Hi all. Been a while since I posted but it has been busy here!
I love dehydrating. Powdered veggies are a great way to get hated veggies into your diet without the taste or texture or whatever the issue is. This is a great way to use up frozen veggies in particular. Powdered fruit is great for smoothies and oatmeal. Berries aren’t sweet? Freeze ripe bananas and use with berry powder and you won’t miss their sweetness in a smoothie; also freezing the banana keeps it from going bad and gives the smoothie a thicker texture without watering it down with ice. Have some frozen veggies that you didn’t like? Dehydrate and powder, then add to whatever. Potatoes are going to go bad? Peel, slice and dehydrate, they’re great for scalloped or au gratin recipes. Use very hot or boiling water to rehydrate for 15-30 minutes and they’re good to go.
In summer here it is terribly hot so we find as many ways to avoid cooking as we can. Canned meat to the rescue; that’s home canned without salt not store bought. We have been buying meat on sale and canning or using the sous vide to cook it in advance. This helps warm the house when it’s cold outside, and we use less energy in summer.
Fruit and vegetable scraps are great for the compost, but you can use these scraps to make vinegar too. All you need is the scraps, cane sugar and clean water; fruit vinegars make the best salad dressings! You can even use dried fruit if that’s all you have on hand. Raisins make an excellent vinegar for just about anything. Strawberry vinegar is great on a spinach salad or any fruit salad. You can mix it up, or use a single fruit or vegetable. It’s up to you, but be creative! When you filter the vinegar, toss the scraps to your chickens or throw in the compost.
Bake your own bread. My husband and the boys go through about a loaf a week, sometimes more. It is so much cheaper to make it myself.
Please do your own research and use safe practices when canning, dehydrating or fermenting anything.
I love dehydrating. Powdered veggies are a great way to get hated veggies into your diet without the taste or texture or whatever the issue is. This is a great way to use up frozen veggies in particular. Powdered fruit is great for smoothies and oatmeal. Berries aren’t sweet? Freeze ripe bananas and use with berry powder and you won’t miss their sweetness in a smoothie; also freezing the banana keeps it from going bad and gives the smoothie a thicker texture without watering it down with ice. Have some frozen veggies that you didn’t like? Dehydrate and powder, then add to whatever. Potatoes are going to go bad? Peel, slice and dehydrate, they’re great for scalloped or au gratin recipes. Use very hot or boiling water to rehydrate for 15-30 minutes and they’re good to go.
In summer here it is terribly hot so we find as many ways to avoid cooking as we can. Canned meat to the rescue; that’s home canned without salt not store bought. We have been buying meat on sale and canning or using the sous vide to cook it in advance. This helps warm the house when it’s cold outside, and we use less energy in summer.
Fruit and vegetable scraps are great for the compost, but you can use these scraps to make vinegar too. All you need is the scraps, cane sugar and clean water; fruit vinegars make the best salad dressings! You can even use dried fruit if that’s all you have on hand. Raisins make an excellent vinegar for just about anything. Strawberry vinegar is great on a spinach salad or any fruit salad. You can mix it up, or use a single fruit or vegetable. It’s up to you, but be creative! When you filter the vinegar, toss the scraps to your chickens or throw in the compost.
Bake your own bread. My husband and the boys go through about a loaf a week, sometimes more. It is so much cheaper to make it myself.
Please do your own research and use safe practices when canning, dehydrating or fermenting anything.
