Aren't Weekends Grape

Over the course of two days I made four batches of Concord Grape Freezer Jelly, some Concord Grape Juice, Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, Homemade Butter, and 130 recipe cards. Tomorrow I will be making more Concord Grape Juice and finishing the last three sets of cards that I need to get in the mail on Tuesday. I lead such an exciting life. Not. at. all. But it is a life I enjoy, that is all that matters (oh, wasn't that tender).

On we go to the recipes.

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Concord Grape Freezer Jelly
from Sparky
Print Recipe

8 cups Concord grapes
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 pkg. Ball freezer pectin

Remove stems and wash grapes. Place in pot and crush with a potato masher. Heat crushed fruit to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes (this helps the skins release the juice). Scoop the crushed grapes and juice into a cone sieve (similar to this) to separate the skins and seeds from the juice. Measure 4 cups of juice. Combine the pectin and sugar as directed on the pectin directions. Add the juice. Stir 3 minutes. Ladle or pour into freezer-safe containers or glass jars if eating within a few weeks. Twist on lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate for three weeks or freeze up to a year. If you have leftover juice follow directions below for juice.

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Concord Grape Juice
from Sparky
Print Recipe

Remove stems and wash grapes. Place in pot and crush with a potato masher. Heat crushed fruit to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes (this helps the skins release the juice). Scoop the crushed grapes and juice into a cone sieve (similar to this) to separate the skins and seeds from the juice. Once strained through the cone sieve, pour into a fine mesh strainer or a regular mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter and leave over night OR stir mixture around until only the solids are left in the strainer. Discard solids OR make fruit leather (view directions here and repeat until the juice is how you would like it. (I strained mine two times.)

So. . . from this point, I don't have any specific directions. You can either serve the grape juice as is or put about 3 Tbsp of the strained juice in a glass and added a 1/2 tsp of sugar and about 6 to 8 ounces of water to make a grape drink. I poured the remaining juice into ice cube trays and we will just have to see what I think of to do with those.

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Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
from The Sisters' Cafe
Print Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour (9 ounces)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
3 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 400. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Chill 10 minutes. Combine buttermilk and honey, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 4 times. Roll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds (as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope). Reroll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 1 3/4-inch biscuit cutter to form 14 dough rounds. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan; cool 2 minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.

+I served these with Homemade Butter, Concord Grape Freezer Jelly, and honey. Mmm, mmm tasty.

++While delicious mine were not very flaky. I feel very compelled to make these again, maybe tomorrow.