MMM day 3 - Strawberry crazy

It was strawberry picking day here today! The kids and I met some friends at a new-to-me patch. It turned out to be such a lovely day with breezes blowing in off the water. Just about 40 lbs of berries came home with us.

All those berries means LOTS of jam to be made! So today's MMM is a bit of a stretch - not a garment per se, but something I sewed that I will definitely be wearing a lot over the next few days. I present the humble Chicken Apron.

This fabric caught my eye at a thrift store - isn't it just too kitschy and fun? I think it had been sewn into some kind of wrap around skirt (which I couldn't figure out), so I cut it apart and sewed a quick and basic apron. Not so pretty, but very functional.

Here's a close up of those darling chickens, pecking away at the straw. I have a feeling that this is a vintage fabric. 

And now back to our strawberry goodness! I'm really looking forward to making my great-grandmother's recipe for strawberry shortcake. She was a tough Dutch woman who cooked for a family of six kids. Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it. Enjoy!

GREAT-GRANDMA LUGTIGHEID'S

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

1/4 butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup milk

Sift flour 2 times and then measure 2 cups. Sift salt and baking powder, stir into flour. Set aside. In a bowl, beat the egg then add the melted butter and milk. Slowly add the egg mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring as little as possible. 

Pour into a greased 8" or 9" cake pan and bake 25 to 30 min at 400 degrees.

Top with mashed strawberries sweetened to taste with sugar.