“I didn’t say anything, but laid my hand over his and sat beside him. Fallen grapes littered the ground under the arbor, the pungent scent of their fermentation promising the forgetfulness of wine. The cloud-streaked sun was setting, and a blur of gold silhouetted the respectful form of Hugo, looming black in the entrance to the arbor. “Your pardon, Madame,” he said. “My mistress wishes to know—will le seigneur be staying for supper?” I looked at Jamie. He sat still, waiting, the sun through the grape leaves streaking his hair with a tiger’s blaze, shadows falling across his face. “I think you’d better,” I said. “You’re awfully thin.” He looked me over with a half-smile. “So are you, Sassenach.” He rose and offered me his arm. I took it and we went in together to supper, leaving the grape leaves to their muted conversation.” Excerpt From: Diana Gabaldon. “Dragonfly in Amber.” Is there anything more fragrant and lovely in the fall than an arbor full of Concord grapes? Some of my fondest childhood memories revolve around the picking of them first with my sister at a lovely farm in Hunting Valley and then in the old abandoned orchard in the back behind my store where the vines tangoed wildly with the overgrown honeysuckle and lilac bushes that had been allowed to flourish for years without interference. Some of the best memories that I share with my son Alex are of the many Neota days that we spent together. There was never any question about what we'd do. As soon as that first free friday in October rolled around we'd head off to one of the many "pick your own" orchards in the area and we'd go hunting for indian corn, pumpkins, apples and grapes. We'd take along a picnic and stuff more grapes then we could possibly eat at once into our mouths. There is nothing like the smell of fresh straight off of the vine, ripened Concord grapes. They are sweet and fruity, but manage to be musky and sensual, all at the same time.You can be walking in the woods and smell them about 1000 feet before you ever come upon them . They are truly remarkable. Alex was a home-schooled kid,born in late August so the year he got his temporary license, we drove out to the farm to pick grapes together,but then we went to Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland which is where I taught him to drive. Lakeview is one of the oldest cemeteries in the midwest and is a vast swath of acreage filled with magnificent old gravestones, many of the famous and hundreds of tombs and mausoleums. It is also home to a well established arboretum so the seasonal displays are gorgeous. It is also the best place in Cleveland to teach a kid to drive; filled with hills and steep turns everywhere there's no better spot. Accompanied by our fresh grapes, cheese sandwiches, cameras and Anne Rice's "The Vampire Lestat" , we spent one entire autumn perfecting the art of of driving. By the time the leaves had all fallen and the first snow was dusting the headstones Alex had turned into a very dashing young motorist. My son is 27 , grown now and life has taken him to Southern California. We still share the love of those grapes and that gorgeous cemetery. It may seem weird , but it's our place. When he's back east, if he's got something he's thinking about we'll meet up there on the hill that overlooks the entire city to talk. He grabbed my heart when he texted me last week from San Diego..."Mom, I just bought some Concord grapes and they made me think of you and Anne Rice...I'm glad she's not crazy any more". Those of you who are diehard Anne Rice fans will know what he means.....Not to divert from Outlander, but Annes newest novel "Prince Lestat" will be arriving on a bookshelf near you on October the 28th, just in time for Samhain! So when last week I came across a recipe for Concord Grape Sorbet I immediately thought of Alex. I can't wait to serve him this sorbet. True to form and because I can't leave anything alone, I completely changed the recipe. It's absolutely luscious, full of grape-iness and my sister the Goddess of Chocolate who's making her own batch using the original recipe has suggested that we enhance it with crushed Reeses peanut butter cups. At first I thought she was nuts, but now I can't get the thought of that out of my mind. She's such a bad influence! Then I remembered our Jamie (Sam Heughan) and his love of anything with peanut butter in it. Her addition started sounding better and better..... All that I did to make this sorbet was take two dry quarts of fresh Concord grapes off of their stems and put them into my vitamix with the juice of one lemon, about 1 cup of beautifully fragrant fresh anise hyssop (flowers and leaves) and 1/2 cup of honey ,a pinch of sea salt and 1/4 of a cup of agave nectar. Then I added 1 and a half cups of spring water and blended on high for about 1 minute until everything was completely pulverized and lusciously purple. At that point I put in the refrigerator and let it steep overnight! In the morning I strained the whole thing through a chinoise and put the remaining juice mixture (about 4 cups) into my ice cream maker. 25 minutes later I had the most incredibly fragrant and delicious grape sorbet. I wish that I could say that I slaved over the whole thing for hours but I didn't. The grapes are so perfect right now that it doesn't take much to bring out their flavor. The lovelyAnise Hyssop has a wonderfully sweet licorice and mint flavor that just blends beautifully with the muskiness of the grapes. If you don't have hyssop then try toasted fennel seed and fennel pollen like my sister uses. It will be wonderful whichever you use! All pictures and writings are owned by Beth Schreibman Gehring and are protected under my copyright except for the picture of the anise hyssop. I do not know who to attribute that picture too. Please don't use them in any form without my permission. Comments are closed.
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Beth Schreibman GehringI am obsessed Outlander fan who is also a Freelance Writer,Lover, Foodie, Gardener, Herbalist, Mystic, Aromatherapist, Healer, Blogger and Lover of all things Fragrant.... Archives
October 2014
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