Both Terry and I love text: in books, on quilts, in letters, as fonts, in stitch and as marks made by pen and brush. So we were delighted to welcome artist and calligrapher Lin Kerr to run a Guest Tutor workshop for InStitches the other week.
This was no ordinary calligraphy class though because after a brief introduction to letter shapes and forms Lin had us busy learning how to use a round tipped Brause ornamental nib. We then prepared a piece of watercolour paper with a watercolour wash background before setting out our chosen text and committing nib to paper!
Unfortunatly I didn't take a note of who did what...but I think we all really well especially as none of us had used this nib before.
But here's Becs with her cycling inspired quote!
Lin will be back with us later this week when we shall be exploring writing in the style of David Jones, can't wait! If you would like to see more of Lin's work then visit her web site: www.linkerrdesign.co.uk
and there was cake...
We do like homemade cake and the one served on this workshop was a new recipe - to help use up the glut of beetroot from Hazel's allotment! Apologies for the lack of photograph, I wasn't quick enough and there were few crumbs left!
This recipe is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls book Veg every day! The original recipe was for a pumkin and raisin loaf but he suggested using beetroot instead – it gives the most amazing purple/pink colour! The loaf itself is rich and sweet but also light as it doesn’t contain any butter or oil.
This recipe is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls book Veg every day! The original recipe was for a pumkin and raisin loaf but he suggested using beetroot instead – it gives the most amazing purple/pink colour! The loaf itself is rich and sweet but also light as it doesn’t contain any butter or oil.
Beetroot & raisin tea loaf
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
200g light muscovado sugar
4 large eggs, separated
200g finely grated beetroot
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
100g raisins
100g ground almonds
200g self-raising flour
a pinch of fine sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A generous grating of nutmeg
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas mark 3. Lightly grease a loaf tin, about 20 x 10 cm, and line with baking parchment. Using an electric whisk, beat the sugar and egg yolks together for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy. Lightly stir in the grated beetroot, lemon zest and juice, raisins and ground almonds. Sift the flour, salt and spices together over the mixture and then fold them in, using a metal spoon. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Stir in a heaped tablespoon of the egg white into the cake mixture to loosen it a little, then fold in the rest as lightly as you can. Tip the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and gently level the surface. Bake for about one hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
200g light muscovado sugar
4 large eggs, separated
200g finely grated beetroot
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
100g raisins
100g ground almonds
200g self-raising flour
a pinch of fine sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A generous grating of nutmeg
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas mark 3. Lightly grease a loaf tin, about 20 x 10 cm, and line with baking parchment. Using an electric whisk, beat the sugar and egg yolks together for 2-3 minutes until pale and creamy. Lightly stir in the grated beetroot, lemon zest and juice, raisins and ground almonds. Sift the flour, salt and spices together over the mixture and then fold them in, using a metal spoon. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Stir in a heaped tablespoon of the egg white into the cake mixture to loosen it a little, then fold in the rest as lightly as you can. Tip the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and gently level the surface. Bake for about one hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
RSS Feed
