Vanilla Sugar & Strawberries

Today's entry is short--but I think it is awesome!

Vanilla Sugar
4 cups of sugar
2 vanilla beans

This is a simple yet fantastic way to use sugar. You will need an airtight container, like a Ball jar or something like that--large enough to hold the 4 cups of sugar. I use one of those jars with the latch and rubber seal. I like it because it is old fashioned, but use whatever you might have on hand.
Tip: The cheapest place I have found vanilla beans is at World Market. Most grocery stores are much more expensive.

Put the 4 cups of sugar in your chosen container.

Take the vanilla beans and lay them out flat on your cutting surface.
Take a sharp knife and slice the bean down the center, not cutting all the way through. Then, peel open the bean to expose the soft black paste of beans inside. Scrape that out with your knife and drop it in the sugar. Do this with both beans.

Now, take the scraped pods and drop them in the sugar container. Seal it then shake. This sugar will keep on your shelf for a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time. If you ever use vanilla beans for anything else, simply drop the used beans in the container. NEVER WASTE THOSE EXPENSIVE BEANS!  Also, as you use the sugar, just add more to keep the container full.

I use this sugar in my tea with a little mint. You can basically use it whenever you have to add sugar and vanilla extract to any recipe. It just adds that special something and people will ask you makes it so good. :)

Here is my favorite use for the sugar...
After slicing up a pint of fresh strawberries, mix in 2-4 tablespoons of this vanilla sugar (depending on the tartness of the strawberries). Let them sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You can also kick it up a notch by adding AT LEAST 2 tablespoons of amaretto. Serve this with a simple yellow cake or pound cake and some whip cream.  FABULOUS!