FRUIT OF THE HARVEST

Evan gave me a 5-gallon bucket of pinot noir grapes to make grape jelly with. I stripped the grapes off the stems, crushing them between my hands as I worked. I boiled the must for 10 minutes then strained off the juice. The first time I tried I had 6 cups of juice to work with.
I heated the juice and slowly added the package of No Sugar pectin as I stirred vigorously. When it reached a rolling boil I let it boil for 1 minute making sure it didn't boil over.
Then I filled and processed the jars for 7 minutes in boiling water.
The result was a little disappointing. It seemed very runny. I reread the directions and noticed that it said it could take up to two weeks to set fully. And refrigeration might help. So now my cooled jars are in the fridge for two weeks and if they don't set I will have a wonderful syrup for waffles and icecream and even cocktails.
Another thing I noticed in the instructions (probably should have read all the instructions before I started) was that a little acid such as lemon juice could help to set the jelly. I decided to try a batch with lemon juice since I still had half a bucket of grapes. I made 7 half pint jars of jelly using 6 cups of juice, a package of pectin and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. I'm going to wait two weeks to see if that turned out any better.

CELTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL

I drove up to the Sebastopol Celtic Music Festival on Friday. On the way up I stopped at Evan's house for a cocktail so I didn't get to Sebastopol until 8pm. The first act had already started: Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill. I remembered the tremendous Martin Hayes gig from last year so I was expecting something good. It was good but it wasn't great. The main problem was the sound. I thought it was very muddy and not sharp. When the second act appeared - Richard Thompson with an acoustic guitar - I realized that it really was the way the sound was mixed that I didn't like. Richard Thompson's played a rocking set but I didn't recognize any of his songs. He didn't play either of my two favorite Richard Thompson songs - "From Galway to Graceland" or "Wall of Death". I guess I was a little disappointed.

HARVEST TIME

The leaves are changing and the sugars are rising. It's time to harvest the pinot noir. Evan has a crew at his house in Sonoma picking the vines clean for this year's vintage. It is so beautiful here this morning. The sun is already bursting out of the oaks and threatening to scorch the labourers.
More pictures

DON TRATHNONA UD I SANTA CRUZ

Níl aon griangraf agam inniú toisc nach raibh mo cheamara liom i Santa Cruz.
B'é inniú an cead la oifigiúl don chóir. Bhí thart faoi ochtar daoine deag i láthair. Bhi an mór-chuid do na daoine ann ón seachtain seo chaite agus slua mór eile do dhaoine nua.
Chuaigh me ann le Stephan i mo ghluaisteán. Ta sé ina chónaí i Menlo Park. Beimid i ndán dul le chéile gach uile seachtan agus b'fhéadar fiú cleachtadh le chéile i rith na seachtaine.
D'fhoghlamar "Alleluia" ón seachtain seo cháite agus ceann nua fosta, "Don oíche úd i mBeithil".
Is maith liom bheith ag canadh leis an grúpa ceol seo.
Ní bheidh aon rang Domhnach seo chugainn toisc go mbeidh "Deireadh Seachtaine sa Ghaeltacht" ar siúl i San Francisco. Ach is cuma liomsa mar beidh mise ag freastal ar an Celtic Folk Festival i Sebastopol.

IRISH CHRISTMAS CHOIR

I went to Santa Cruz today for the first meeting of the Christmas choir being organized by Máire. We learnt two new songs and began to work out the three-part harmony. There are about 15 people in the group with some more people coming next week. We have to be ready for December 9 when we give our first performance.
I loved visiting Santa Cruz, not just to see Máire but also to walk around on a late Summer Sunday. There were different street events happening. I walked around the Greek Festival but I didn't bother with the Antiques Fair. The Greek Festival was centred around a Greek Orthodox church, St. Elias, I think, but unfortunately the church itself was closed so I will have to wait until next time to see the interior.
The rehearsals for the choir are taking place at Calvary Lutheran Church, the same place where the performance will take place. I took some pictures of the exterior but the interior is even more impressive. Next week I will take some photographs and post them here.

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

I made jam today. What a good feeling that is. We walked to the Farmers' Market in Menlo Park. Dwarka from New Mexico, who is in town visiting his parents, joined us at the market. We bought the sweetest strawberries and raspberries. I've been waiting all Summer for this opportunity. Last year I made strawberry jam but I wasn't impressed with the results - way too runny for my taste. I've had to wait another year for the fruit to be ready before I could try my hand at jam-making again.
I started with four cups of washed, hulled, halved strawberries. I mashed the strawberries with 3 cups of sugar and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice in the pot where I was going to boil them. I brought that mixture to a boil then added 2 cups of washed strawberries. Everything boiled for about 5 minutes. I made a mixture of 2 tablespoons of pectin with a quarter of a cup of sugar and added that to the boiling mixture. I boiled everything for another minute. Meanwhile, I had another pot of boiling water that was sterilizing the jars and the tops. When the jam cooled a little I filled the jars, put the tops on and put the jars in the boiling water again for 7 minutes to cook and create a seal. The familiar popping sound was the signal that everything was sealed and ready.
I am looking forward to a cold day in March when I warm the house with the aroma of fresh baked bread, slather it with butter, and break out the berry jam for a little taste of Summer in the depths of Winter.