IT'S GRRRRAPE!

Making Concord Grape Pie has become a yearly ritual... a rite of passage into fall.
Squeezing one of these fruits of the vine and the robust taste explosion that comes afterwards,just says... YES! FALL IS HERE!!!! It's happy dance time...I am baking pies! Concords may not be available everywhere...and they may be pricey in the grocery stores. Grapes grown nearer to the Lake Erie shores are the best.

Lake Erie Concord Grape Pie
1-9 inch pie crust unbaked
4 1/2 cups Concord grapes
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Oat Streusel (recipe below)

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

Wash grapes and remove skins by pinching. Keep the skins.
Place the pulp in a saucepan and bring to boil and cook a few minutes until pulp is soft. Put through a food mill, while pulp is still hot to remove seeds. Mix strained pulp with all the skins. Stir in sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt.

Place grape mixture in unbaked pie crust shell. Sprinkle Oat Streusel over filling. Cover pie crust edges with foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes more until golden. Cool on wire rack.

OAT STREUSEL
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar,firmly packed
1/4 cup butter

ENJOY!

Time Flies....Run and Catch the Wind!

There was so much more Summertime when I was younger. I pretended I had a diner at my slide in the backyard. My imaginary special was the Hay Seed Soup....but you had to sit on slide step #3 to be served. All my "regulars" loved my cooking. There was always a new secret spot to explore...especially near the banks of Butternut Creek.

Reading the posts of the blogs I follow ...There is a time and a purpose for all those little things that make up a much bigger picture... Most of us are busy trying to keep up with our businesses...sewing, painting, and designing...others are cooking, canning and eating great things from the garden. But, some are mourning losses in their families as well as celebrating new beginnings.

I forgive myself for not blogging in almost 2 months. Tim, Lily and I are now house broken. We trained Lily to ring a strand of sleigh bells attached to the door knob when she needs to got out! Lily has tripled in size to about 30 pounds. As for detante..hum...Max is having the hardest time getting used to Lily...he was the baby and he just doesn't get the purpose of Lily. Max turned 2 years old on September 23. We each celebrated by eating 2 shrimp.

The seasons they are a changing...it has been so warm..so nice. Tomorrow it is going to rain and maybe highs is the fifties on Monday...where did the Summer go? I stood on the bank of Butternut Creek today and the wind blew the leaves of the elm tree...I saw these leaves when they were only buds... really not that long ago. My thoughts went directly to what I had wanted to get done this year and what I actually accomplished... instead of running to catch the wind .... I will turn and face it head on in the sunlight and just let life be.