Saturday, September 26, 2009

I'm back...sort of

It's been a while... I'm re-evaluating my time and the way I spend it. Not sure what this means for this blog... I guess I am trying to decide why I do it and if it's a reason that justifies the time. On top of that, I don't really have much to say :-). I talk about my chickens, my garden, my kids and family, but I'm not certain it's of any interest to anyone other than my aunt.


For example: Here is a picture of our grapes. Not enough to make wine, but plenty to make homemade grape juice.
It might not look like much, but when you have to take the stems off of all of those grapes...well, it seems like the mountain of grapes don't get any smaller. Handy Man and I worked on these grapes for about 4 hours. Of course, we didn't even get started until 9 o'clock. PM!! Why do we always do that?! By the end of the night/morning, I was in a grape juice induced stupor. I think there was about 50 lbs.
Anyway, once I got the stems off about 8-10 lbs, Handy Man would cook them so that the juice was about to burst out of the grape skins. Then, he'd put the purple blob in a straining bag and allow the juice to drip into a bowl. Once he had squeezed all the juice out of the hot grapes, we'd ladle it into quart jars. We ended up with about 15 quarts of grape juice concentrate. We went ahead and canned the juice in a water bath. Now, we just pop open a jar and add about 2 cups of water... It's heavenly. The yummiest grape juice EVER!! You wouldn't necessarily need to add water, but it still tastes amazing and makes it last longer. Now, I can pretend to be a grownup and have a wine glass of grape juice while Handy Man has his evening glass of red wine...for his heart, of course.

6 comments:

Karyn said...

I'm one of your blog "stalkers" who never comments. But I love reading about your garden and chickens! At our house, we're taking baby steps to get there ourselves. :-)

I don't remember how I stumbled across your blog, but I just wanted you to know I enjoy your writing and keep thinking I should figure out a way to "run" into you so I can have chicken/garden lessons.

--Karyn Elliott

Mom Keena said...

Even better grape juice than what we got in Branson? That was pretty amazing! I, like Karen, enjoy your blog, but know you're crazy busy with all those projects and mouths to feed! If you'd continue to post amazing dinner ideas, that would be much appreciated. NOW I have a crock-pot and the recipes have stopped. Oh, but I presently have Buffalo Chili in my crockpot. Company tomorrow. And out-of-town company always gets buffalo!

Wendy said...

Trish, I love your blog, and I hope you keep writing when time allows. It's like scrapbooking, journaliing, and socializing all in one! :-)

Your grapes look amazing. My mouth was watering as I read that.

I love how you guys work as a team and accomplish such amazing things. Who else makes homemade grape juice?? Fabulous.

Becky said...

Hi Trish, I too am a blog "stalker!" I look forward to reading your blog. It's like chatting with you even though we live 12 hrs away. It helps me to feel like we're connected. I need to re-evaluate why I don't blog. Blogging is kind of like a christmas letter, informing everyone of your happenings, but in short bursts throuout the year. Please continue to blog when you find the time. By the way, my oldest, 8, loved your hatching chicken clip. She wants to have a chiken. Yes, "a" chicken! And a horse, and rabbit. We'll see...

Stacy said...

Ok, I enjoy reading your blog also. I check at least 2-3 times a week to see if you've posted anything new. I think everyone understands that blogging is an "extra" in your schedule and you post when there is time.
The grapes are beautiful!

Bekah said...

I LOVE your blog Trish! We all understand that it is something that gets done when you have the time. Don't stress, just write when you can and don't shut it down! I too feel like Becky, and get connected back to Siloam every time you post! :-)