In A Jam -- I Need Your Foodie Help!

Is it rude to ask guests to do some work?

I don't mean asking them to put the napkins around the table,

or even to peel the potatoes.

I mean asking them to work as farmhands and kitchen grunts.

Would that be rude?

My siblings, their spouses, and my Dad are gathering at That Old House on Saturday for lunch and dinner,

with a lot of chit-chat and visiting sandwiched in between the noontime pizza, and the dinnertime beef stew and apple pie.

And I'm thinking, hey . . . that's about 18 hands that I could put to good use pulling these babies off their vines.

(About 18 hands? I think I mean exactly 18 hands, at last count.)

Our grapes, which have lived at That Old House for many generations and continue to
produce heavily despite absolutely no care on our part, are ready for the picking.
And this year, I'm going to try my hand at making this:

Grape jam. Grape jam that is ambrosial, and denies any relationship to the stuff we buy in the supermarket.

This grape jam was made last year by our neighbor, Ellen, from our grapes. We were in California when the grapes were fully ripened.

Here's the thing: last time I made jam, it was peach, it was almost 20 years ago, it was in Seattle,

and it was in my sister-in-law Phyllis' kitchen on Mercer Island, and we collaborated.

So, I think that sets up precedent for jam-making being a family effort, don't you?

 Mmmm...  a nice slice of good bread, some natural peanut butter, and fabulous grape jam for breakfast.  

However. . .

I don't have a jam recipe.

I am hoping one of you Foodies out there can help me out with a recipe 

that isn't too scary and -- if possible -- is also foolproof.

Meaning, a fool like me can successfully do it.

I'm going to buy those cute little canning jars at the hardware store today.

I think they work better than Zip-loc bags for jam.

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Ripe grapes,  

 

pink Sedum,

fresh apples from the local orchard,

and a bit of Autumn decor creeping into That Old House, next to the TV . . . . it's goodbye to summer.

I'm linking to 3 parties today:

I'm hoping someone at Michael Lee West's Foodie Friday party can steer me to a good jam recipe that doesn't require a degree in chemistry and lots of scary procedures involving hot jam and boiling water. Designs By Gollum ... click here!

One of the things I always find beauty in, is our crazy happy overgrown grapevine.
I'm joining Claudia at Dipity Road for Finding Beauty Friday. Here!

And it's Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie's gorgeous flower-filled blog.
You know how the Moon is made of Green Cheese?
Well, this lady's made of Green Thumb! Here!

Have a lovely weekend! -- Cass