Addison Embroidery
at the
Vicarage

This is just going to be a short post as I have lots of embroidery to do and I shall be working full time during the coming week. 

From time to time I make these bags when I have a bit of velvet or silk left over from making something else. I would love to embroider a jacket with heavily ornate crosses, beaded medallions and curlicues but feel the resulting garment would be more suited to the life of a Renaissance princess than that of a vicar’s wife. Pity. The black velvet sleeve shown below must be part of a wonderful jacket if the part we can see is anything to go by. I love the big misshapen pearls massed together to form the body of the cross,  the deep colours of the Venetian glass beads  and the crudely couched gold cord – all so enticingly handmade and charmingly wonky. 

Little drawstring bag: hand beaded (front)

Magazine cutting showing sleeve embroidered with pearls and beads

Little beaded bag: hand beaded (back)

Below is a necklace I made for a friend. Over the years I have accumulated semi-precious stones from visits to junk shops, Portobello Road and, for new stones, the Bead Shop in Covent Garden. Once I  was even given a dirty old string of grubby coral which had enough individual bits,  with the addition of a few faceted amethyst beads, to make 2 longish necklaces.  Soft velvet bags are ideal for carrying necklaces when I go away. 

Necklace of semi-precious stones: garnet, amythyst, jade, fluorite and turquoise (or possibly howlite)

The church biscuit, ricciarelli (2nd version)

Ricciarelli

Easter Sunday saw another try at ricciarelli and this time the recipe was very simple and just as delicious.

Ingredients

200 g ground almonds

150 g blonde caster sugar

2-3 teasps mixed peel (to taste, we like them chewy)

2 egg whites whisked to stiff peaks

a little bowl of icing sugar

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees F /140 degrees F for a fan oven/gas mark 3

Grease 2 baking trays 

Makes 24-30 biscuits depending on size

Mix the dry ingredients, then add the mixed peel and stir to distribute the peel evenly. Gently fold in the stiff egg whites. A slightly sloppy paste results. Dust your hands with icing sugar , take up a good teaspoonful of the mixture and roll it into a little ball. Place this on the baking tray and flatten it a little. Repeat until all the mixture is used up. 

The first few times I used rice paper but this isn’t necessary and after I’d run out of it, I found the biscuits cooked just as well on lightly greased greaseproof  paper (with a little butter to stick the greaseproof paper to the baking tray) – I think I’m being overcautious and greased baking sheet would do just as well.

Bake in the oven for 15- 20 minutes until lightly browned. Gently remove from the tray (the bottom of the biscuit is still a little goey and may stick but this is good as it indicates the biscuit will be chewy). Dust with sieved icing sugar. When cool store in an airtight tin. I have no idea how long they will keep as ours are all consumed on Sunday.

Another member of the congregation baked a most delicious Simnel Cake using homemade marzipan. As is traditional the top was decorated with 12 marzipan balls, one for each apostle.

The church biscuit: chocolate almond macaroons

Chocolate almond macaroons

Ingredients 

200 g ground almonds

35 g cocoa powder

130 g blonde caster sugar

2 egg whites whisked to peaks

a small bowl of additional cocoa powder

Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees F /140 degrees F for a fan oven/gas mark 3

Grease 2 baking trays 

Makes 24-30 biscuits depending on size

Mix the dry ingredients, then add the mixed peel and stir to distribute the peel evenly.  Gently fold in the stiff egg whites. A slightly sloppy paste results. Dust your hands with a little cocoa powder , take up a good teaspoonful of the mixture and roll it into a little ball. Place this on the baking tray and flatten it a little. Repeat until all the mixture is used up. Cook for 15-20 minutes until they feel firm but still soft if given a good press with the finger. Remove baking trays from oven and gently remove the biscuits with a palette knife. (The bottom will still feel soft and the biscuits a bit unstable, but that’s fine as you will have chewy biscuits. Place of a wire rack to cool.  Store in an airtight tin.

NB. Neither of the above biscuits look at all attractive, in spite of tasting good. I think I could improve on their looks by piping the mixture with a rosette nozzle. I now have piping equipment and I shall try that next time.