Peggy asked me this past week if it's time to pick grape leaves. Here in mid-Michigan, the leaves are definitely unfurling but still pretty small. The sweet spot on timing, when to pick, depends on where you live. Just a few hours north of here, the picking won't be ripe until June. How are they by you? Our minds are on stuffed grape leaves this time of year, be it from jarred leaves or fresh. When I made stuffed kousa last week, the squash were tiny and I had a lot of filling left, so we pulled out the fresh-frozen grape leaves from last fall (still had some) and rolled a small pot full. Really the smallest batch I've ever made!! Gobbled them all up. Freezing softened the fresh leaves nicely and they rolled with ease.
A tradition worth keeping. Mom and Aunt Hilda rolling freshly picked grape leaves years ago. Those were the days...
Rolling a pot of grape leaves is definitely a project, but it's fun to get some others involved--not only to make quick work of it, but to share in the tradition, the love. They actually work really well for holiday weekends like Memorial Day coming up here, because they can be rolled far ahead (right now) and frozen then cooked, or mid-week and refrigerated, then cooked day of or day or two before. Also I realized with our last batch that it's not essential to make 100 grape leaves at a time (is that obvious and I'm just late to it?)! Small batches are quick and mean we can have grape leaves even on a casual night for dinner.
And let's not forget CABBAGE ROLLS! We crave them as much as grape leaves this time of year. Here's a great recipe.
I'll be back this week to kick off summer with the recipes we love this time of year. If there are any particular recipes you'd love to see at MaureenAbood.com, let me know!
Bless your hands,
Meat-and-Rice Stuffed.
Use ground lamb or ground beef with rice, plus spices and more. Lotta lemon juice in the cooking broth (but don't add the lemon halves, those can impart bitterness).
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