Single-serving Grape Jelly Recipe for Just One PB&J

My niece Tara was with me on Tuesday morning, and we walked over to the community garden to feed the tomatoes and pick some beans. "I'm sorry, but I'm just obsessed with string beans," said Tara, munching them on the way home. "If there was bean jelly, I'd be right into that."

She was also intrigued by the stray grapes that hang on the fence next to my plot, which are getting ripe and taste a little like sour Concords.

"Could you make some jelly from these?" she asked. (Tara is also a grape jelly connoisseur.) When I said I didn't think there were enough for a batch, she suggested I make a small batch. And then it hit me: why not make enough jelly for just one single solitary sandwich?

So I picked a handful of the ripest grapes, we walked home, and I made the smallest batch of jelly I've ever made in my life. It only took about 20 minutes, which was oddly freeing. Here's what I did.

Grape Jelly for Just One Sandwich

• About 20 grapes
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup sugar

1. Combine grapes and water in a non-reactive pot with a thick bottom. Bring to a boil and crush the grapes with a potato masher or the equivalent, until the liquid has reduced by half and has taken on a strong grape colour.
2. Strain the grapes and liquid through a jelly bag. It should yield about ½ cup.
3. Return the liquid to the pot. Add the sugar and stir to mix.
4. Put the jelly bag with the seeds and skins back in the pot and bring it to a full rolling boil.
5. Boil until jelly reaches the setting point (about 5 to 10 minutes).
6. Remove the jelly bag and pour the jelly into a small, clean jar that has been gently warmed up under a hot tap so it doesn't break when the hot jelly hits it.
7. Add a lid, but don't process. Eat at once.