After a long hiatus.....I am back! Here's a recipe I made today for Homemade Cough Drops!

I know I've been gone for awhile. Life sort of got in the way and I've been pulled away to other things.  But this month I've been working a bit on writing a very-much-in-the-beginning-stages novel for National Novel Writing Month and the writing bug has bit me in the hind end and I wanted to get back to writing here on the blog again.  So maybe this blog post is part procrastination, but it just seemed so much easier than figuring where to go next with the novel. It's still writing....right? ;-)

After this whole election thing and finally finding out the results, I was feeling the need to do something....to make something with my hands.  I've been dabbling a bit in some make-your-own type stuff and I know winter's on its way.... I was having a gluten-free cinnamon roll(been a long time since I had one - it was yummy) and I swear by my Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice (decaf) tea to keep me healthy through the sick season.

(Yeah, I know that was a long, crazy sentence up there...)

Anyway, I looked around a bit and decided to try my hand at making my own cough drops/throat drops. I'm not too thrilled by the ones with all the extra junk I wouldn't otherwise consume.

I found 2 recipes, and this is the one I decided to make today: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/11/diy-homemade-cough-drops.html

It was super easy - no need to heat anything up. And my little handmade cinnamon and honey cough drop balls look a lot like the ones on the The Prairie Homestead's site, so I must have done it right!

Now I need to let them sit a day or so to dry and then either wrap them up in wax paper pieces or put them in a container to keep them safe until I need them!

I was able to find Slippery Elm Bark and organic cinnamon at my local health food store (I believe it was from Frontier). I had the raw honey in my pantry already - purchased from the farmer's market.

I found a cookbook! Wow! This is Allergy Free and Sugarfree

First off---we've had a day or two of really warm weather and our lilac bushes have budding leaves!

 

My husband and I went to Lehman's General Store last weekend, as we are accustomed to doing about this time most years.

While I was there, I picked up a book that I had regretted not picking up last year: a spiral bound cookbook with the title Wow! This is Allergy Free and Sugarfree by Mary Yoder and Deborah Steiner.  From the looks of the family picture on the back of the book, I'd guess the authors are Mennonite or Amish. 

When I first picked this book up, I was skeptical. I've been eating Gluten-free (with a cheat here and there) for a couple years now, and truly did not expect to find anything non-wheaty as far as cookbooks go in an Amish store.  The fact that it was about allergies surprised me as well.  I may go into my lunch-and-dinner ventures in Amish country in a different post...

This book is based on the use of a "Four Day Rotation Diet", something that I have read about a lot in my allergy journey, but  have not embraced.  Part of the reason I have not taken to the four day rotation of foods was that, in the past, I did not have a wide enough variety of foods I could eat to break them up into eating once every four days.  Another reason was that I couldn't figure out how to do it; how to sub properly. I didn't have reliable recipes to use--it would have meant more hours scouring the internet for usable recipes.

I feel like I've been regressing a bit with my health/allergies lately.  I am sure part of it is stress with adding a paying job to my schedule and trying(and failing) to balance everything, part of it is that spring allergy season is gearing up, and part of it is because I have been eating more junk (read: Easter candy, chips, etc) and not so healthy meals due to a real lack of time to cook said meals when I am at work during the dinner-prep hour.  The family only wants so much roast and veggies or stew...

So....I am thinking about incorporating some of these recipes into my repertoire.  I'm not sure I want to do it completely, one reason being that I would have to give up my ritual of tea drinking in the morning.... I love my tea...I did pick up some different flours from the health food store and hopefully that will give me a good start.

I like the fact that the authors are at least aware of the corn allergy issue and the gluten issue, and I can adapt the days they have gluten-containing ingredients with the other alternative non-gluten ingredients.  I like that, when they use a "gum" in breads, it is guar gum and not (corn-derived) xanthan gum.  That, to me, is promising.  And I didn't see a whole lot of "gums", which I prefer as well.

So, we'll see how it goes, once I get a handle on it and try some of the recipes out!

Honey Lemon - Good for What Ails Ya!

I saw this idea a few months ago on Pinterest and promptly forgot about it. I was reminded when at the local health food store talking with one of the ladies there and made it the next day!

Our household has been fighting a cold/cough virus, and I plan to be using this a lot!

