::grape pie and a kitchen helper::

September means many things. Fall. Back to school. School supplies. Crisp evenings and cool mornings. Apples. Pumpkins. Squash. And if you live near the Finger Lakes…it also means concord grapes! This area is known for concord grapes (New York is actually the second biggest producer of them, go NYS!) which are the grapes most used for jellies, pies, juices and snacks due to their distinct sweet and very rich grape flavor. Anyways, it’s an annual treat for us to head up to Naples and go grape picking. We always stop at Monica’s Pies to pick up one or two for the freezer and this year I decided to use my leftover grapes to make my own. Grape pie isn’t the easiest process as you have to individually remove all the skins off each grape, then boil the grape flesh down and strain the seeds, add back in the skins with some sugar and cinnamon and then make the pie filling. I made my own crust as well and had some extra so I did a few pie topping decorations. I’m not usually this fancy but we’re having friends over for dinner and since I went through all that trouble to make a grape pie I figured it deserved a creative top.
Also check out my new kitchen helper! So proud of this little dude who is now holding his head up by himself 90% of the time (a little droopy when he gets tired) and is learning so many new things! Shooting a fantastic outdoor wedding tomorrow, hoping to squeeze in a 7-8 mile run, and then we’re finishing up some more house projects before the bad weather hits us in a couple more months. I’ll be back next week with several client sessions that I got edited this past week but just didn’t have time to blog. Happy weekend everyone!
PS- YES we know all about the Bumbo safety recalls and the issues with it. I don’t actually leave Finley on the counter like this unless I am literally right in front of him talking to him. Most of the time he sits in the Bumbo he’s on the floor on top of a blanket.