My Current Obsession: Concord Grapes

In my endeavor to eat as locally as possible this year, I've been searching out local growers of foods that can be processed and preserved for eating throughout the winter. Finding local tomatoes was a cinch. Finding local peaches was a bit more of a challenge, but it could be done. Finding local apples isn't a problem at all. And then I started thinking about grapes. I remember as a child seeing grape vines in all of the neighbor's yards, but I haven't seen grapes offered at the farmers' markets. Grapes! A staple! A standard! Whose grandmother didn't make grape jelly thirty years ago?!?

So I started inquiring of my friends who all said that they just buy their grape juices, jams and jellies and don't bother with the mess. While I do have access to a local manufacturer of jellies and jams that don't contain high fructose corn syrup, I don't know where the fruit comes from. I kind of doubt that it's exclusively locally-grown. It's not that we wouldn't eat things that weren't local, but I felt pretty sure I could find someone who could point me to some locally-grown grapes.

After thinking about it for a while, I remembered a former co-worker who'd mentioned that she and her husband had a vineyard of Concord grapes. I stopped by her office and she took me to the kitchen where she had some vine-ripened grapes just waiting to be tasted. We set a time for me to do some picking.

What a fabulous way to start the Labor Day weekend. A beautiful day and a beautiful drive through the countryside, Natalie Merchant on the tape player (thrift store find--25 cents), my husband by my side and the three youngest children tagging along--who could ask for more?

But we were given more.

Have you ever seen 2,000 grape vines up close? When Kathy lead us to the vineyard, I was overwhelmed by the abundance! Grapes hung in pregnant clusters under twining vines and protective leaves. Armed with half-bushel boxes and clippers, Kathy, Bo, eight-year-old Sweetheart and I started harvesting. After about an hour of picking, we'd filled eight half-bushel boxes. And we'd only moved about ten feet down the first row. Kathy told us that the big Concord harvest will take place on Saturday, and they'll have less than a dozen people doing all the work.

A sun-warmed grape is a beautiful thing, and these grapes were breathtaking. I was tempted to crawl under the vines and stretch out on my back, just staring up at the full and perfect light-bathed fruit. But even a beautiful thing has its limits. One can only eat so many fresh Concord grapes (and I did eat so may fresh Concord grapes), and I wasn't about to down four bushels. The plan was to make juice and maybe a couple of jars of jam or jelly. With my new toy and a special grape seed spiral for my new toy, I planned to turn out quart after quart of delicious grape juice concentrate.

And then, a serendipitous moment arose. Just after our grape-picking venture, we headed for our friend Sara's house for a hot-dog roast. When I told her what we'd done with our day, she said, "Then you have to see what I have!" She led me to the basement, to rows of purple liquid in quart Ball jars, beside which stood a gleaming, stainless steel Norpro Krona Steamer. Sara beamed, "Just put water in the bottom, grapes in the basket, and the juice comes out the tube, straight into your scalded canning jars! Wanna borrow it?"

Did I ever!

Watching the steamer at work was a lesson in appreciating the simple things. Basically, the steamer works like a double-boiler with a steamer basket on the top and a clear lid over that. You wash the grapes, drop them into the basket (the instructions say that you don't even have to remove the stems, but we did), and boil the water until the steam extracts the juice from the grapes. Within about forty minutes, light-purple juice appears in a clear tube that's held closed by a clamp at the end. When the juice is ready, about an hour after you begin steaming, the grapes look pale and slightly empty. Open the clamp, empty the juice into a prepared, sterile, hot quart-sized jar leaving 1/4 inch headspace, wipe the rim, top with a two-part lid, hand-tighten and then process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Set the jars in a draft-free place and listen for that satisfying "POP!" that means the lids have sealed properly.

We saved a bit of the juice out, of course, and found that we could use about one part juice to two parts water, a bit of sugar to taste, to have a very delicious drink.

