flight of the concords

So I didn't make it to the farmer's market last Saturday to see if concord grapes are still available but I'm betting there are a few clusters to be found and they probably won't be around for much longer so make plans to get yourself a couple pounds the next time you have a chance. Hit the ATM ahead of time, don't forget your little canvas tote thingy, and enjoy this short-seasoned treat while it can still be found. 

When I taste a concord for the first time in a while I am always stunned by the true grape-y-ness of the flavor. The food scientists who invented the chemical formula for "grape" flavoring definitely used concords for their flavor profile, which was smart, because true concord grapes are hard to enjoy as a snack due to the presence of the many annoying seeds in each innocent-looking orb. Do not fear. You don't have to give up and head to the gas station in search of grape Bubbalicious or "drink" to enjoy the honest-to-grapeness flavor of concords. Home cooks are a smart and capricious breed and we've got a method for everything!

After you extract the seeds from the grapes you will be left with pulp and skins. Not a snack exactly, but with a little more time in the kitchen you can turn that fruit soup into something worthy of being served to guests, given as a gift, or hoarded for your own private enjoyment. Just bear with me.

Spiced Concord Grape Butter.

 As good an excuse to make (or buy) crusty homemade bread and a tub of mascarpone as I've ever found. 

2# Concord Grapes (equal to 2 1/2 cups prepared pulp)

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. brandy

1 tsp. grated orange zest

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground clove

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

2 c. sugar

(makes 3 jam jars)

1. Prepare the grapes. Wash them, then pluck them from their stems and squeeze each one over a small saucepan, popping out the insides. Keep the skins in a separate bowl. Simmer the grape innards (if I may use the word) for 10-15 minutes or until they have broken down and are soft enough to release their seeds. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve until only the pesky seeds remain. Discard the seeds. Add the strained pulp along with the reserved skins to a medium saucepan. 

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan and bring to a simmer over low-med. heat. Stir occasionally. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Test for thickness by dropping a spoonful of the mixture onto a plate. If it is ready it will be thick when cool. This part is subjective. For a fruit butter I simmer the mixture for quite a while to make sure it is nice and thick: thicker than jam, darker and glossier too. 

3. Carefully ladle mixture into sterilized jars and process to seal. (refer to canning methods for this step. Alternately, you can skip the canning process but just make sure you keep it in the fridge)

I served this supertreat with a whole grain baguette and a healthy smear of mascarpone, which was a bit of an homage to one of my favorite childhood lunchbox treats: Smuckers grape jelly and cream cheese on Roman Meal wheat bread. Yes, my childhood food memories are that acute. 

Carrot Soup and a Big Shiny Spoon

The first whiff of fall on the breeze sends me running for a cozy sweater and soup spoon. Leg warmers and tea kettles more your thing? A hand-knit scarf and a casserole dish? Sure. Fine. I prefer a hot bowl of homemade soup and a hunk of crusty bread. Throw some cheese on that plate and you've got yourself a meal. Well, I should say, I've got myself a meal. You might still be waiting for that casserole to heat through.

Time for the recipe. This carrot soup is sweet and rich, the drizzle of balsamic vinegar actually highlights the sweetness of the carrots and momentarily confuses your mouth, to a happy effect (the Japanese call it "umami"). At the time I made the soup I happened to have some oven-dried roma tomatoes on hand. If you lack said tomatoes you could use rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, just use a few less and make sure they are well-blended. Or you could make a batch of oven-dried tomatoes (recipe below). Its really simple and you won't mind having a few left over!

Balsamic-Carrot Soup with Oven-Dried Tomatoes

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled
6 cups vegetable broth
10-12 oven-dried tomatoes, more for garnish if you wanna be all fancy
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400. Drizzle garlic cloves with olive oil and wrap tightly in foil, put in the oven to roast until soft (about 10 -15 min). Meanwhile, toss carrots in 1 Tbs vinegar and 1-2 tsp olive oil, place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven alongside the garlic packet. Roast carrots 15 minutes, or until they are starting to brown on the edges. (The vinegar will burn a little but don't be alarmed, that's why you lined the baking sheet with foil)
2. While the carrots and garlic are roasting bring the broth to a simmer in a large stock pot. Once the carrots have browned, carefully slide them (along with any browned bits you can scrape up) off the pan and into simmering broth. Do the same with the garlic and the oil it roasted in. Continue to simmer until the carrots are soft when pierced with a fork (about 25 minutes).
3. Time for blending. Using a measuring cup, place 2 cups carrots into a blender along with 4-5 tomatoes, 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar, and about 1/2 cup broth. Puree on low speed until smooth (you may need to add a little extra broth to achieve the desired consistency). Pour pureed soup into a medium sauce pan. Repeat this step until all the carrots have been pureed. Taste for seasoning. You may end up with 1/2 - 1 cup of left over broth, but you don't want your soup to be too thin, so just save the extra broth and use it later in the week or freeze it for the next time you make soup.
4. To serve, ladle soup into bowls, top with an oven-dried tomato, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar, using a butter knife or toothpick to pull the vinegar through the surface of the soup and create pretty swirly patterns, if that's your thing. Another nice touch is to heat the bowls before you fill them with soup by filling them with super-hot water. Just don't forget to empty them before you ladle in the soup!

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

roma tomatoes
garlic, thinly sliced
fresh thyme leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise. Place on an oiled, rimmed baking sheet cut side up. Place a slice of garlic on each tomato half. Sprinkle with thyme leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and freshly ground pepper.
2. Bake for 4-5 hours at 200 degrees or until the tomatoes have shrunk to about 1/4 of their original size and the edges are crinkly. Once cooled, layer between wax paper in an air tight container.
*delicious on just about everything! with fresh mozzerella, in pasta, chopped and tossed with arugula and balsamic on crudite, smeared on bread, or just straight up!