Considered to be one of Cumbria's most popular village, Grasmere sits about halfway down the ambleside area of Lake Windemere. (The most popular of the Lakes in the Lake District.) This is due in large part to the fact that the writer William Wordsworth lived here from 1779 to 1850. It was also sometimes the home of Coleridge and Thomas de Quincy.



There is a lovely museum there where you can read their works and see photos etc. You can also visit Dove Cottage where Wordsworth lived with his sister Dorothy. A very worthwhile place to visit as well.



Another thing that Grasmere is famous for, and maybe even more famous for than it's Wordsworth connections is that it is the place that Grasmere Gingerbread is made! (Since the 1850's) The shop that makes it is tucked into a corner of the churchyard where Wordsworth now sleeps, and unmistakingly surrounded by the delicious smell of baking gingerbread.



The recipe, of course, is a very close held secret, but there are a few versions about, all claiming to be as good as the orignal. Jamie Oliver has a version here. (It looks very, very good too, I might add.) I also found another recipe on the BBC Good Food site, which I have adapted to American ingredients and measurements below.



In any case, this was my first opportunity to try out the Gingerbread, having come up here on some threee separate occasions now, and I can say . . . unequivically, without a doubt, it is some of the best Gingerbread I have ever eaten. Somewhere between a gingerbread cookie and a cake . . . it's quite unsual and quite, QUITE delicious! (I have not baked this recipe, but the picture on the BBC Good Food page looked very delicious and quite close to the original!)



*Grasmere Gingerbread*
Makes 12 slices
Printable Recipe

Adapted from a recipe on BBC Good Food.


First mix:
95g shortbread biscuits (generous 1 1/2 cups)
95g oatcake biscuits (generous 1 1/2 cups)
30g soft light brown sugar (2 1/2 TBS packed)
4ml of ground ginger (about 3/4 tsp)

Second mix:
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
40g mixed peel
35g crystallised Ginger (minced)(2 1/2 TBS)
40g oat flour (porrige oats put through a coffee grinder)(1/2 cup)

Toffee Mix:
55g golden syrup
30g treacle
(In North America use a scant 4 TBS of mild molasses instead
of the syrup and treacle)
70g soft light brown sugar (Generous 1/3 cup packed)
55g butter (1/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Grease a 7x11 inch baking tin. Set aside.

Put the "First Mix" ingredients into a food processor, and blend to a fairly fine crumb. Remove 40g of this, and put in a small bowl (to be used after the baking stage). Put the remainder into a large bowl.

Add the "Second Mix" ingredients to the large bowl. Mix in.

Put the "Toffee Mix" ingredients into a small pan. Slowly bring to boil while stirring. Using a thermometer, slowly heat until the boiling point reaches 119*C. (This temperature is quite critical.) Add this hot liquid mix to the large bowl, and mix in thoroughly. Pour this mix into the baking tin, and smooth down firmly. Bake near the middle of the oven for 15 minutes.

Spread the reserved mixture evenly onto the hot ginger slice, and press down gently. Leave to cool completely and then cut into slices. Enjoy!



If you'd like to read a little bit more about our holiday and see a video I took of the Cumbrian Fells, do hop on over to the Cottage to see more!

Yesterday was a beautifully sunny day . . . the first really sunny day we've had thus far on our travels and so we took ourselves off to the Upper Lakes for the day. This is the Toddster and Mitzie enjoying a walk along a Bridle Path at Pooley Bridge, at the tip of Lake Ullswater. I believe that is the Lake Wordsworth was at when he wrote about the Daffodils.



By afternoon we were down in Glenridding and as you can see the clouds had already started to roll back in, but it was still fairly sunny and beautifully warm and so we had an easy afternoon there of walking about and of course . . . this is where we had lunch. We were really surprised at the dearth of affordable eating establishments there. There were some really posh ones . . . but not a lot of lunchy type of ones. Perhaps people are meant to picnic there.



