Windfall... part 2

 

Isn't the color amazing?



 

 

 

The purple color of the grape skins did not emerge until I added the skins to the warm pulp.

 

 

The pie was delicious.  So much so, I forgot to take a picture of the finished pie.

Now, I did use a store bought pie crust.  I have learned, over the years, I just can't make a pie crust.  I have tried and I do not have that ability.

DH and I ate the whole pie in two days.

Here is the recipe, below, that I used exactly and we loved it and I will make it again.

Concord Grape Pie I

In fact, one of the reviewers said that she made the filling and then froze it, so I have five more pie fillings in the freezer.

The cooler made seven pie fillings.  One we ate, one I shared with the gal who gave me the grapes and then five are in the freezer for winter.

I liked that you only use 1 1/2 cups of sugar and the pie is tart, it's not real sweet.  You taste concord grapes, not the sweetness, like welshs grape juice.

I hope that if you have concord grapes that you will try out this pie and see how good it is.

Windfall.....

I was so lucky.  A friend called me and said that her husband didn't have time to make jam with their grapes this year, would I like them?

 

SURE!

 

I had no clue how to make jam, or jelly.  But, I thought, I am not going to refuse free fresh fruit!

 

 

 

 

I had never even had Concord grapes before.  Just Welsh's concord grape juice.  BOY! Is there a difference in taste.

 

 

 

 So, I brought home a whole cooler FULL of grapes.  Pounds and pounds of grapes.  That smelled heavenly, by the way. 

 

I went to my preserving books and they all said SUGAR!  Some were 5 cups of grapes, to 5 1/2 cups of sugar.

 

I don't know about where you live, but sugar here anymore is becoming expensive AND they've reduced the package size, but not the price.

 

Then, I went to allrecipes.com, one of my favorite places and found a recipe for Concord Grape pie.

 

 

 

Yes, I said pie.  Interesting.

 

So, I began to "pop" the flesh out of the skins.  What an interesting thing.  The skins just pop right off, very easily.  Too bad apples weren't so easy.  Or tomatoes for that matter.

 

Anyway, I popped the flesh into a measuring cup and the skins went into a bowl.  I needed to save those to add back in to the pie.

 

 

 

 

Then you put the flesh into a pan and you slow heat them and mash them a bit as you go to release the juice.  You bring them to an easy boil and the flesh just kind of melts and then the pits fall to the bottom.

 

 

 

Next, you strain everything.  I used my strainer and a potato masher to get as much of the juice and pulp as I could.

 

And, because I want to keep your interest, please wait for the next post to see the out come!

Banana Cake

Well, every week, when I get Dear Darlings lunches prepared, I always try to have bananas for him.

Last week, he had five bananas and he wrapped them in his sweatshirt and LEFT THEM IN THE CAR!  Which, thank goodness it was cold and not hot!  But, to say the least, he forgot them until he came home, and it was only three days because of the snow, but they were frozen solid.  So, he felt bad about not eating any and having them freeze, so of course when he brought them in, he thought they shouldn't go to waste, surely they could be made into CAKE!

His grandmother always had baked goods at her house when he was growing up. My mother always had baked goods at her house when she was alive.  I, on the other hand, DO NOT keep baked goods in the house all week, every week because WE EAT THEM!

Remember, there are a lot of things going on here.  We are trying to eat real food.  We are trying to eat healthy food.  Plus, we are trying to cut the fat and cholesterol out of our diets, or at least down a bit.

So, while I don't have his grandmother's recipe for banana cake, I do have a "Fanny Farmer's Baking Book"by Marion Cunningham, that my brother got for me in 1987 for Christmas.  There are lots of good recipes in there that we've enjoyed, so, off the shelf it came.

 

It is called a neighborhood cake, which is neither time-consuming nor expensive to bake.  They aren't fancy.

Banana Cake

Baked in a 9 x 13 cake pan

Use only bananas that are soft and sweet.  This is a moist cake that keeps well for at least four days.

1/2 c vegetable shortening (1/4 c unsweetened applesauce)
1 1/2 c sugar
3 egg, separated (2 egg whites)
1 c mashed bananas-about 3
1/2 c buttermilk
2 c all purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 c chopped walnuts (1/2 c chopped walnuts)
(my changes to the recipe are in italics)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour cake pan.
Cream shortening (applesauce) with sugar and mix until smooth.  Beat in egg yolks. (I just put the egg whites in now), then the mashed banana and buttermilk, and mix well.
Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, add to banana mixture and mix til smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are stiff but moist.  Plop the beaten whites on top of the batter and begin folding them in.  When the whites are almost incorporated, sprinkle on the nuts, continue folding until blended. (I did not do this part as I only used egg whites and put them in as the eggs.  I like simple and the less bowls the better!)
Spread evenly in prepared pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean.  Let cool and frost.

Frosted with homemade White Icing

Do I dare tell you that we ate this 9 x 13 cake by Friday evening?  I made it on Thursday.  And then, I made another one on Saturday, and ONLY four of those pieces got packed for lunch.

Now do you see why I don't keep baked goods in the house all week!