Purple Flurp

In case you hadn't noticed, we are reaching the end of canning season and that means that with the first big freeze, my dear friend, Pauline, will be sending me that text I wait for every year, "Come and get 'em!" Of course I mean her beautiful concord grapes!

Over the last few days, I have juiced 4 gallons of grape juice and last night I finally gave up on the possibility of making jelly anytime soon and I quickly processed them in half-gallon jars for storage until I am ready.

The Dog Walker was close by during this operation, working on his Midterm for his Race in Society class. As I was pouring off the last couple of jars, out of the blue, he said, while still hunched over his reading materials, "Remember Purple Flurp?" Funny he should mention that because a few days ago, when I was juicing the first batch, Drama Queen asked me the same question.

Now if you are a fan of the old-time Jimmy Neutron movie, you would understand that reference, but at our house, as a young boy with Autism, Dog Walker wanted to be just like Jimmy Neutron, so we created our own version of Purple Flurp to satisfy his cravings.

Back to our original conversation...

"Do you want to make Purple Flurp?" I asked as I tossed the flat metal canning lids into a pan of steaming water. He looked up at me and grinned, pencil paused for a moment, "Do you?" I couldn't help but want to please this amazing son of mine, with all of his hard work even in the most difficult circumstances. "Run up to my room and see if you can find a can of Sprite while I finish up these jars and then we will make some."

He was back in a moment with a can of Sprite Zero and I had him reach up to the highest shelf and reach down the fancy blue glasses. After filling them with ice, I put about 3 tablespoons of pure concord grape juice in each one. Then the Dog Walker filled them the rest of the way with the soda.

Ahhhh... Purple Flurp!