Because today is St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve been thinking about our trip last summer to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England.  I expected to feel an immediate connection with Ireland, as I’ve always known about my ancestors immigration from Ireland and my dad’s family is your pretty “typical” Irish Catholic huge family.

But the place I immediately felt at home was actually in Lake District, in the county of Cumbria, England.  The mountains and the water reminded me of Smith Mountain Lake, here in Virginia where we have always had a vacation home.

I also love all things Beatrix Potter.  She lived and wrote & illustrated here.  They had a precious little shop featuring all her books and trinkets.  As a child my sisters and I had children’s china featuring her sweet characters and my couple of Easter decorations look very much like they could have some from her illustrations.

I loved touring William Wordsworth’s English home.  It was so English- go figure!  The fabrics, the furniture, the style- so charming!  And I have always loved English-style gardens so walking through the beautiful, tidy gardens was so relaxing.

We had a delicious lunch and I will never forget my mom and Mary Fowler running to Sarah Nelson’s for their famous Grasmere gingerbread.  The mouthwatering smell led you to the tiny, little shop.  The recipe is top secret and it was delicious!  Not at all a cake-ey gingerbread but a very sweet, crumbly texture that goes perfectly with a cup of tea.

We bought a few pounds of it and I had a little piece every day after we returned home with hot tea around 4pm.  But when it was gone, I started researching online for a recipe.  The best I could find was from some kind of thread where an old lady mentioned she had a little souvenir paper recipe book that mentioned a Grasmere Gingerbread recipe.

So the other day I tried it and it is a good starting point!  The texture was just about perfect.  My family loved it but I still want a stronger ginger flavor so I’ll keep tweaking it and then share once I think it’s good to go.