Simple Strawberry Sauce, a BONUS, and tea towel revivals

The Farmers Market:  Simple Strawberry Sauce. This is the final week of mason jar goodness. This week I decided to feature a simple strawberry sauce that won't be around for long after you make it. The beauty of this recipe is that it's so ridiculously simple to prepare. The fact that strawberries are plentiful and delicious this time of the year makes it even better. In our house, my daughter has been setting the standards for healthy eating. We talk quite often about the excessive amount of white sugar added to so much of the foods that Americans buy. Another reason why I love this recipe is that there are only two tablespoons of added sugar. The real sweetness comes from the fresh strawberries. Yesterday I purchased my berries from the Amish farmers market two towns over. Once the sauce is made and cooled, pour it into a pint sized mason jar and store in the refrigerator. You'll find all kinds of great culinary uses for it from ice cream to waffles to cheesecake topping.

Simple Strawberry Sauce
one pound fresh strawberries, sliced
1/8 cup of water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in medium saucepan. Reduce to simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes. Let cool and pour in to a pint size mason jar. Keep refrigerated.

THE BONUS: Pimento Cheese. I loved finding uses for my mason jars so much this month that I decided to throw in a bonus here. I was surfing the web a few days ago when a recipe for Pimento Cheese caught my eye. When I think of this kind of cheese, I usually think of the processed cheez wiz style concoction in the jar. This recipe uses sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated.

The most obvious way to enjoy this is to put it in a bowl with some pretzels and dip away.

By now you might be wondering where "the farmers market" comes in to play. Well, that's where the Heirloom tomatoes from the Overbrook Farmers Market come in.

The math is really simple on this one: homemade pimento cheese + heirloom tomatoes=
Grilled Pimento Cheese and Heirloom Tomato Sandwich. And you get extra points if you pair the sandwich with the dill pickle spears from week two!

Pimento Cheese Spread
2 cups sharp yellow cheddar, coarsely grated (8 oz)
2 cups sharp white cheddar, coarsely grated (8 oz)
1 cup drained pimentos or roasted red peppers, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
several liberal dashes of worchestire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Can be made 3 days ahead. Transfer to a large mason jar and keep refrigerated. Spoon spread into a bowl and serve with crackers, pretzels, vegetables and baguette slices OR spread on bread, add your favorite fillings and make a grilled cheese sandwich.

The Find: Tea Towel Revivals. This week's find comes in the form of two vintage tea towels and a long linen curtain panel; all thrift store finds. All three are 100% cotton which makes them soft and durable and easy to work with.

I'm an apron girl. There's just no way around it. And I don't want a mass produced apron either. I want unique, upcycled and fun. I want something that doubles as a skirt when I go to the farmers market. The choice was obvious when I saw these tea towels and curtain. Where some people walk right by the dusty old boxes of linens, I make a straight bee line for them. I call these aprons my Rustic Farm House aprons. I used the linen curtain for linings and I used the cloth tabs for the apron sashes. Nothing goes to waste here.

PS: I'll be making these available in my Etsy store.

The first apron is a shorter apron made from a tea towel from Leicestershire, England. I love maps! Notice that I purposely attached the tea towel only across the top so that I can have the rest of it free.

The second apron is a longer one made from an awesome tea towel from Wales. It has all kinds of Welsh language and numbers on it. Makes me want to travel. How about you?

Yes, there is a face.