakery, Tom and Ollie, Crawfords Rock Seaweed Company, Royal Hillsborough’s own independent plant nursery, Potter’s Hill Plants will be in attendance.

You’ll also get to browse through stalls from local designers and artists. Plus pick up unique gifts and treats of organic skincare, and sustainable living products.

If you get hungry from browsing the stalls there will be plenty of  gourmet street food and speciality coffee from the local food trucks.

For children there will be some fun craft activities, face painting and balloon modelling.

There will be seating on the lawn of the fort to sit, enjoy the market vibes and listen to the live music from local acoustic musicians.

They’d love to see you!

For updates on who is trading at each market, follow the Visit Lisburn Castlereagh social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X and also on their website.

When: Saturday 28 September

Time: 10am-3pm

Place: In the heart of Royal Hillsborough Village, located along The Dark Walk at Hillsborough Fort.

Payments: Most vendors accept card payments but not all.

Parking:

  • Hillsborough Forest
  • Ballynahinch St Pay & Display Car Park

For further information on upcoming food and drink events please visit www.visitlisburncastlereagh.com with frequent updates on Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council on Facebook.com/VisitLisburnCastlereagh, Twitter @VisitLisburn and Instagram @visitlisburncastlereagh.

Contact vic.lisburn@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk for more information.

Flahavan’s Cranberry and Oat Bran Muffins

fla oat muff fb jan 16

Ingredients
  • 225g (8oz) plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 150g (5oz) caster sugar
  • 75g (3oz) Flahavan’s Oat Bran
  • 100g (4oz) cranberries
  • 25g (1oz) icing sugar
  • sifted Zest of an orange
  • 1 egg
  • Beaten 300ml (½ pint)of Milk
  • 50g (2oz) melted butter or sunflower oil
Method:
  1. Sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder. Add the sugar and the oat bran and mix. Toss the cranberries into the icing sugar. Add to the bowl with orange zest and stir to mix.
  2. Place the egg, milk and melted butter or sunflower oil into another bowl and beat lightly. Stir into the dry ingredients. Just do this casually – there is no need to over mix.
  3. Line a muffin tin with baking cases. Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin tin.
  4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C /400°F / Gas Mark 6 for around 15 minutes – or until risen and golden.
Serve warm or cold. Quick Tip Oat Bran is also great as a coating for fish before frying.

Mary Flahavan’s Porridge & Yogurt Bread! #homebaking

fla oaty brown bread tw feb 16

We can guarantee lots of happy tummies after trying Mary Flahavan’s Oaty Brown Bread!

This is one of Mary Flahavan’s signature recipes – enjoy!

Serves Makes 1 loaf|Takes 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 large tub (500ml) of natural yogurt
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp. treacle (optional)
300g (12oz) Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets (or Flahavan’s Gluten Free Oats)
2 tsp bread soda
2 tbsp. mixed seeds (optional)
½ tsp salt (optional)

METHOD:

Place the yoghurt, beaten egg and treacle in a bowl and stir well.
Mix the oats, bread soda, seeds and salt in a separate bowl, add to the yogurt mixture and stir thoroughly.
Place in a greased or parchment lined 2lb loaf tin, sprinkle with oats and bake at 180°C / 350°F / Gas mark 4 for 30 minutes.
Lower temperature to 150°C / 300°F / Gas mark 2 and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Mary’s Tip:
A sweeter version of this bread can be made by adding some dried fruits or you can use chopped sundried tomatoes and basil for a savoury version.
To prevent the treacle from sticking to the spoon, coat it with oil before use.