savor our flavor

It's time for a little bragging about my neighborhood. My husband and I live in the South Wedge, an up-and-coming section of Rochester. This past Saturday we had the pleasure of visiting two new businesses just down the street from us (literally a 5 minute walk from our house). One is the South Wedge Green Grocer, which had its grand opening on Saturday. Yes, that's right, a grocery store within walking distance! And not just any old grocery store--one that sells organic, local items! Many of the shelves were still empty on Saturday but oh, the possibilities. Already I know that having milk, yogurt, locally made ice cream, produce and baking goods close by will be so handy for those times when I have the urge to cook but I'm out of something. Women's Coffee Connection, a coffee shop that has been in operation for awhile here, just relocated to the space right next to the Green Grocer. They had a "Grand Opening" on Saturday also, complete with a mariachi band providing entertainment. A sign recently appeared in their window announcing that they will have food provided by Skippy (a vegetarian chef in Rochester who recently closed her restaurant to the sadness of many here). Good news.
A walk down South Avenue led us past Open Face (a wonderful sandwich shop that I've already mentioned here) and the property next door to it which has recently been turned into a wine bar called Solera. We hadn't heard that it had opened but a little sign on the door said "Opening October 20th" (which was the night before). We immediately decided to return later that night to try it out. And what a wonderful experience! The inside is simply, tastefully decorated, with small wooden tables, tealights, dark red walls and curtains, and a nice bar in the corner. I had a glass of New York Riesling. My husband had a Pinot Noir from California. Word is that soon food will be added to the menu (cheese, olives, some desserts).
I am so proud of my little neighborhood. It's growing up so fast and adding so many good things. Come visit us and I'll show you what I mean!

All Things Apple

I had this past Friday off and spent most of the day doing my favorite thing: cooking. My theme was apples. The variations on the theme were apple butter (this recipe from epicurious) and apple cake (from Simply in Season).


The apple butter turned out well, I think. The recipe says it only needs 45 minutes of stovetop cooking (after pureeing the apples) but I found that I had to keep the heat very low or else the mixture bubbled strangely. Thus, it took me about 3 hours to get it to the consistency I wanted with it on very low heat. That's okay, though, because I was home all day anyway. My husband loves apple butter--I think I'll have to make more to keep up with demand, as this was a small batch. Next time I think I'll just make some from the applesauce I already have in the freezer.


This apple cake was a big hit. I made it to take along to my in-laws' (we spent this past weekend visiting them). My mother-in-law recently gave me a bundt pan, so I decided to make something in it to take to their house. I also used my new mixer to make it. The mixer was fun to use but I found it hard to stand there and watch a machine mix the batter for me. I like being able to control the speed, direction, etc, of mixing. I think as I get more comfortable using the mixer this feeling will go away. The cake calls for 5 cups of unpeeled, chopped apples, which seemed a little excessive but made for a moist, apple-y cake. The batter seemed at first like it was barely coating the apples but during baking it puffed up and formed into a real cake. It was devoured by the crew at my in-laws' house who were working on putting on a new deck. My mother-in-law didn't even get a piece (she was working all day). Definitely worth a repeat.

You Couldn't Get a Better Squeeze

Tonight I used this wonderful device (called a Squeezo) to make 6 big yogurt containers full of applesauce for the freezer. Heartfelt thanks to my mother for finding this nifty appliance at a yard sale for $5. I know it's authentic because it came with a little pamphlet dated 1973. On the pamphlet, besides the directions, I found the phrase "You Couldn't get a Better Squeeze," next to a logo that I've learned is the tomato lady. Click here for a picture.

eyeball stew

Okay, so it's really the filling for a Concord grape pie that I made a few days ago. The insides of the grapes do have the firm but slimy look of eyeballs. Green alien eyeballs, maybe. This was my first attempt at grape pie, and I learned a few things:
1. It takes a long time to make. You have to squeeze out the insides of 3 cups of grapes (reserving the skins), then boil the insides to break down the pulp, then put the pulp/juice through a strainer to get rid of the seeds. I started to make the pie at 9 pm and was up until midnight (one of my rare late night baking impulses).
2. The filling, as my wise mother told me, is a lot like grape jelly. Her adjective to describe grape pie: "hideous." I enjoyed it for the freshness of the taste, and just that I got to eat something so deeply purple. It got me thinking that maybe I should attempt to make a peanut butter and jelly pie...peanut butter filling on the bottom, topped with this delicious grape filling. Or maybe just serve a peanut butter pie alongside this grape pie, so you can have a slice of each and eat them together.
3. Next time I will cut back on the sugar. The recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar per pie. I put in 3/4 cup. Next time I will do 1/2 cup.
4. My oven is a wreck. It looks like a grape jelly factory exploded in there. I tried my best to put a cookie sheet under the drippy pies, but they found a way to drip outside of the sheet. Thank goodness I have a self-cleaning oven.

Here's the final products (one for us, one to share at work), followed by the recipe (taken directly from Simply in Season). My recipe notes are in parentheses.

Grape Pie
3 cups Concord-type grapes (skins removed and saved)
In saucepan simmer pulp for 5 minutes. Press through a sieve to remove the seeds. Combine the pulp and the reserved skins. (Simmer until the pulp is mostly broken down, which may take a total of 7-8 minutes. I was doing a double batch, so maybe that makes a difference. If the pulp is still clinging to the seed it's much harder to press through the sieve.)

1 cup sugar (see above on reducing the sugar)
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
9-inch pastry shell
Add sugar, flour and lemon juice to grapes. Pour into pastry shell.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil (I used all butter...I love butter.)
Combine and sprinkle over the grape mixture. Bake in preheated oven at 425 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. (I had to bake it for 10 minutes longer for the crust to brown how I like it.)