Grapes, Grapes, Grapes

This summer we've had next to no rain, and so the fruit that grows in our yard and my brother-in-laws yard is sweet and amazing, and there isn't a lot of it. This week, while I was still mired in procrastination mode (oh? you think I'm still procrastinating by writing this? really?) I made some grape jelly from the grapes in our yard, supplemented by the ones next door. Our grapes (Concords, useless for anything except eating and making jelly) are practically raisins from the drought, but my brother-in-laws fared better because he's got them up on a lattice. Mine are strung along the chain link fence, and maybe next year I'll do something about that. I didn't photograph my grapes, but I did snap the ones next door:


Aren't they nice? Here's a closeup:

These photos are unedited by the way, I haven't cropped or adjusted the colours.

From grapes on the vine, to grape jelly:















This is the most fully-flavoured grape jelly I have ever had. Normally I don't even like the stuff, especially that made from Concord grapes. This time however, the flavour is full and rich, and hardly the cloying sweetness you usually get with anything grape-flavoured. I am so pleased with these few jars that I'm going to make some more next week. I might wait until after Wednesday's interview...maybe...

In the meantime, last night we had pizza, it being Saturday and all, and we had wine from here, the 2001 Raboso. It could easily sit in the bottle for another five years or so, and should be opened at minimum, one hour before drinking. Most spectacular, however, were the tartarate (probably a sodium salt, or else pure tartaric acid. I haven't quite been able to determine this.) crystals on the cork:

The crystals are by no means an indication that the wine is "off" or any such thing, and they are simply a part of sedimentation. What is surprising is that they were not at all hygroscopic, and they've remained intact overnight. Often the crystals are contaminated with some other sediment and they decompose quickly once the bottle is opened. I'll figure out a way of preserving them, since red crystals are relatively rare in foodstuffs, and quite beautiful to look at.

We all need a little beauty, no matter our circumstances. Hope in Shadows is a calendar that's put out each year by the Pivot Legal Society that works out of Vancouver's Eastside neighbourhood. This year their photography contest was won by 14-year old Hannah Walker, and an article appeared in October 17th's Globe and Mail about her. Raincoaster over at Teeny Manolo includes the photo and part of the article.

I realize that has nothing to do with grapes, but the photo has stuck with me today and I wanted to include it here, inappropriate grape content or not.