Concord Grape Pie and Grape Bread....a Labor of Love

One of the things I look forward to most in anticipation of Fall is all the great baking I can do.

One of my most favorite thing to make is grape pie from Concord grapes grown in the Finger Lakes.

I just need to drive about 45 minutes to get to Naples, NY where the grapes are homegrown in abundance. I like to stop at roadside stands to buy them or go to Joseph's Farm Market just on the edge of town.

The drive down there is beautiful, especially in the Fall and the scenery all the way never gets old.

Making grape pie is a labor of love. Harvesting the grapes is not part of it but I did have a summer job once where I had to tie all the long vines up before the fruit appeared so they could hold the weight of the grape clusters.

We will start with these...

I call it a labor of love because of how you have to prepare the grapes. It is not hard, just time consuming.

You have to squeeze the grape out of it's skin......on all of them!

Cook them down and then smash the seeds out of the pulp....

Here's the recipe so you can get started. It is from Applehood and Motherpie, a local Junior League cookbook.

Finger Lakes Grape Pie with Two
Crusts or Streusel Topping





Two pie crusts for the two crust version. One pie crust for the Streusel version. I use Pillsbury All Ready Pie Crusts. I think they are as good as homemade.



For the Filling:

3 cups Concord grapes                                            

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Wash, drain and stem grapes. Remove and reserve skins. Simmer pulp for 5 minutes.

While hot, press pulp through sieve to remove seeds, or use a pestle and strainer.

Combine strained pulp with skins.

Combine sugar and flour and add to grapes. Blend in lemon juice and butter.

Pour into crust. If using Pillsbury pie crust, you will have a second crust for the top or you can use the streusel topping below.

For the Streusel topping:

This recipe is from Thru the Grapevine, another Fingers Lakes region cookbook.

1/2 cup quick cooking oats                                       Mix oats, sugar and flour; cut in butter.

1/2 cup brown sugar                                                  Place on top of pie.

1/4 cup flour

4 tablespoons butter

Bake the pie at 425 for 10 minutes and then 350 for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.

I had a bunch of grapes left over so I decided to try Grape Bread. I had just enough to make the filling and it was similar to preparing the grapes for the pie. Bonus! It makes two loaves!

Just look at this gorgeous purple dough!

 Not as pretty when they are baked....

But oh so delicious!!

Here is the recipe I used. I got it online from the Farmer's Almanac Staff.

Concord Grape Bread

1 cup Concord grapes

2 1/3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Remove grapes from stems and wash. Slip skins from grapes and set aside. Bring pulp to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Press through sieve to remove seeds. Add skins to pulp and place in blender for a few seconds.

Bring grapes to a boil and simmer 20 minutes.

Mix together 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch until well blended. Add this mixture and the lemon juice to the grape pulp and bring to a boil again. Cook for 5 minutes until thick. Allow to cool.

Add eggs, oil, 2 cups sugar, and vanilla. 

Sift together the dry ingredients and add them to the grape mixture. Stir until moistened. 

Pour into two greased and floured 9 x 5 bread pans. 

Bake at 350 for one hour (mine was done in about 56 minutes).

Enjoy!!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these blog parties this week:

Wonderful Wednesday
Talk of the Town
Full Plate Thursday
Best of the Weekend
Anything Goes Pink Saturday
Happiness is Homemade
Dishing It & Digging It

Falling Leaves, Vintage Treasures, A Cemetary and Grape Pie

The rows of grape vines just under the hedge and Canandaigua Lake in the background....

Hills rolling down toward the lake with rows and rows of grape vineyards accented by the pungent smell of concord grapes on the vine. Take in the view as you drive down to the end of Canandaigua Lake. The Finger Lakes area is known worldwide for it's perfect grape growing conditions,

You can't really see it here, but there was a slight breeze and the leaves
were slowly fluttering through the air from the top of the trees to the ground.

The title of my blog pretty much sums up our weekend in the quaint town of Naples, New York, which is known for it's vineyards, wineries and grape pies. Even the fire hydrants are painted purple!

It is only 45 minutes from us and we know it well but we wanted to just get away for the weekend while our son was at a retreat. We found a wonderful guest house to stay in called The Seasons of Life Guesthouse. The weather was promising to be gorgeous and we were hoping to catch some colorful falling leaves and then whatever else came our way.

Our first night was dinner at a tiny little Southwestern diner and then to the guesthouse. This is what we were greeted with at bedtime.....cozy!





On the way into town at dusk my vintage junkie inner sensor spotted a cute little house with a side porch brimming with vintage, shabby, farmhouse things. Turns out it is called Vintage and More. Guess what we did first thing Saturday?

I bought one of those enamelware pots because it was just too good not to. It is already listed in my shop.

 We ventured on to try and see the falls at Grimes Glen located at the end of a side street off Main Street. It was a perfect warm, sunny day. We never did get to see the falls. I found out later that the only way to get to them is to walk the creek. The paths on both sides end abruptly, even if you dare to cross the fallen tree from one side to the other. I only had my flip flops on and I am still recovering from hip surgery so it wasn't going to happen!  It was worth it for as far as we got because it was like walking in a wonderland of Fall.

That is hubby hugging a tree....

We saw this cool, gnarly, old tree on the creek's edge and the largest maple leaf I have ever seen!



