Grapes

It takes careful balance to maintain favorite family culinary traditions while exploring new foods. But that's what Hagerstown resident Sally Poole has done. “My husband's family had gathered for oyster stew and ham sandwiches on Christmas Eve for at least 20 years before we were married,” Poole said in an email sent with her recipe. “When we moved into the family home, my husband and I decided to continue the tradition.” Now, 31 years later, Poole has maintained the family tradition.

“Grapes for Girls,” a fundraiser to benefit Girls Inc., will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cortland Mansion, off Potomac Avenue in Hagerstown. Tickets cost $100 per person, which includes a four-course dinner with wines with each course. Attendees will get to sample wines throughout the evening. They will also get to taste unique beers at the International Beer Garden, sponsored by Wantz Distributors. There will be cheese samples from Palmyra Farms and chocolates from The Perfect Truffle.

Thai shrimp curry with grapes and fresh basil 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cup chopped onions 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger 1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk 3/4 cup chicken broth 1 to 2 tablespoons green curry paste 1 1/2 pounds medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 1/2 cups red seedless grapes, halved Juice of one lime 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 3 cups cooked Basmati...

CLEAR SPRING - Knob Hall Winery on Saint Paul Road in Clear Spring recently started harvesting grapes for the winery's first vintage. Richard Seibert, owner of the winery, plans to produce both higher-end, ultra-premium "estate wines" and some modestly priced and sweeter fruit blends that will allow the winery to appeal to a large customer base. Seibert expects to offer Vidal blanc and rose wines in the spring, Chamborcin later in the year, and Merlot and Cabernet Franc in 2011.

Some call it science. Some call it art. But to wine enthusiasts, it's a glass act. It's wine tasting - a fun and easy way to sample the fruits of a vineyard owner's labor. Over the past decade, such events have become popular pastimes. You can enjoy wine tasting in fields of grapes, at your neighborhood liquor store or in your own home, where wine parties are gaining on Tupperware. But you don't have to be a connoisseur to participate. In fact, said Mike Johnston, wine tasting is a great way for novices to decide if wine really suits their taste.

Here are a few ways to use grapes to make healthy snacks and starters: · Peanut butter and grapes. Spread a toasted English muffin half with peanut butter, and top with slivered seedless grapes. You can also use whole-grain sandwich bread or crackers. · Yogurt with oranges and grapes. Top plain yogurt with orange segments, sliced seedless grapes and chopped pistachios (or other nuts). · Arugula salad with grapes. Toss arugula with crumbled blue cheese, halved seedless grapes and your favorite vinaigrette.

What about apples, plums and grapes? Papaya? Kiwi? Guava? Whatever happened to apples, plums and grapes? They are healthy, too, just not as much as some of their more exotic cousins. For people interested in more traditional fruits, here is where some old favorites place on the road to a healthier diet. Apples - A good source of vitamin C and fiber, apples also contain 5 to 9 percent of the daily value of potassium needed. Grapes - 1 1/2 cups of grapes are an excellent source of vitamin C, with 21 to 40 percent of its daily value, they also provide a portion of the fiber and potassium needed.

Grapes. So now it's grapes. Hagerstown administrators say they will try spraying downtown trees with some sort of grape extract to discourage thousands upon thousands of crows from roosting downtown at night and making the city look and smell like the inside of a chicken coop. They say crows don't like grapes, and that the spray will make the crows "nauseous. " Beautiful. Now we won't just be flooded with crow droppings, we'll be flooded with crow puke. I've heard of Grapes of Wrath, but this is ridiculous.

katec@herald-mail.com "You have some downy," said Dick Penna, looking at the leaves on a vine of nebbiolo grapes in his friend and neighbor Dawson Ahalt's southern Washington County vineyard. Downy - downy mildew - is caused by a fungus, and it is but one of many hazards faced by growers of wine grapes. Penna and Ahalt have been making wine since the 1980s - white and red - from different varieties of grapes grown in their Pleasant Valley vineyards. Ahalt, a retired U.S. Department of Agriculture economist, has an acre and a half in grapes.

Start to finish: 7 minutes Strawberry Yogurt Dressing, recipe follows 1 small can of fruit, such as pineapple, mandarin oranges or pears 1 medium red or green apple 1/2 cup seedless grapes (see Cook's notes) 1 medium banana (see Cook's notes) Make the Strawberry Yogurt Dressing, and set it aside in the refrigerator. Pour the canned fruit, with its juice, into a serving bowl. Core the apple, but do not peel it. Cut the apple into bite-size pieces, and add the pieces to the bowl.