It's incredibly easy to make this concoction. Some people add Ginger to the mix, but since I am not certain whether Ginger is in the mix of spices I have been having some problems with lately, I left it out.  I am told and have read that over time, the concoction turns into a gel-like consistency. For now, two days after making it, it's made a lovely lemon-infused honey to put into my tea!

How to Make Honey Lemon
Gather:
Raw honey
Lemons
Fresh ginger, sliced thin(optional)
Clean jar with lid

Slice your lemons as thin as you can and place in jar. If you're using ginger, place that in as well, mixing with lemons.

Pour honey over the top until covered. The honey will draw out the juices and help fill the jar, so pour slowly! (I kind of made a sticky mess when I poured too much in at a time...)

Place closed jar in fridge to do its thing. If you feel like it, you can turn the jar on its top to help the honey move around and through the whole lemon stack.

When you need some honey-lemon goodness, simply spoon out what you need and replace jar to fridge. I have been adding this to my daily tea regimen, adding it to my black or white tea(you can use green, if you want).  For kids(and adults) who may not want true tea, you can just put a dollop of honey lemon in a cup and pour hot water over it for a yummy drink.

Yummy and good for you!

This should keep for months, as honey doesn't go bad, and lemon has plenty of acid in it to help fend off ickies.  As an extra precaution, don't go dipping dirty spoons into your jar. ;)

Keepin' it Real!

Garden Observations 2012

The garden is at its peak production, it seems. Maybe it's due to my avoiding it during the worst weeks of ragweed season...but I feel a need to get out there and harvest what is available. Especially since the weather is cooling off substantially--this makes it more pleasant to work outside, and also reminds me that soon the weather will be turning.

The Garden in September 2012

The green beans have long ago stopped producing.  I do, however, have some dry beans to harvest. Not a lot--we'll see how it goes. One of them is a variety that is hard to find locally and we wanted to just get enough to plant more next year and then hopefully be able to eat off of that crop.

The volunteer cherry tomatoes are proliferating, and I need to get the kids out to pick a bunch this afternoon. Same with banana peppers. I picked some of each this morning. I wonder if they would make a good mild salsa....

And a praying mantis that flew past me and onto the pepper plants.

Praying mantis on banana pepper plant.

I pulled what onions I could find. They didn't do very well. Maybe I was late in planting them (yeah, I was). Additionally, I didn't pay attention to what specific variety they were and if they are appropriate for our part of the country--I just picked up some sets from the grocery store. Maybe I'll rethink that for next year.

The pepper plants I purchased in July out of pity at the local nursery aren't doing anything worthy of note. Same with the melon plant. No point in purchasing plants at that point in the season...duly noted. (But I tried!)

I have beets I need to pull, but I am waiting until closer to dinner and on a night that I don't have running around to do....that way we can  have beet greens for dinner and then I can work on beets after dinner.

Yes, there are beets in there among the grass/weeds!

The okra is doing well this late in the season.  In fact, it's probably just getting going well and it will freeze in the next month.  I'm happy to have fresh okra I can fry up gluten-free and not have to rely on restaurants and frozen okra that is not gluten-free. :)   Next year, I need to plant it on either end of the garden, so that all of the plants can get consistent sun.  The lack of sun for the ones that get shaded by sunflowers really makes a negative difference in how well the okra has done.  We are still learning what size okra is best to pick--and to pick often! We are going to have a lot of seed for next year... People around here think I am weird for planting okra in Ohio--as if it's was unheard of and impossible! Maybe I will pass out seed and start a movement, hehe.

Burgundy Okra

Burgundy Okra Flower--Isn't it pretty?

The Job's Tears experiment is almost done. I am waiting for the little seeds to dry before I pick them and write an update on them.

Job's Tears plant

Sunflowers next year need to go along the back of the garden. I put them on the west side this year for some reason(oh, I remember--to give the cucumbers some shade), and let some volunteers stay in the middle of the garden, and I'm not sure that was a wise move. I will soon cut them down, tie them together, and put them somewhere to be a fall decoration/bird feeder.

Hubby has sorghum he needs to figure out what to do with. And we have corn(dry) to pick as well.

Sorghum, reaching for the sky!

The kids in front of the sorghum

The chard and kale should be tasty soon. It's been bitter, so I have been breaking leaves off and giving them to the chickens, who love them.

I need to harvest my huge basil plants before the weather gets too cold and make frozen pesto stuff to put in the freezer (it was yummy on pizza!).

Overgrown basil in need of plucking.