Across the street from the vintage shop was a large park with a cemetery in it. I have seen it a hundred times but never ventured near. This time we actually went inside the iron gates and read some of the stones, which were faded and blackened with age. Most were from the mid to late 1800's. It was beautiful with it's stone walls but a little unsettling being in there and I felt weird walking on the graves!



There was another gated area within the cemetery with an ornate gate. We figured it was for the wealthy of the time. We did not go inside. The fencing was beautiful and was all done in iron scrollwork and grapes.

We drove around the area because it was a gorgeous day, stopped for Pumpkin Cinnamon custard and a visit to Joseph's Wayside Market, one of the best in the area.

It wasn't until Sunday on our way home that we stopped at a roadside stand to get concord grapes to make grape pies with. There were plenty of places to buy ready made pies, the most popular being Monica's Pies, but can I be honest here? They pack them all in cardboard boxes and they sit there stacked up all day until someone buys them. Anyone that bakes knows that cardboard and baked goods do not mix and can make your hard work taste like cardboard....and that is all I'll say about the ready made pies to buy in Naples. Below is the pie I made from freshly picked concord grapes. I used a streusel topping and it is SOOOO good.

I will share that recipe and what I did with my goodies from Joseph's in my next post.

Can you wait till then to sink into this yummy looking pie?

AnnMarie :)

I am linking up to these great blog parties!

Be Inspired

Weekend Wonders

The Weekend re-Treat Link Party

Freedom Fridays

Thursdays Favorite Things Blog Hop

I Love My Post

What's It Wednesday

Amaze Me Monday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Tuesday Trivia

Flashback Friday



A Good Week in October!

I am joining Five On Friday once again, because, actually, it's really fun to wrap up your week in a neat little package, all in one place. If you want to join just click on one of the hostess' names and link up!

The hostess' are Darci, April, Christina and Natasha. Just write 5 things on your mind today and post at the party! Then go read what others have been doing all week on their Five on Friday posts!

1) My Mom Jane and I celebrated her 75th birthday with a yummy Fall lunch and a game of SkipO, which she beat me at! You can get the recipes by clicking on the link.

2) The next day I celebrated my friend Bonnie's birthday at the cutest little café called The Chit Chat Café. Very appropriate for us because we chit chatted for 3 hours over multiple cups of coffee and pumpkin pancakes! The restaurant is owned by a family of all women and all the decorations are handmade crafts that you can buy.

3) Every Wednesday I have my granddaughter Chloe for the day. I signed her and I up for a toddler class at the library that is filled with singing, playing and story time. The "teacher" Sheila does a good job of keeping the kids occupied with a felt board, music, rattles, scarves to play peek-a-boo and a craft to take home. Chloe loves it and is interacting so well with the other children. I am going to brag right now......this past class a little girl wanted to hold Chloe's favorite baby doll. In return the girl let Chloe hold her frog bean bag. Of course Chloe loves "fogs" so it all worked out. At the end they returned each others treasures. So cute!

4) I decided I didn't like the Fall decorating that I did in my dining room so I removed it all and started over! I have had my birdhouse collection on top of my large cupboard for years. It was time to change it up. I like this much better. I can't wait for holiday decorating time because of the huge potential of the top of that cupboard!

5) Today is the day that I get ready to go away, just my husband and I, for a weekend in Naples, New York. What is the occasion? Just that my son is off to a youth group retreat and it is the middle of October....peek time for the color of the leaves in our area. The drive down to the south end of Canandaigua Lake is gorgeous! We will be staying at the Seasons of Life Guesthouse.....

Have a wonderful weekend!

AnnMarie :)

 I am linking up with these great parties!

Five on Friday

Five on Friday

It's Five on Friday time!

This is a fun blog party to link up to every Friday. The hosts are Darci, April, Christina and Natasha. Just write 5 things on your mind today and post at the party! Then go read what others have been doing all week on their Five on Friday posts!

 

1. I have been listing and listing new items from my many thrifting excursions the past few weekends. I am always on the lookout for different and unique things I don't already have in my NaNa's Things shop. I think I found a few....

 

 

2. Tuesday was October 1st, the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and also the day I just happened to have an appointment for a mammogram. I got mine....have you gone for yours yet this year?

 

 

3. I love Fall for all the reasons everyone else does, plus another one. My church holds a ladies' bible study every Fall and it started this week. It is a nice two hours with woman learning about God's word. It is a study on the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

 

4. We have enjoyed gorgeous Indian Summer-like weather here in Upstate New York with temperatures in the high 70's all week. I had actually put all my capri pants and sandals away for the winter but quickly took them all out again for this weather. Saturday is supposed to hit 80.

 

This plant looks the best it has all summer!
It is full of petite lavender flowers.
Must be the weather!

5. In one week my husband and I are going off for the weekend alone while our son goes on a Youth Retreat. We are not going too far from home but far enough away to feel away! On the very end of Canandaigua Lake, one of the five Finger Lakes, is Naples, New York, known for it's grape vineyards, grape pies and Grape Festival every September . It is a quaint town where we found a cottage to rent for the weekend. Doesn't matter to me what the weather is like :)!

 

 



 

How has your week been?

 

AnnMarie :)

 

Linking up with these great parties!

 

Five on Friday

Freedom Fridays

The Weekend re-Treat Link Party

Weekend Wonders

I Love My Post Blog Hop