We ended up at a cafe called Fell Bites where we both had Egg, Ham, Chips and Beans because really that was about all we could afford to buy and two orders of that came to almost £20. (£8.50 each for the lunch and the rest was on two drinks, a diet coke and a hot chocolate) It did look really nice (except I forgot to take a picture until Todd had already begun to tuck in) and was quite tasty . . . the chips were a tad bit greasy however, which I don't really like. Greasy chips are a big no no.



You can probably see that better on my plate. As you can see I like the Brown Sauce. ☺

I don't like greasy chips and left most of them on my plate, which is highly unsual for me. What I was really looking forward to though . . . was stopping at the Westmoreland Farm Shop at the services at Tebay on the way back to where we are staying.



This place is a veritable Foodies Paradise!! I always make Todd stop here when we are up here in Cumbria, having fallen upon it accidentally on our first trip up here about 7 years ago. It's the BEST Rest Stop in the UK in my opinion.

Tebay is not only great for a sit down meal, if you are so inclined (after that lunch we were not), but also includes a fair trade cafe, food to go such as beautiful and huge hand-made sandwiches, the usual papers, sweets, mags, a boutique and then . . . . my favourite . . . the Westmoreland farm shop!!!



Although it is quite an unusual place to have a farm shop, Westmoreland is never empty. It's no small wonder when you consider all the delights they have to offer. The shop houses a fine selection of chutneys, jams, honeys, crackers, chocolates, fresh fruit and veg, charcuterie as well as dried goods such as pasta, a deli counter and a brilliant butchers. The deli counter has beautiful meat pies of a wide variety and assortment . . . the pastry crisp and salty and the meat all moist with no hint of gristle.



The dried pasta on offer was gorgeous. They had rainbow coloured bow ties, ribbons and tagglietele . . . although the pasta hater put his foot down there. He just could not see the pleasure in buying rainbow coloured pasta! It was beautiful though and I was sorely tempted . . .

The shop champions local and artisanal produce and is a brilliant place to pick up delights such as Mr Vikki's chilli pickles, Tweesdale Honey, Richard Woodall's cured meats and cheese from the Swaledale Cheese Company, plus more unusual items such as smoked garlic. Tebay's Westmoreland shop now has over 40 regular local suppliers and the list is ever-growing. I aways find it quite fascinating and can spend hours in there just browsing with a hand basket that grows ever heavier. They don't have a liscence to sell alcohol though so if it's a bottle of wine you are after, you'll have to pick it up somewhere else. They've got everything else though and yesterday we picked up a couple of fine bottles of Crabbie's non-alcoholic gingerbeer.



I also picked up some goodies for us to have a light repast last evening. We weren't in the mood for anything heavy after that heavy lunch. We simply feasted on some awfully tasty cheese, some fine crackers, bread, grapes and delicious Damson Cheese.



We loved both the cheeses I had chosen. There was a very wide variety of cheeses to choose from . . . goats cheese, ewes cheese etc. Todd's not too into different cheeses though . . . me . . . I love a good stilton or a blue goats . . . I stuck with the simpler ones for Todd's sake though.

The Eden Chieftain was delicious . . . creamy, close textured and had a beautifully well rounded flavour. I think this was our favourite of the two.

The Flakebridge was smooth with a flakey texture, and a beautiful tang.

They both went very well with my choice of breads and crackers, the sweet black grapes and that gorgeous Damson Cheese. We were two very happy campers, to say the least.

I'm not sure what we will be up to today, but it will be something interesting and no doubt tasty as well. We're back to cold and rain though so . . . we probably won't venture out too far . . .

If you'd like to see some other very nice photos of what we got up to yesterday, do hop on over to the Cottage to see more.

We took ourselves out for the day yesterday to explore the lower lakes of the Lake District and ended up in Hawkeshead around lunchtime. This is a village we have explored on our previous visits to Cumbria and have always enjoyed. With it's cobbled streets and quaint buildings, it's warm and welcoming and situated pretty much in the centre of the Lakes. You can read more about it here if you wish.

