Homesick for Fermanagh

My Hamilton ancestors lived, for 200 years, in the beautiful lake country of Northern Ireland.  Whenever I cook Irish food, I think of that lovely place.  On November 9, 2019, Camille’s family and Mike joined Dave and me for an Irish dinner.  “The recipes are from ‘Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen,’ I said.  We started with potato soup and then, as entrees, had baked salmon and corned beef.  I steamed the cabbage, rather than stewing it with the corned beef, so it was bright green and crunchy.  We had raspberry trifle for dessert.  Camille’s children arrive with a rush, all full of smiles and hugs.  It is such a treat to see them!  I had the presence of mind, in the chaos of putting on the dinner, to set up two travel posters of Ireland, but I forgot to put on jig music.  Next time….

I think of Ireland as all craggy shorelines, but the northern interior of the Ireland, where my ancestors settled, is also spectacular.  It is where Irish lace was made during the 1800s, and where Belleek factories still manufacture ivory-colored pottery vases decorated with green shamrocks.