Peter, James and John in the Cloud

How is your garden growing?  It's been harvest time here for a little while now, but I'm sure the best is yet to come.  As the feast of the Transfiguration comes along we gather fruit, historically the first fruits of the season (usually grapes), to take as an offering to the church to be blessed and distributed to the congregation.

During the prayer for the blessing of grapes the priest says, "Bless, Lord, this new fruit of vine which reached ripeness because Thou kindly provided good weather, drops of rain and stillness. Let eating this fruit of vine make us joyful. And give us the honor of offering this fruit to Thee, as the gift of purging of sins, altogether with the Holy Body of Thy Christ."

  As Christ was transfigured into His ultimate form as God, these offerings, which were once buds and flowers are now ripe, transfigured by God into the nourishing fruits that they are.  How appropriate it is that these very grapes may someday become transformed yet again into wine, which could then, in turn, become transfigured finally and ultimately into the Precious Blood of Christ.  What an appropriate symbol of this feast!

The custom of blessing grapes on the Transfiguration is old one.   In the Third Rule of the Apostolic Canon, the earliest collection of ecclesiastic laws, or canons,  compiled in the second century, instructions are given to bring first fruits of the harvest to the church as an offering.   

Also, in an early manuscript from the 7th century  called, " The Laws of the Kingdom" written by the emperor Constantine Porfirogenitos it states, “The Emperor of Constantinople gathers the “beginnings” (first fruits) in Chalcedon, where there are many vines, and then he waits for the Patriarch of Constantinople to come on the the Holiday of Transfiguration, to bless the fruits and to personally hand out the grapes to the laymen”.

Since some regions of Europe are too cold a climate for grapes to be ready on the feast, other fruits were used.  In parts of Russia, for example, apples are used.  In the most northern climates of Russia, it is even too cold for apples, so green peas are the predominant symbol of the feast! As you prepare to take your basket of fruit to liturgy this year, feel free to fill it with whatever fruits you like, whether from your own garden or from the market!

When you sit down to dinner on the feast of the Transfiguration this year, I've found the perfect little appetizer to help your family commemorate the feast.  It's called:

Peter James and John in the Cloud

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

4 large egg whites

salt, just a dash

2 teaspoon Sauterne, champagne, or any white wine will do...or cognac?

3 cups seedless red grapes (large ones work best)

1/2 cup water

2Tablespoons sugar

2Tablespoons honey

4 oz danish (creamy) blue cheese, goat cheese, or just plain cream cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream ( or just a bit more)

Freshly cracked black pepper

Fresh rosemary leaves, stripped from the stems

To make the clouds, 

Preheat oven to 200'F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Measure out 1cup of sugar and set aside.   In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in sugar mixture until soft peaks begin to stiffen, then drizzle in wine, a teaspoon at a time and continue beating until mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form.

Spoon teaspoonfuls of the meringue onto prepared baking sheet, forming 24 little "clouds".  Use the back of a teaspoon to create an indentation in the center of each cloud.  

These clouds /\ are entirely too big, by the way.  Smaller ones will work much better.

Bake until meringues are dry, about 1 hour.  Transfer parchment paper with meringues to a wire rack to cool completely.  This step may be done a day in advance, if necessary.

To make Peter, James and John:

While the clouds bake, in a small saucepan on the stove, combine water honey and sugar, and add a sprig of fresh rosemary, (reserving some of the tender green leaves for garnish).  Bring to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer and let it reduce slightly to make a simple syrup...in about 15 minutes it should resemble maple syrup.  Let it sit to cool.  

When the clouds have finished baking, turn the oven setting up to 500°,  wash grapes, towel them dry and toss them with the syrup in the saucepan. Turn the coated grapes out onto a on a large parchment lined baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, until grapes just begin to burst, about 5-10 minutes. Watch them closely!  They should not loose their shape.   Transfer parchment paper, with the grapes, onto a wire rack to cool.

Assembly:

 After everything has cooled completely, whip the cheese and heavy cream together adding enough cream until it resembles a thin buttercream frosting.  

Half of my family likes this with blue cheese, while the other half prefers goat cheese.  So, I make both!  

Spread a small spoonful of the mixture into the indentations in each of the clouds.  Toss the cooled roasted grapes with a generous grind or two of freshly cracked black pepper and chopped rosemary leaves. Don't be afraid to add the garnishes as they really add to the flavor of the finished product.  Place 3 roasted grapes (Peter, James and John!) onto each cloud, spooning some of the residual sauce over the top, and serve.  

While I love this recipe, I realize, even though my own children have rather adventurous palates, it may not be a kid-friendly recipe as I have written it.  It IS just as yummy AND less scary for little ones if made with a few omissions and substitutions.  Feel free to:

  A)  skip the wine in the meringues...if you must.

  B)  instead of the cheese and heavy cream, 

                      -substitute vanilla yogurt or pudding.

   C)  skip the herbs and black pepper

I just love the story that this recipe tells.  you can remind the children of it every time you make these together!  The honey that surrounds the grapes symbolizes the sweetness of being in that cloud, while the pepper specks remind us that they are not really " there" yet...when it's over, they will return to "normal life"... hence the residual heat of the pepper once you've finished eating.  The green leaves represent the absolute peace of the Holy Spirit that overshadowed them!