Grape Leaves

We should have pruned our grapes earlier. But we did finally get to it, and I did something I've been wanting to try for two years. I canned the leaves.

Wash them and trim off the stems . . .

. . . wrap them loosely in bundles . . .

. . . and blanch the little bundles briefly in boiling water. They immediately turn army-green. The blanched leaves all by themselves have a lemony, pickle-y taste, which surprised me. Whenever I've had stuffed grape leaves, I thought that taste came from the brine.

Pack them into pint jars in a salty, lemony brine. A wheelbarrow full of leaves turned into six pint jars of rolled-up leaves. Ready whenever I want to stuff them.

My first batch of dolmades. I made a green pesto with sorrel, some spicy greens from the garden, walnuts and parmesan. I mixed it with brown rice. Each leaf got some rice and pesto, a little dab of goat cheese, and a red pepper sliver. I put them on a plate with grape leaves and more salad from the garden.

This is my favorite time of year, when the peonies and red roses bloom briefly at the same time.

Our new bare-root roses along the driveway are budding. I hope by next year everything will burst into bloom together.

Underneath the roses are a handful of old strawberry plants with these tiny, intensely sweet alpine strawberries. Some day I'll transplant them and add more plants and have a whole strawberry patch. And raspberries, and more fruit trees! One step at a time.