We planted muscadine grapes last fall after sampling some that we bought at the farmers market in Columbia, SC. That rich flavor sent me straight to the kitchen to make our first muscadine jam, and we were hooked. The vines have done very well so far and it got us thinking about other grapes, so [...]
Weekend Gardening: Planting Grapes
October 17, 2010 By 3 Comments
We have been talking about planting grapes in our yard for a long time but weren’t ready to take the leap until recently. This was a first for both of us, so we had some research to do, and the Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension had the just the information we needed. As with all plants, [...]
Weekend Gardening: New Trees and Bushes
September 12, 2010 By 1 Comment
In the early days of Spring and Autumn, we have fun visiting nurseries and garden centers, admiring all the newly arrived plants and pondering what should go next in our edible back yard. Yesterday we selected a few new fruit trees and bushes to plant, though we had a hard time narrowing down the choices. [...]
Muscadine Grape Jam
September 3, 2010 By 11 Comments
When my parents said the farmers market in downtown Columbia, SC was a drive thru, they weren’t kidding. We literally drove through the giant open barn that houses the market, with vendors on either side of the “road” and loads of fresh local fruits and vegetables. Melons and peaches were in abundance as were the [...]
Creamy Grape Salad with Almonds
March 29, 2010 By 4 Comments
One of my favorite childhood memories is creamy fruit salads made with various combinations of grapes, cherries, mandarin oranges, pineapple, or apples, sometimes with crunchy nuts mixed in. The creamy part also varied, often made with sour cream and cream cheese or whipped topping, but all were sweet and sometimes tasted more like dessert than [...]