The pulp that was left in the top of the steamer looked like it still had some use, so we put it through the Roma strainer and ended up with a very substantial puree. I added some sugar, froze a bit of it and then brought the rest to a boil, poured it into prepared quart jars and boiling-water bathed them for 15 minutes. That grape puree will be used to flavor vanilla yogurt, will be poured on pancakes, and might even find its way into a batch of ice cream.

I was thankful for my husband's help and companionship in the kitchen as the grapes were being processed. I asked him what he thought he'd be doing with his Labor day weekend if he weren't married (certainly not canning grape juice, I thought), and he wasn't really sure. A camping trip, maybe. Something outdoorsy. "What would you be doing?" he asked me. I thought about it for a moment, and then realized with a giggle that I probably WOULD be canning grape juice. It's just part of who I am, what I love to do, what inspires me. It's a beautiful thing to see those multi-colored jewels marching along the fruit-cellar shelves, promising sustenance long into the winter. When a child complains because he's come to the bottom of the jar of home-made applesauce (when he'd never TOUCH the commercial version) or proclaims the grape juice better than store-bought, it's just icing on the cake.

Tomorrow, a bit about butter--apple butter, that is.

Tomato-Basil Biscuits

The basil keeps coming, even while I'm working in the kitchen freezing corn with my new toy (I'll post on that soon) and making apple butter with my other new toy (that post is also in the works), but as soon as I'm done with all of this other bounty, I'll bake a batch of tomato-basil biscuits, maybe even freeze a few, though I haven't tried that yet. For sure we'll eat a batch warm with real butter.

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Tomato-Basil Biscuits

1 cup unbleached flour
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons cold butter, in small pieces
1/4 cup half and half
2 ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, salt, baking powder together. Cut butter in with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and the tomatoes and stir. Work in basil and mix thoroughly.

Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured surface and knead lightly for about 30 seconds. Pat out the dough to about an inch thick and cut into rounds or squares, about 2 inches around. Arrange one inch apart on a baking sheet. Bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Cool and serve with real butter.

Tomato-Basil Tart

When summer heaps its blessings of real garden-fresh tomatoes and pungeant basil upon me, I find as many opportunities to use them in the kitchen as I can. This recipe, using a pate brise crust and your choice of cheeses, is easy to make and delicious to consume. Plus, its beautiful, simple presentation inspires hungry awe in your family and guests. I made two of these tarts for a local houseconcert a couple of weeks ago and they were very well received.

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Delicious Summer Duo Tart

1 pate brise crust, pressed into a tart pan and baked in a 450 degree F. oven until crust is lightly browned and thoroughly dry.

1 1/2 cup shredded baking or melting cheese, like gruyere, swiss, mozzarella, queso fresco or feta (reduce the amount if you use feta)

4 garden-fresh roma tomatoes, cut into thin wedges and drained on paper towels

1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves

4-5 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup mayonaisse

1/4 cup grated aged cheese, like parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano or cotija cheese

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the baking cheese into warm tart crust. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degres F. Arrange tomatoes on crust. Process basil and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Combine garlic, basil, mayonaisse, aged cheese and remaining cup of baking cheese in a bowl and spread over tomato wedges.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden on top.

Let rest for five minutes before cutting and serving.

Golden Crescent Rolls

This recipe was also given to me by an Amish neighbor. These crescent rolls melt in your mouth! The first time I had them, I was a guest at an Amish quilting and the smell wafted through the house and mingled among the Pennsylvania-Dutch gossip that drifted from corner to corner of the quilt frame. While I think our host must have done something magical with her crescents to make them taste so fabulous and come out so fluffy, mine were good enough to be gobbled up immediately by my family.

Make sure you have plenty of real butter on hand!

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Edna's Golden Crescent Rolls

2 packages of yeast
3/4 cup warm water (around 105-110 degrees F)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
2 additional tablespoons butter

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, butter, eggs, salt and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl, turn once to grease the top, and cover. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled.