Of course it was lunchtime when we landed here and we were both starving, which can be somewhat difficult if the weather is not all the best and you have a rambunctious Cocker Spaniel in tow. What is nice though is that most pubs in this area don't mind you bringing a dog into the drinking area, and will also serve food in that area in a lot of cases. We chose to have our lunch in the Queen's Head Hotel, which is a delightful 16th century pub/B&B, situated right in the centre of the village. Apparently this pub was standing when Wordsworth was a lad.



I have found that most Bed and Breakfast Pubs serve very good food. This pub was not bad at all. They had a full menu, catering to most people's tastes with everything from the affordable to the ultimate in dining experience foods. If you wanted you could get a Filet Steak dinner, which was £25 . . . a tad bit beyond our budget I believe.

We both decided to have the fish and chips, having already feasted on Cumberland sausage the night before. When Todd went to order he was asked did he want the small, regular or large. He chose the regular portion and boy oh boy!! Were we surprised.



We were nicely situated with Mitzie laying comfortably at our feet when I saw a waitress bearing down on us with two huge platters, upon which lay . . . the largest pieces of battered fish I have ever come across!

Beer Battered Haddock and chips . . . the chips hand cut . . . the batter crisp and light . . . and mushy peas . . . delicately flavoured with mint. We were like two kids in a candy store and thoroughly enjoyed all £8.50 of our lunches (each). Yes, it was a bit expensive for Fish and Chips . . . but then again the atmosphere and service were great and the food was . . . well . . . most deliciously Sumptious!



I just wish I had thought to take a picture of the moistly delicious insides of our fish . . . but to be honest we were starving and it was sooooo scrummy that I was completely distracted by the eating. Best fish and chips I have had in a long while (next to my own homemade beer battered fish recipe) and that is saying something!! When we got back to our cottage last night, both of us were so filled up that we daren't eat anything else. Ok . . . we did munch on a couple of bowls of cheerios and some buttered toast, but a full scale meal was quite honestly out of the question!



Today we are off to the Northern Lakes.

If you would like to read what I have to say about Dragons today and see some quite stunning scenery, do pop off to the Cottage to find out more.

When we know we are coming up to Cumbria on holiday, the first thing I think of is the delicious Cumberland Sausages that they make here and of course, Sticky Toffee Pudding!

Oh yes, I can get Cumberland Sausage where I live, and they are quite good, but . . . and this is a big but . . . they are a tad bit different up here in Cumbria where they hail from.



The ones we actually buy here taste even better . . . I know, that is wierd. They are spicier and have a very unique deep reddish pink interior. I tried to take a picture of the insides, but it didn't turn out all that well . . .



It's kind of blurry, but I think you can still see how pink it is. When I first cooked them, I thought they hadn't cooked through . . . but have come to learn that the pink/red colour of their insides is quite normal.

Cumberland sausage is incredibly important to the culture and people of Cumbria. It has been a staple for 500 years and its manufacture is forged from the history of the area. The spices in a real Cumberland sausage were originally sourced from the trade ships that linked Cumbria to the Americas and Africa when Whitehaven was the biggest port in the country.



We always buy ours from the Butcher shop in Kirkby Stephen when we are up here and have always been delighted with them. Last night I simply cooked them in a bit of butter (that is all I had to grease the pan with) and then served them alongside some kolcannon and tenderstem broccoli, oh . . . and some Bisto, you can't forget the Bisto!



For afters we had another Cumbrian Treat! Sticky Toffee Pudding from the Cartmel Village shop! They are quite simply the best Sticky Toffee Puddings ever. This village is the home of Sticky Toffee Pudding, it's where it was born. The Cartmel Village Shop is a "must visit" for anyone who is up in this area and we would never miss stopping by and picking up one or two of their puddings. I know, you can get them all over the UK now, but there is something just that little bit special about having actually picked one up in Cartmel.



I have made it myself using this recipe. It's very, very good as well, but not quite as good as the ones from Cartmel. Their recipe is a well hidden secret, although I do have to say that my recipe comes pretty darn close!



Forty five seconds in the microwave and we had lift off. We are then tucking into one of the mostest delicious of all Sticky Toffee Puddings ever. I added a scoop of Clotted Cream on the side because I had some and it's gorgeous, and we're on holidays, damn the calories!!



