Strawberry Apple Fruit Slather

This recipe is a fond farewell to the last strawberries and an ode to fall, I am presenting a simple, delicious and pretty, fruit slather. It uses up the last batch of Quebec's summer/fall strawberries, with the addition of apple and maple syrup; which is still in the fall vein.
Think of this as a sweet summer goodbye and a bright fall helloodles!
I am big on buying and using locally grown and sustainable foods/goods. Especially from small local businesses. It's better for the planet, freshness, quality, interesting varieties that are waiting for discovery, and most importantly it helps out our neighbors. This means that we in turn are growing our economy and showing that we care about what goes on our plates and what the impact of our purchases are. I hear many people frustrated with what's happening in the world but unsure how they can affect change. The easiest way is to make a difference through your buying power, I know organic is not always feasible but try to switch to organic for things like carrots and celery or kale. Make an effort to check labels and look for the local name, avoid gmo's and push for mandatory labeling of these Frankenstein foods. Most importantly, don't buy food with ingredients you can't pronounce, don't recognize as food, nothing artificial, and stay away from too much sugar, bad fats, and salt. In the meantime, here's a pretty recipe, feel free to use frozen strawberries if you need, just reduce the juice by half. This recipe is different than a compote as it is thicker, it holds up well as a topping and pre-cooked pie shell filling or maybe even a turnover filling.

STRAWBERRY APPLE FRUIT SLATHER

Ingredients:
Strawberries
1 Apple for cooking
1/2 Cup Real apple juice
1/4 Cup Maple syrup
2 Tbsp Organic coconut sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
Pinch pink sea salt
1 Tbsp Potato starch mixed with water to form a thick paste, about 2 Tbsp.

Method:
-In a medium non-reactive, heavy based saucepan, add all *ingredients EXCEPT maple syrup and potato starch. Keep the last two aside for now.
-Bring what is in pot to a boil, reduce heat to medium and stir.
-Add maple syrup and stir. Allow to cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Add potato starch/water mixture into pot, stir right away until thoroughly incorporated. Allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes until thickened. If you run your finger through the back of a spoon coated with the mixture, it should leave a line. Turn off heat and remove to hot plate, allow to cool.
-Once cool, you can fill in jars. This recipe is not a canning recipe, it is really meant to be kept refrigerated and eaten within 2 weeks maximum.
-You can use the filling in an already cooked pie shell, as a dessert topping for cake/coffee cake, on ice cream, to layer a parfait, serve with pudding or whipped cream. The possibilities are limited to your imagination. I love it on toast and to eat just by itself with yogurt.

Local labels, check for em'.

These strawberries made my heart happy.

Use only real brown, fresh squeezed apple juice. Not that yellow pee-pee yuck.

Chef's try to pretend they don't make mistakes, pthhhhh.
Look at this mess I made when I started washing the dishes and turned my back to the pot. I made a messy booboo and that's fine, just clean up after yourself like I did, once it was cool to the touch.
I reuse a lot of glass jars, I like the look of them with finished food products I make, plus they are much more easy to sanitize. I like the different shapes and specialty bottles with cool glass add on's.