Punch down, divide in half and then roll each portion into a 12-inch circle. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and brush over the dough.

Cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll each wedge up crescent-roll style.

Place on a greased baking sheet 2 inches apart with the point-end on the bottom.

Cover and let rise until doubled.

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with the additional butter.

No-Cook Cucumber Relish

This recipe was originally given to me by an Amish friend whose family uses it as a sandwich spread. For me, it reminds me of the bread-and-butter pickles my mom used to make around this time every year. While this doesn't take as long as those pickles did, the basic ingredients are the same. I make a couple of batches and freeze it. Some I eat on sandwiches and hot dogs and some I eat straight out of the jar. ;-) If you want to use it like bread-and-butters, just slice instead of grating or chopping the cukes.

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No-Cook Cucumber Relish

7 cups unpeeled grated, chopped or sliced cucumbers
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup diced onions

Make a brine using:

1 cup vinegar
2 cups sugar

Stir to dissolve the sugar, but do not heat! When sugar is dissolved, add:

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon celery seed

Pour over cucumber mixture and refrigerate in a covered container. Let it stand for 24 hours in the fridge before using. Freeze some for later.

Vanilla Ice Cream

We've tried a lot of vanilla ice cream recipes and certainly none of them have ever been rejected, but once we'd tasted this recipe, we realized we'd never need another. This recipe comes from The New Best Recipe book from the people from Cook's Illustrated, and it's a custard-style ice cream, which means it's made with lots of egg yolks. So if you're in the country and have access to fresh, free-range eggs (and there is a difference, believe me) and raw milk, this recipe is the way to go. We use a hand-crank ice cream freezer because we like for everyone to earn their ice cream, but the same outcome can be had with an electric ice-cream freezer.

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half and scraped out, or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks

Fill a sink or large bowl with ice-water and have a strainer ready over another large bowl that will fit inside the sink or large bowl. Heat the milk, cream, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the vanilla seeds and pod (if you're not using a vanilla bean, wait until later to add the extract) in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to bread up the vanilla seeds, until steam appears and the milk is warm, about 175 degrees, which takes around five minutes. Do not boil the milk.

Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the beaten yolks, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined. Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan over medium heat amd cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides and the mixture is slightly thickened or measure 180-180 degrees. Do not boil or eggs will curdle. Immediate strain the mixture into the bowl you have ready and set it in the ice-water bath. Cool and stir until it comes to room temperature. Cover, refrigerate, and chill until it gets down to 40 degrees, 3-24 hours.

Remove and discard vanilla pod. If you're not using a vanilla bean, add the vanilla extract now and stir well. Pour the custard into the ice-cream freezer and churn following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid, at least a few hours, depending on the freezer. We usually wait until the next day to serve it. It will keep up to two days.

Black Raspberry Cobbler

The previous owners of our little cabin in the woods christened the acreage by which it's surrounded "The Thicket" because of the thick growth of brush and cane fruits throughout the woods. All around the cabin grows berries of all kinds, mostly red raspberries, blackberries and black raspberries. Our first year in The Thicket, I was pleased to find that I could fill many baskets with blackberries and black raspberries, and we seized the opportunity to eat as many fresh berries as we could. But we also made Black Raspberry Cobbler, a fabulously delicious treat that we topped with homemade vanilla ice cream.

You'll notice that there are several steps in between which you do not stir your ingredients. Folow these directions and you'll end up with a moist cobbler with a delicately crispy top crust.

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Black Raspberry Cobbler

1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups black raspberries
1/2 cup sugar

Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 7"x11" baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, 1 cup sugar, flour and baking powder. pour this mixture over the butter but DO NOT STIR.

Pour the berries over the batter and butter but DO NOT STIR.

Pour the remaining sugar over the berries but DO NOT STIR.

Bake the cobbler at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until the crust is browned and set. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!