Summer's Echo
Ahh, dear reader, I've missed you. Hello! I hope our sabbatical has been fruitful and peaceful for you, and that you're flourishing despite this difficult economy... or at the very least, eating well. This return post is due in part to my dad, who informed me he enjoys reading my posts even though he has zero desire to cook anything I talk about. In that spirit, I give you a story about how to make grape jelly. I imagine no one who reads this will be buying jelly jars anytime soon, but it should be be a delightful romp for us all. We begin with the grapes. Because home canning uses such simple ingredients, it's important to have the best. My dear friends Tanya and Erik have a house once owned by an old Italian man who brought grape vines from his homeland to make wine. He also planted fig, orange, grapefruit and lemon trees; they pretty much live in an urban orchard. Their vines run wild and all the grapes burst forth at the same time, too many for any one family to eat. I always pick the...