Grape Pie - The Ciccarellis | Seattle

Right before we started getting all this rain it was time to harvest the Concord grapes in our family's backyard. We had no idea what to do with them, but couldn't watch them just wilt on the vine so we spent an hour or so plucking and dropping into a bowl all the bunches we could reach (Erik got all the ones at the top, thank goodness he was helping!). Gathering ideas for uses friends and family came up with juice, jam, desserts, and my favorite - stomping on them in a big barrel with bare feet. Unfortunately we didn't have enough to fill a barrel and attempt the later like my favorite I Love Lucy episode, but we did boil them and send them through a contraption to detach the skin and seeds to make a juice (crazily messy, I mean- Purple Kitchen messy), that was then simmered down to a jam, which was then put into a tart (which actually looks like a pie). It was pretty tart (pun intended), but pairing it with a scoop of homemade whip cream took the sour edge off. Yum!

First crust ever made by scratch!

Our hands were purplish-blue for days, but it was worth it for a bite of warm pie.

What desserts do you like to make this time of year?

Cheers, Erik & Marissa