THE PLEASURABLE POP

Oh it was a busy morning and a fun filled preparation for it too. Friday I was sent out to the orchard area to another set of grape vines. These grapes are for home use and not harvested for sale and vinting. It was a little chilly and windy out but I bundled in a scarf and really enjoyed a bit of solitude time. First I started singing but my repertoire is limited so I decided to get my MP3 player. Slowly, methodically and joyfully I picked the Niagara grapes for making home jelly. Later in the day as the clouds rolled in I sat in the living room in front of the big TV and watched the Travel and the Discovery Channels while picking off the stems of the juicy ripe grapes. Needless (not seedless) to say it took me a few hours to get the job done. Some people knit in front of the TV, I pick stems.

Saturday morning Marie set up a new toy for extracting the juice out of tomatoes. She cranked away at the bushel of tomatoes that the neighbors had given us. We've been the recipients of so many bags of differing produce in the last two weeks I had been running out of recipes. I could only win over the ladies in the house with my Japanese cucumber salad and my carrot ginger creations. These tomatoes where getting processed for Mike's chili recipe.

Some of my grape pickings were slotted for jelly and the other for juice. Marie and I discovered that the tomato crank machine didn't work for grapes at all and sent juice dripping all over the base of the counter onto the floor. We also tried the Jack LaLanne juice extractor but it didn't work either as the seeds jammed it up. Tired we put the juicing grapes aside for Mike to use his grape press on and Marie brought out the old faithful potato masher to get the jelly grapes started. Mash, mash, mash. Tried and true methods work just fine. The grapes needed to sit in a jelly bag (like cheesecloth) and hang around for several hours. It seemed like a lot of work to me. Wouldn't just buying a 99 cent jar of Welch's be a lot easier?

Early Sunday it got busy in the kitchen. I stayed a safe distance away choosing not to participate but rather be the documenter of the process. It was Family Makin' Jelly Day with hours of straining, jar filling, boiling and waiting for THE PLEASURABLE POP that the jar tops make signaling a fine and worthy seal. It was another DO NEW for me.

 

I have learned many new skills on this summer adventure and I am sure there are more to learn. There's always something NEW to learn and DO. I leave this vineyard tomorrow morning to head eastward to Illinois where I will be couchsurfing for a couple of days. I'll be on the east side of the Mississippi River again but in a NEW state. I look forward to seeing something NEW but will always hold fond memories of RIVERVIEW and the friends that I have made here. CHEERS!

UPDATE: Mike made acorn squash with a maple syrup concoction inside. Then came the chili. I am STUFFED! I might even PLEASURABLY POP. Buenisimo!

END NOTE: Have you ever seen a Teddy Burr? Well now you have. A bear made of burrs was introduced to me at dinner last night in nearby Viroqua. Drew is a couchsurfer and he and his family and friends welcomed over me for a lovely evening of grilled pork and great conversation. Thanks to all for making my time in these parts of Wisconsin a simply wonderful experience.