It takes careful balance to maintain favorite family culinary traditions while exploring new foods. But that's what Hagerstown resident Sally Poole has done. “My husband's family had gathered for oyster stew and ham sandwiches on Christmas Eve for at least 20 years before we were married,” Poole said in an email sent with her recipe. “When we moved into the family home, my husband and I decided to continue the tradition.” Now, 31 years later, Poole has maintained the family tradition.

The banquet room at Cortland Mansion was packed Saturday night with sophisticated guests, but 17-year-old Christina Thompson's voice was confident as she took the microphone with a cheerful, "Hello everyone!" Six years ago, when Thompson joined Girls Inc., this would have been unthinkable, she told guests at Girls Inc.'s Grapes for Girls dinner and wine-tasting fundraiser. "I was a shy, quiet girl," she said. "I barely spoke above a whisper and I had practically no self-confidence.

Some call it science. Some call it art. But to wine enthusiasts, it's a glass act. It's wine tasting - a fun and easy way to sample the fruits of a vineyard owner's labor. Over the past decade, such events have become popular pastimes. You can enjoy wine tasting in fields of grapes, at your neighborhood liquor store or in your own home, where wine parties are gaining on Tupperware. But you don't have to be a connoisseur to participate. In fact, said Mike Johnston, wine tasting is a great way for novices to decide if wine really suits their taste.

A recent column by Art Callaham about economic development in downtown Hagerstown is based on the 20th-century premise that a central city is the sole economic engine for itself and the surrounding county. Why would the citizens of Washington County think that this dated economic model could result in a 21st-century outcome? I submit that Hagerstown, alone, might not be able to energize itself or the county, and rather, that the county just might be able to energize Hagerstown. First, let's take the old adage about thinking out of the box and just throw that box away.

“Grapes for Girls,” a fundraiser to benefit Girls Inc., will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cortland Mansion, off Potomac Avenue in Hagerstown. Tickets cost $100 per person, which includes a four-course dinner with wines with each course. Attendees will get to sample wines throughout the evening. They will also get to taste unique beers at the International Beer Garden, sponsored by Wantz Distributors. There will be cheese samples from Palmyra Farms and chocolates from The Perfect Truffle.

By Joe Fleischman This easy, colorful salad will quickly become one of your springtime favorites. This recipe works equally well with grilled chicken, fish or beef, and can be prepared up to 48 hours before serving.   The Meyer lemon vinaigrette is extremely light and easy to prepare, making the salad a great option for barbecues, potlucks or unexpected guests. Meyer lemons, although relatively new to the culinary scene in the United States, have been cultivated in China for thousands of years.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Looks aren't everything when it comes to a great-tasting tomato. And looks can be deceiving. "The ugly ones are better," Master Gardener Mike Cannady said as he carefully sliced a bi-colored variety of one of America's most-popular fruits. Cannady joined about 200 tomato growers and connoisseurs Wednesday at the 10th annual Tomato Tasting Day at the Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension in Chambersburg. Participants were treated to a blind taste test of 23 varieties of tomatoes, including heirlooms, heritage, slicers, cherry and grape tomatoes.

The Maryland Grape Growers Association will hold its summer field day at Knob Hall Winery Saturday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Knob Hall Winery is at 14108 St. Paul Road in Clear Spring. The agenda for the day wll focus on bugs, borers and berries - managing vineyard pests. The event will include a Knob Hall Winery overview, a vineyard conditions assessment and other issues related to growing grapes. Speakers include Chris Bergh, Anne DeMarsay and Joseph Fiola.

This is my second installment of my "National Children's Health Month" series, and I'm going to give you my top five snacks to feed the little monsters. There is no shortage of unhealthful snacks on you grocer's shelves to choose from, and the companies that produce said snacks spend millions of dollars to make sure we know about them. These items tend to be loaded up with sugar, fat, food coloring and other ingredients that your kids could well not eating. But what are the alternatives?

CLEAR SPRING - Knob Hall Winery on Saint Paul Road in Clear Spring recently started harvesting grapes for the winery's first vintage. Richard Seibert, owner of the winery, plans to produce both higher-end, ultra-premium "estate wines" and some modestly priced and sweeter fruit blends that will allow the winery to appeal to a large customer base. Seibert expects to offer Vidal blanc and rose wines in the spring, Chamborcin later in the year, and Merlot and Cabernet Franc in 2011.