Making Grape Jam

A lot of people never make jam because the instructions that come with the pectin are so scary and rigid.  They say things like "DO NOT substitute" and "DO NOT change" any ingredients.  Even following the instructions isn't for the faint of heart because there are instructions for jam, others for jelly, others for freezer jam and others for cooked jam.  And, of course, every different kind of fruit has different instructions.

For grapes, the only instructions are for jelly, and it would take some dedication to follow those.  We have three different types of grapes in abundance right now.  Concord on the left - sweet unmistakable taste, but with tough skins and seeds - mostly we let the birds, bears, and raccoons have them.  In the middle, Interloken, a variety of sweet, seedless, eating grape that does well in the Pacific Northwest where we live.  On the right a much smaller blue grape that is tart but seedless.  This is the variety I decided to experiment with.

A crucial tool for my jam making efforts is a really good blender (This one is a Blendtec, but a Vitamix also works well).  It can take the big wild blackberries and crush the seeds to make a smooth paste.  For the grapes, I separated all the branches and ends, leaving only small ripe grapes in the blender.

I have a standard recipe that I use for ALL jams that I make - 6-10 cups of fruit puree (more for blackberry, less for raspberry - after years of experimentation I have a pretty good idea of how much pectin it takes to set up different types of fruit.  I went on the low side for the grapes, so I used 6 cups)

 I use exactly the same amount of sugar as fruit and one package of NO SUGAR pectin (it sets up much better than the type that calls out sugar).  

Wash jars and leave them full of hot water until you are ready to use them.  Put jar lids into a pan of boiling water and simmer while you make the jam.

Stir pectin into fruit puree while it is cold, then bring to a full rolling boil that you can't stir down.

Add sugar all at once to boiling fruit and stir constantly until it comes back to a full rolling boil. Boil for one full minute, and then pour into jars after you empty the hot water from them.

Put hot lids onto thoroughly cleaned rim of each jar and tightly screw the lid down with the ring.

Turn jars upside down for a few seconds after the lids are on tight.  This helps them to seal.

Sample!

There are studies that say red wine is good for you and that red grapes have the same effect on your body - so while I have never heard of grape jam, logic says it should be good for you also.  It has the texture of a thicker apple butter and a slightly tart taste.  It may become my favorite jam!

Gardening in October

Usually by October, my gardening for the season is complete.  This year we are still in Washington and enjoying the best late summer/early fall ever.  The days have been sunny and warm.  The cooler nights and sun rising and setting lower in the horizon the only signs that the calendar had flipped from summer to fall.

I always plant a cover crop of winter rye in the fall and till it into the soil for fertilizer in the spring.  This is ever more important as the farms that used to dot the landscape of Snohomish County have mostly given way to residential housing developments, so my source for good nitrogen-rich chicken manure has dried up.  Today I tilled in the last of the corn plants, cucumber vines, pumpkin vines, potato plants, dill, and assorted broccoli plants in and spread winter rye.  A final quick till stirred the rye into the soil.

I left the two raised beds as they are still producing beans, corn, squash, and carrots.  Our first frost will come soon, but until it does, we have fresh produce. 

Today I will cut the dahlias to the ground and leave the debris as mulch for them.  I used to dig them, but have just mulched them every fall for years and they have been thriving.

I discovered the strawberries were full of weeds (again) so I took a break from tilling and weeded them before I planted the rye.  When I went back to plant, I saw tracks in the freshly tilled dirt. 

If you look in the upper right corner, you will see the two big rodents that sail right over the fortress fence around the garden to eat the strawberry plants, grape vines, and apple trees.

Fortunately lots of the apples are above their reach now, and the grapes are so prolific that nothing could eat that many grapes.

Recovering our Breakfast Nook

 Twenty four years ago, we went to the Fair and found a company that came out and custom designed furniture for our breakfast nook area.  At that time our children were mostly grown and we didn't have any grandchildren.  So we chose a nice light colored fabric that has worn like iron over the years.  However, after years of children using it for forts, eating dinner and ice cream there, and chasing each other around the table on the cushions, it was a spotted mess.

So in the interest of the general maintenance we have undertaken this year, we found a local company to reupholster the nook.

First step, figure out the jigsaw type puzzle of how it all went together and tear it out.

Then we had to figure out how to load it all into the installers truck. It took two trips, but their shop is only a mile away.

Once the furniture was gone, we thoroughly cleaned the area.  After 25 years, it really needed it!  

Two days later, the recovered furniture comes back!  Notice the more appropriate color for a 20 grandchildren kind of place.

The jigsaw puzzle was easier on the second exposure to it.

