Nothing funny about feldspar

* 4 cups Concord grapes, washed and stemmed
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3 Tbsp. tapioca
* 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pie shell, unbaked

For topping:
* 3/4 cup flour
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/3 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. (If you’re using a metal pan, increase by 25°F).

Separate the skins from the pulp. Set the skins aside. Cook the pulp on top of the stove (boiling a bit) for about 5 minutes (until most of the pulp is burst). Strain the pulp into another bowl (try to get everything but the seeds).

Add the skins back to the pulp, then stir in the sugar, tapioca and lemon juice. Let stand while you make the topping (or at least 10 minutes).

Blend together the topping ingredients using a pastry cutter.

Pour the grape goop into the pie shell, then evenly distribute the topping on top of the goop. Bake for at least 50 minutes, until the goop seems to be thickened (slowly bursting bubbles) and the topping is browned a bit.

Cool before serving.

(Note: most recipes call for 1/4 cup of flour instead of tapioca. I have never had good luck with flour as a thickener, and have always been happy with tapioca. So there.)

The guts of the pie was very fruity and grapey — not at all too sweet. The topping, on the other hand needed much less sugar (and much less topping, frankly). Overall, an A-, I’d say. Next time I might try an oatmeal crumble topping. One could also use a lattice crust, but I’m too lazy for that