There are so many things that I should be doing.
Making soup for dinner, folding laundry, working on the recipe sheets for this weekend’s class. I should definitely be studying for my French class tonight (where I am, by far, the oldest person in the group…sigh). I also have a ton of emails to return.
But…
Today was the first time we have had sun in almost a week and so in a justifiable act of procrastination I wandered out to see what was happening in the garden.
The apples have mostly been picked and I can start pulling the biggest quince from the branches next week when I have more time. There is one bold blue hydrangea flower nestled in amongst the other dying buds. The leaves on the willow are bright yellow and falling fast.
Then there are the grapes. After such a good long spell of warm weather they have ripened well this year. With all of the rain over the past few days they are starting to split and fall. I grabbed my scissors and my basket and set to work.
It didn’t take too long to get to all of the bunches I could reach. I am not even sure what I will do with them all (any suggestions welcome) but it felt good to put everything on hold for a few minutes, feel the sun on my back and carefully harvest the deep purple and green beauties. Then I procrastinated a bit more by running for my camera and spending some time just photographing them.
In the end, just little break, and time well spent.
xo J
Stunning photo Julie , you have so many talents. XOXO
And you Cathy, are so sweet.
I’m in the kitchen today, making this:
http://www.marthastewart.com/355342/concord-grape-jam-tart
I love the simple look of it. Are your grapes sweet, eating types? I usually do up a batch of grape jelly or jam (it really does take a good ol’ peanut butter sandwich up a notch;)) and if we are overrun with grapes and can’t eat them all fresh, I have made juice and frozen it in containers. I add it to sparkling water throughout the year. Aaaaand, I have made concord grape sorbet. Refreshing and wonderful!
Great ideas Bonnie! This is the first year I have had the deep purple ones and I have no idea what variety they are. They are smaller than Concords and not overly sweet but still tasty. They do have small seeds. Right now they are sitting on the counter and are giving of the most amazing aroma, musky and sweet. When you make juice do you just crush the grapes or cook them down first?
Glad you are making the lentil soup, it is a staple in our kitchen as well.
As far as the knitting, it is absolutely on my list, just trying to find the time. I would love it if you would show me! xo J
I cook them down with a bit of water. My mom has had an abundance of concords in the past and we used to do many dozens of jars of grape jelly to give away. One day we just got sick of making jelly, and decided to just drink the juice we had already made for it. We simmer it until the grapes are really soft, and strain it through a jelly bag.
I should also mention that my other kitchen project today is your lentil recipe (without the roasted salmon on top) We serve it as soup and absolutely love it!
In between those I’m getting a start on my holiday knitting. When are we going to get together so I can teach you to knit?
At al di la we finished our meal with a sorbet of concord grape. It was cool and sweet, rich in color. Refreshing after a rich meal. I hope your lessons are going well. I missed this weeks class because of our trip…but there are several more to go and many months before Italy.
I am definitely going to try my hand at grape sorbet. I can both picture and taste it in my mind.
As far as the French classes…a bit of a gong show so far but I am learning…