It was most, most, MOST delicious! (They also make other puddings such as chocolate and ginger, but the Sticky Toffee remains our favourite.)



If you would like to learn about another castle we visited pop on over to the cottage to find out more.

Last night we treated ourselves to another of the Marks & Spencer "The Cook Menu" range of ready meals. This time it was the Chicken Breasts topped with Mozzarella & Basil Pesto.

This was considered also to be a healthier option, which was denoted by the little sunflower imprinted on the package.



A deliciously moist chicken breast, topped with Mozzarella cheese and some really tasty pesto, and accompanied with some cherry tomatoes. It was cooked in 25 minutes, and I served it along with a pouch of Tilda mushroom rice, and a tin of Green Giant Sweet Corn. We both enjoyed it very much and I know it is something that I could quite easily replicate on my own at home.



If you'd like to take in some of what we have seen today hop on over to the cottage to see some holiday snaps.

Tonight I am going to actually cook. ☺ WATCH this space!

Shhh . . . I'm on holidays and not really supposed to be blogging, but I just couldn't resist showing you what we had for our dinner last night. This is Lamb Rump with a sweet Honey Roast Parsnip, Rosemary & Breadcrumb crust.

A part of the Cook Menu ready meals put out by Marks & Spencers. I picked up a few of them for us to eat while we are away. It gets a little bit expensive eating out everynight, but the cooking equipment in the cottage is a bit inadequate for anything other than heating things up . . . so I told Todd, if am going to have to eat ready meals . . . it has to be M&S ready meals . . at least there will be some meat in their gravy, unlike some I could mention but won't!

Our first night here we had their beef burgers in a cheese crust along with some of their chips and they weren't bad! I've always liked the M&S burgers. Pretty lean and moist, and the cheese on top was quite tasty.



This was our Sunday lunch and I have to say it was also very tasty. The meat was a little bit tough and not as tender as I would have liked, and the crust didn't get crispy like I would have liked either, but that crust was oh so very delicious. It had a delicious proportion of parsnips to bread crumbs and was nice and moist and very flavourful. I loved that the rosemary in it was not overpowering in the least. I am going to try to replicate that stuffing topping when I get home, because we both really liked it a lot!



I served it with some M&S mash and an assortment of their vegetables . . . some chantenay carrots and baby cabbages. Delicious.

I would give this meal a hearty 8 out of 10 for deliciousness, and ease of preparation. (I took off two points because the meat was a bit tough.)

8 out of 10 ain't bad! Beats the pants off of Mickie Dee every time!

Yep, yep, yep! I'm gone fishin, instead of just a wishin!
I'm off to Cumbria today where I'll be stogging my face full of . . .





Sticky Toffee Pudding and



REAL Cumberland Sausages . . .



Rubbing elbows with stone walls and sheep . . . and fells . . .



Enjoying some of the most beautiful lakeland scenery in the world.



And hopefully, this time, finally getting in to see Hilltop Farm, home of Beatrix Potter!

There's just one drawback . . .



Hurricane Katia has also decided to visit.

Oh well, you can't have everything. See you all in a week!

(This is after the initial baking period of 4 hours as I was stirring in the
frozen peas and mushrooms.)

Again, here I am using up all the fresh veg etc. that I can from the fridge before I go on holidays. The Toddster is a meat and potatoes kind of a guy. As you know all I have to do to please him is throw some meat and potatoes on to a plate and he is quite happy . . . AS IF! I would never just throw some meat and potatoes on to a plate!!!


(The finished product.)

On his Birthday this week, I baked him a lovely cherry almond cake, AND a fruit cake AND I made him this lovely stew. He was one very happy camper. You just can't beat a good stew can you?



Fruitcake, cherry cake . . . meat and potatoes!
This is a very easy stew to make. All you do is throw everything into a casserole dish and bake it in the oven. No browning. No mess. No fuss. Easy peasy as can be!



I love it when things are easy and yet come out tasting gloriously delicious and as if you'd spent all day slaving over a hot stove, don't you? (Tis called Lazy Man's Beef Stew, coz who'd ever believe a woman would be lazy? tee hee!)



