I Love Lemons

Ballyprior Castle, Co. Carlow

I'm on a whistle-stop tour of most of the midlands / southeast for work - lots of driving to and fro (my colleague) and frantic navigating (me), interspersed with visits to some of the most spectacular archaeological sites that Ireland has to offer. After a clear day on Monday, the weather yesterday was fairly grim - grey skies with clouds that seem to merge with the bands of wind-blown rain, creating a blanket of mist that hides the hills and sits low over the fields - but even that couldn't detract from the amazing sight of Ballymoon Castle in Co. Carlow. More used to the singular column of a tower house or the compact fortified house, many of which are dotted about the countryside, this was a surprise. It was a proper castle (albeit ruined) - not enclosed in a town, as so many of our large stone castles are, but standing proud on a rise in a pasture field at the side of the road. As we walked across the field towards it, birds were circling the walls and with the dark clouds and misty rain, there was a sense of stepping back in time (I want to tell you the birds were crows or ravens, as that would add even more atmosphere, but truth be told, I'm rubbish at bird-spotting). 

I had great hopes for this jaunt through Irish archaeology, having been told of fabulously good scones and coffee down by the river at St Mullins monastic site (also Co. Carlow). To be honest, I got a bit carried away in my mind, imagining that this could also be The Great Scone Tour of Ireland. There was one lovely scone on Monday in Kilcullen and after a rather hurried and busy day yesterday, we finally reached St Mullins at about 3pm (no lunch) and were running on empty, ready for the promised scone. Oh dear. It seems the nice man down by the river doesn't open his little cafe until February 1st (yes, that means we missed out by barely a week!). The site was stunning (with a very impressive motte-and-bailey beside it), but sadly my memory of St Mullins will always be coloured by the absence of a scone. 

Castlelyons Abbey

In contrast today - a beautiful, clear-sky winter's day - there was a promising start, with a fruit scone in the hotel for breakfast but this proved to be a disappointment. There was a decent plain scone offering later in the day in a bakery in Cappoquin (not bad at all) and apart from the odd shower, the weather held and we had blue skies as we drove southwest towards Cork. We ended the day with a look at the pretty little abbey ruins at Castlelyons, just as the sun was beginning its descent. It was as good a way to end a long day's work as I can imagine.

Lemon Madeira Cake, Take 1

So what does the rest of the week hold? I'm not too hopeful on the scone-front. Finding the right cafe at the right time is proving tricky, especially as we criss-cross the countryside all day, only occasionally dipping into a town. Thankfully I have an emergency stash of lemon madeira cake in the glove compartment. Baked on Sunday as the first in a trial of madeira recipes (I'm looking for the perfect lemon madeira recipe for a wedding), it was still delicious today. Although I was so tired that I inadvertently set the oven too high, this recipe was a winner. A mix of flour and ground almonds, it stays moist and more-ish for days (we'll be giving it a proper road-test and will still be nibbling on it come Friday). So perhaps I should forget scones altogether and save myself from further disappointment. From here on out it's all about the lovely madeira and its lemony goodness.