One of the pleasures of living in wine country is the easy access to all things grape and wine related.  Harvest has ended early this year, but we made it to a winery in time to see the production process in full swing.  Although Monkey is too young to drink wine, she has certainly seen her parents drink enough of it to recognize the special glasses when they appear on the table and request a sip on occasion.  Showing her the grape sorting and crushing and fermenting process was a great deal of fun, and at this stage of the game it’s all still grape juice – perfect for sampling.   If you’re lucky enough to bring home some juice from a visit to a winery, try this recipe for sorbet:

Grape Juice Sorbet

3 cups of grape juice

1 cup sugar , divided into quarter cups

Dissolve the sugar into the grape juice, a quarter of a cup at a time, adding only enough sugar until it tastes good to you.  Place the mixture in the refrigerator until it is very cool, at least 4 hours.  Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturers instructions.  Store in freezer in popsicle molds or freezer-proof container.

The mistake I keep making with Monk is thinking that she thinks the way that I do.  At the county fair recently, she was so excited to have ice cream.  (I try really hard to make treats – something occasional to celebrate a special day.)  The ice cream cones we found came with wafer cones with a huge amount of ice cream on top.  It was blistering hot that day and the ice cream began immediately running down her face, hands, arms, shirt and shorts.  I did my best to help her out – smiley face.  After a few bites, Monk bit of the bottom of the ice cream cone and just wanted to proceed with the cone.  It was race between her and I – she eating the bottom and me trying to eat the ice cream from the top.  Even my husband was enlisted to help me try to keep up with her.  In the end, she won!

Another great tip from a friend: frozen foods! No, I don’t mean the kind that come in a tray and that you put in the microwave for a few minutes. I mean literally pulling fresh berries and veggies out of the freezer. Believe me, I was surprised too, to watch my little monkey eat and prefer frozen blueberries straight. She does the same thing with peas, and she has tried broccoli and edamame the same way (little success with the edamame.) Its approaching 100 degrees F here today, so I don’t blame her. Its so easy and so fast. Here she preferred to have simply frozen blueberries for breakfast, even over the buckwheat pancakes that she had requested.