*Lazy Man's Beef Stew*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

An oldie but a goodie. Delicious, easy and quick to throw together. Beef and vegetables baked in a slow oven until the meat is meltingly tender and the accompanying sauce, rich and delicious.

2 pounds of stewing beef, trimmed of all fat and cut into cubes
4 large carrots, peeled, quartered and cut into pieces
1 tin of cream of tomato soup
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp savoury
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
8 fluid ounces of red wine
2 leeks, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced
8 ounces of frozen peas (1 small package)
1 punnet of fresh mushrooms, sliced and browned in a bit of butter, or 1 tin of sliced mushrooms, drained
(about 1 cup)

Oven temperature 140*C/275*F/ gas mark 3.

Grease a large casserole dish. Put into the beef, carrots, tomato soup, leeks, potatoes, bay leaf, black pepper and 1/2 of the wine. Stir well together. Cover tightly and bake for 4 hours. Remove from the oven and stir. Add the frozen peas, mushrooms and remaining red wine and if necessary a little water. Cover tightly and cook for 1 hour longer.



There's some tasty Lunch Box Oatmeal Cookies baking over in the Cottage today!

I've been trying to run down the fresh goodies in my fridge and larder this week in preparation for us going on holidays soon. I never like to go away leaving much in the fridge to go off. We will only be gone for about a week, but still . . .



It's been rainy and nasty as well . . . soup weather. I sure hope that this rain doesn't go on for long! I hate to think of us spending a week up in Cumbria being totally rained in, but nevertheless . . . as Todd says, nobody comes to England for the weather!



I made us this tasty soup today for our lunch. It's adapted from a recipe I found in the October issue of Good Food Magazine. Theirs was accompanied by curried pinwheel breadrolls, but I thought that I would make curried pinwheel scones instead, coz . . . we like scones, and I didn't have any bread mix that their recipe called for in the house.



It also gave me a chance to use this handy new tool I picked up the other day when I was out. The Tala Cook's measure. I found it in Hobby Craft strangely enough! I just love it!! Internally graduated, for precise weighing of dry ingredients such as sugar, rice & flour, it makes a great alternative to a set of scales. It worked like a charm. In fact I liked it so much that I have decided to give one of you, my readers, one as a gift! It doesn't matter where you live. I'll send it anywhere. To be in on the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and sign up as a follower. If you are already a follower, just let me know in your comment. I'll draw one of your names when I get back from my holiday and I may even throw in a special little surprise extra! Good luck everyone!

In the meantime, have some soup!



*Curried Lentil Soup*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy, filling and delicious!

2 TBS curry paste (Choose your own poison according
to how strong you want it. I chose a milder one)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
5 ounces red lentils (about 3/4 cup)
1 litre of hot vegetable stock (about 4 1/2 cups)
salt and white pepper to taste

Heat the curry paste in a saucepan for about a minute over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook and stir for a further 2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the carrots and lentils to coat with the onions and curry paste. Pour in the hot stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 to 30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Blitz with a stick blender until smooth. Alternately blitz carefully in a stand blender or a food processor until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and then serve, ladled out into heated bowls.



*Curried Pinwheel Scones*
Makes 12
Printable Recipe

Golden brown and crusty outside, meltingly tender inside, and swirled with delicious curry spice.

8 ounces flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 TBS sugar
4 ounces cold butter, cut into bits (1/2 cup)
150ml of cold milk (2/3 cup)
1 TBS Curry Paste

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Butter a large baking sheet. Set aside.

Sift the flour into a bowl along with the salt and baking powder. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar. Stir in the milk until you have a soft dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times. Pat out into an 8 by 12 inch rectangle. Spread the curry paste all over the top. Roll up from the long side tightly, like a jelly roll. Pinch the seam closed. Using a sharp knife cut into 12 1-inch slices. Place onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space in between each for spreading.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Serve hot with soup.



There are some delicious Leek, Mustard and Parsley Stuffed Jacket Potatoes over in the Cottage today.