Down By the Sea

Down by the sea where the Sea Grapes grow…

The grapes are turning purple! Is that a sign that fall is here…or at least, near?

I’ve been reading about cooler nights and changing leaves on everyone’s blogs. Well, thing are a little different in Florida, we don’t have changing leaves, just changing grapes. We are dying for some cooler weather. It’s been so hot and humid that we haven’t spent as much time outside because of it. I love seeing everyone’s decorations for fall. I’ve put up a few, but I’m sure once we get a cool night or two I’ll be going all out with the pumpkins and leaves all over the house.

At least we have Sea Grapes to enjoy right now. Sea Grape trees are all over our yard and some must be 20 feet tall! The view of these hanging grapes from the windows gives a nice tropical feel to everything…love that!

We’ve heard of southern folks making jelly out of these grapes, but we’ve always been too lazy to give it a try. They have a slightly bitter taste with a seed in the middle. I used to eat them when I was a kid, but they aren’t really that good right off the tree. Even though they aren’t the sweetest grapes around, it does kinda feel like we’re wasting food by not using them for something.

My parents were here and as we were sweeping fallen grapes off the deck {yuck}, my mom decided to take some home and whip up some jelly…from the tree, not the ground. She found a recipe and made tons of it! Lots of Sea Grape Jelly for me, without a mess in my kitchen! That makes it taste even better, doesn’t it?

The Sea Grape Jelly gets two thumbs up from my family, and the color of it is just so pretty! For my southern friends, here’s the recipe:

Sea Grape Jelly

Ingredients

• 1 quart sea grape juice
• 1 package of powdered pectin
• 5 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 5 cups of sugar

Preparing the juice: Wash sea grapes and measure. Put in fairly large, wide pot with half as much water (1 cup water to 2 cups sea grapes). Bring to a boil. Mash often with a potato masher and continue boiling until fruit is reduced to a soft pulp (about 25 to 30 minutes). Drain through a jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth. Do not squeeze.

Place one quart juice in a wide kettle. Turn heat high and add lemon juice and pectin. Bring mixture to a rolling boil. Stir in sugar and return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Pour hot into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 5 minutes in boiling water bath.

There you go! And if you don’t have Sea Grapes growing in your yard, come and get them! We’ve got plenty to go around.

I’m joining Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for Tasty Tuesday today…go check out her dirt cake!!!