Capturing The Essences of Nature On Frabric

With Sarah Butz and Bonnie Bowman

  

After starting our morning with  some good coffee and  Sarah's  yummy Lemon Blueberry Bread.  We

  bundled sticks, ferns, leaves and  flowers that we gathered in premordanted silk scarves and used steam to extract colors and patterns on to the silk.



                         

      

 Then we tried our hand at Hapizome  pounding plants to transfer their color and patterns on paper and pre-mordanted fabric.

Some of us seemed to really enjoy making some noise.

 

 

Gelatin prints of natural materials we gathered.

 

Then we silkcreened botanical designs.

    

 

 

It was a wonderful day any thank you to all who attended for bringing  your wonderful creativity, enthusiasm, and humor.  We also enjoyed a fabulous lunch (thank you Frank) 

Here are a couple of the recipes from some of the food we shared.  Try them and enjoy!

Sarah's  Lemon Blueberry Bread

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup white sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.
In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in lemon zest, nuts, and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.

Frank’s Black Bean Vegetable Soup:

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil  - ( I always use olive oil when possible)1 onion, chopped – (I used a large one as I think onion is always essential)
1 clove garlic, minced – (same for garlic: the more the better)
2 carrots, chopped – (After seeing the result I added more later)
2 teaspoons chili powder - (or the amount you like)
1 teaspoon ground cumin - (or the amount you like)
4 cups vegetable stock
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I ended up adding a 3rd)
1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn – (corn is very good in Southwest/Texmex flavored foods)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes ( I used diced tomatoes cause that’s what we always have on hand)
Directions
In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, and carrots, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Add chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add stock, 1 can of the beans, corn, and pepper; bring to boil.
Meanwhile, in food processor or blender, puree together tomatoes and remaining can of beans; add to pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.
 Notes and variations:
·         I added celery and some red pepper to the initial sauté mix
·         I blended the can of tomatoes and the 2nd can of black beans in the food processor rather than the blender. It was a thinner mix than I expected and had a nice “light” flavor. So while the soup was simmering, I diced some zucchini, red pepper, and more carrots in ¼ - 3/8 inch cubes, put them in a Pyrex cup with a small amount of olive oil, granulated garlic and some more cumin, and nuked it covered until softened. I added that mixture to the pot for some more, low simmering and cooked it for close to an hour.  I also added a 3rd can of black beans.Added some salt, black pepper and chili powder to taste. 

This served 10 folks with about 4 servings left-over. BTW – Soup usually gets better after a night in the fridge, but what we served was freshly cooked.