We are really happy with the finished product and would highly recommend "The Upholstery Shop" in Granite Falls!

Canning Tomatoes

Today was the day that Amy brought her hoard of tomatoes up and she did a marathon canning session with a tiny bit of help from me.

Oh my - this looks like a pretty big job.  "Go large or go home" seems to be the motto of my daughter.  So she started with 90 pounds of tomatoes and two pressure cookers, and dozens of jars.

Several hours later, she had 36 jars of tomatoes, and the kitchen looked like we had a food fight in there.

Amy was tuckered out, but she can take all those beautiful jars and stock her shelves with non-pesticide, non-genetically altered good whole food.

I took my swim while she cleaned up and a good day was had by all!

Doing the Puyallup

The biggest fair in Washington State is at Puyallup every September right after Labor Day and it runs for about two weeks.  Even with kind of iffy weather sometimes in September, it draws huge crowds and has vendors from all over the country and good performers booked for the shows.  We foolishly thought that we should go on the first day of the fair this year "because crowds would be lighter".  What we didn't realize is that the opening day offers free admission from 9 until noon.

We had a leisurely breakfast on our way - Puyallup is about 75 miles south for us, beyond all the major job markets of Bothell, Seattle, and Renton.  We didn't want to get caught in the morning rush hour, so we didn't hit the "high traffic" area until around 10.

Even so, traffic was bumper to bumper for about half of our journey.  It is coming back to us why we don't venture out to the big city too often.

Probably not the best place for someone who is slightly claustrophobic.  I have never seen so many wheel chairs, Walkers and baby strollers in one place in my life.  In the midst of the commercial tent, I had an unsettling thought about how much damage a terrorist could do in there.  We went through as quickly as we could and headed outside where the crowds were a bit thinner.

 Our golf cart died of old age this summer, so this is what we were looking for.  To our dismay, this one was over $15,000.

This one was nearly $20,000 - We have been out of the market for a long time. 

The nice lady who took this picture of Ron and I with Smokey asked if we knew what Smokey's middle name was.  We thought we didn't know until she told us it was "The".

The wood carvings were really amazing:

We trudged around the fair for hours in the sun and got some sunburn in spite of lathering up with sunscreen before we left.

We even looked at the animals - mostly for the shade inside their buildings.

The gorgeous day offered us stunning views of Mt Rainier for most of our travels.

Last Days of Summer

Usually by the middle of September, it is feeling a lot like fall, and we are thinking about heading south with all the other migrating seniors.  This year, we are still fully into summer, I am still swimming every day, and I am a bit overwhelmed with vegetables and fruit.  The experimental compost garden has been amazing.

In the interest of simplifying our lives, I started doing raised garden beds with "just enough veggies to have fresh" - In this tiny raised bed, the corn is over 8 feet tall, and the beans have basically taken over, winding around all the corn stalks, and dripping over the edges.

I picked enough beans to can 8 pints this morning.  The apples are ripe and dripping off the trees too, so this was a canning day.  I also did 8 pints of applesauce.

Yesterday we couldn't resist the beautiful weather and we played hooky from our mini-farm and took the bike on a really nice long ride.  First stop, Klein farm in Arlington to drop off a jar of blackberry jam to the farmer who was kind enough to let us pick berries on his farm last week.

Don Klein with one of the many antiques he is working on.  This one actually runs and yes, it still takes a penny to make it gallop.

Don with one of his original trucks back in the day when he milked 300 cows.  When the highway department used eminent domain to take a swath down the middle of his farm to reroute Highway 9 just north of Arlington, he quit milking cows and did an organic row crop farm for six years.  He sold produce from the farm then, but now the farm is for sale in pieces and Don looks forward to finally retiring to Soap Lake where his kids reside.

Family Gathering

We had our second annual "Treasure Hunt in the Maze" for the grandchildren on Sunday.   While we didn't have all of our 20 grandchildren attending this year, we did pretty well with 15.  Even though they range in age from 4 months to 17 years, all of them enjoy wandering in the woods around our house.  Ron keeps the trails mowed on most of the acreage.  The oldest grandchildren have helped to trim the once planned Christmas tree farm into a maze on part of the property.  So we have a "big maze" and a "little maze" and once a year, Ron and I gather Dollar Store treasures and hide them through both mazes for the children to find.

I managed to leave my camera behind when we scoured the maze for treasure, but I did get some pictures of the participants.  In oldest to youngest order:

Michaela

Kyrie

Rebekah

Bethany

Charlize

Adelyn

Laura

Cash

Alaina

Virginia

Joseph

Colt

Lily

Annie

Daphne

Madeline