The Rural Voice, 1992-09, Page 53Rural Living
A TIME FOR WRITING
Have you ever done chores as an
adult and had your senses remember
feelings and smells you experienced
while as a child doing the same
chore? Every time I trim the grass
around our grapes I go through the
same delicious flashback.
When I was a young teenager I
worked on an estate. Trimming
grass, weeding flower and
vegetable gardens and
keeping corners tidy were
just a few of my jobs. To
the west side of the long
perennial border were
two long rows of grapes.
They were neatly tied up
and during the summer
one of my jobs was to
keep the small beds
around each grape vine
free of weeds and the
grass well trimmed
around the posts.
One of my favourite
spots to take a well
earned break was in this
vineyard. Lying under
Now, Klaus and I are growing the
grapes and we have a modest number
of vines that give us some eating
grapes and, when pressed, enough
juice for five gallons of wine. We are
still blending our three varieties of
grape juice together since we don't
grown enough of one kind to make a
single five gallon batch of wine. This
r..
natural state in fruit salads, mixed in
with cooked chicken and mayo for a
summer salad or just eaten the way
they are, perfect food from the vine.
Grape leaves are used like cabbage
leaves, filled with meat and rice and
simmered gently. But of course my
favourite recipe is a dessert one and I
hope you cnjoy this grape flan.
Grape Flan
A
the grapes on a hot summer day late
in the season; enjoying the coolness
of the shade and admiring the way
the sun managed to dance through so
many layers of leaves to warm my
skin. The smell of ripening grapes
promised flavours from the kitchen.
With a gentle tug from the vine the
fruit would come tumbling down,
ready to quench my thirst. Nothing
tastes as good as fruit picked fresh,
warmed by the sun and enjoyed right
on the spot. I believe it is because of
this freedom in the garden that I so
enjoyed as a child that I continue to
prefer to eat my fruit at room
temperature as opposed to chilled.
Our grapes, back then, were
picked after a light frost. The air
would be cooler by then and the
white grapes sported a bronzy blush
on one side and the occasional
freckle. The blue grapes were not
quite as sweet but had more aroma.
Grapes then were grown for the
eating and for the jelly.
year the grapes are small and
without some bright warm sun this
month may not ripen in time for
harvest. It looks like it will be a dry
winter!
Grapes are easy to grow but you
have to remember that with the
supports for the vine you are looking
at a major addition to your garden
that will last for many years. Since I
have no heart for pruning Klaus
keeps the vines pruned back and
spends some summer moments
nipping out suckers to force the
plants' energies into producing the
fruit. We keep them well mulched.
If considering growing grapes check
out your local OMAF office for
information on strong, disease free
varieties and consider what you are
growing the grapes for, eating or
wine.
When researching for a recipe for
grapes I discovered in my family
cookbook that we rarely cook with
grapes. They are used in their
Pastry
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
75 g butter (1/3 cup)
1 1/2 tablespoon
sugar
1 egg
Grated rind of one
lemon
Sift flour and
baking powder into a
bowl. Rub in the
butter. Beat the egg
and sugar together
until foamy. Add the
lemon rind. Pour the
egg mixture into the
dry ingredients and
mix to form a soft dough. Chill 1
hour before using.
Filling
250 g grapes
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
Wash the grapes and remove
stalks. Cut each in half and flick out
the seeds. Do not remove the skins.
Combine the sugar and flour in a
small bowl. Add the grapes, egg and
lemon juice. Mix well. Roll out and
line a 20 cm. flan tin or pie plate.
Spoon the grape mixture into the
shell and dot the surface with butter.
Bake at 200 C for about 30 minutes.
The pastry should be golden and the
filling set. Serve warm with cream.0
Rhea llamilton-Seeger, in addition
to working in advertising production
for The Rural Voice, raises two
children, and is a skilled cook and
gardener.
SEPTEMBER 1992 49