More basil-a ruffly purple type.

I have parsley (regular and flat leaf) that I have plucked leaves from and am drying in the dehydrator today.  I had to selectively pluck, because there were at least 6 of those caterpillars on the plants!

There is also a little arugula out there I need to incorporate into a salad or something.

Arugula--I cut it back when it started to bolt.

Wow--I didn't realize the variety of stuff we had out there! I better get to work!

 Here's a few flower pics from the garden for good measure. I plant them in with the veggies to encourage insects to come visit. :) I've got cosmos and marigolds as well, but they didn't make the cut.

Nasturtiums

Borage

I want to add Zinnias next year. :)
And potatoes and sweet potatoes and do better with beans and greens...

Garden Pickings

I'm afraid I've been neglecting the blog lately, but I'm popping in here to update on the garden a bit. Here are the pickings I got from the garden this morning. The Royal Burgundy Bush Beans are about completely dead and defoliated from the bean beetles, and I got a meager handful of beans. I got enough okra to cook for myself and my hubby tonite for dinner, a couple tomatoes, and a ton of peppers that I just might turn into salsa(I have onions in the garden, too). Oh, and I do have some kale and chard that I am kind of waiting for cooler weather before I pick...the chard last time was bitter.

Many people in OH have never heard of growing Okra up here. But we've done it for a couple years now. Here's a pic of how it looks when it flowers (ours is a burgundy type).

And when it's cooked up the best way I know how (fried):

 

I love fried okra!

Might Sourdough Bread be an Option for those with Grain Issues?

I read an article in the September issue of Whole Living Magazine last night talking about the rising gluten free movement and whether gluten avoidance is what is really necessary for everyone with grain issues. Have we really found the culprit, or are there more culprits out there in our wheat supply?

One of the main focuses on the article was sourdough. Many people who were interviewed said that they were able to tolerate sourdough without problems(barring those with Celiac).  Interestingly enough, it is the refined flour sourdough bread that is getting the thumbs up. Commercial whole wheat flour is not the same as flour you would grind from whole grain at home, since it is ground/smashed, then the parts are separated, and divvied out to various sources, and then they are remixed when a whole grain order comes in. Manyy find that this is too hard on their digestive systems.  Before you reach for Organic refined flours, the article said that these do not have the fortifications added, and apparently to make a good sourdough with refined flour, you need to have those fortifications to feed the yeasts, otherwise they do not grow well.

Ancient (non-tinkered-with/non-GMO) grains were also given the nod and stronger approval than commercial refined flour.

I have been doing well with a once-a-week or so whole grain spelt pizza crust made at home.

So...I am thinking about branching out and trying to make sourdough from spelt and any other ancient grains I can find, and seeing how I do with it.  I would like to do it with whole grains, even if I have to finely grind them at home.

Hmmm...this is much like our ancestors made bread, isn't it? Getting back to basics...

Keepin' it Real!

Take a look at the article. I bet you will find it just as interesting as I did!

A Forgotten Favorite: Soft Boiled Eggs

Hubby and I went to Lehman's last weekend for our annual anniversary trip. I love this place---it is an Amish General Store and has all things non-electric, and inspires/challenges me to live a more simple life. The tons of things to check out around every corner is nice, too. It's like a giant bookstore/candy store/kitchen store/Amish crockery store/etc. in one!

While I was perusing the kitchen wares (of which there are many, and much of it modern---thanks to the tourist demand, lol) I came across some porcelain egg cups.  Holding one in my hand, I remembered my mom making us soft boiled eggs many mornings, and I decided I wanted to make some for my kids.  But I'm cheap, and rather practical, and didn't want a bunch of cups that had only one use cluttering up my cupboards...especially if the kids declare they hate soft boiled eggs after one go at it.

So, I looked around some more and found Pinch Bowls(which apparently aren't on the Lehman's website, on which I think they try to keep only the very simple things).  I had never seen these before, and had a lively discussion with a fellow shopper about their virtues.  I picked out a set of silicone ones, figuring I can use them to gather my spices before I start a recipe AND I can use them to hold the freshly soft boiled eggs to crack and eat them without burning fingers AND they nest AND I can freeze/bake/microwave and throw them in the dishwasher! Quadruple win! (and there's 4 of them for less than buying 4 of the actual egg cups)

Last night I had to Google how to cook a soft boiled egg (bring pot of water to boil, lower refrigerated egg into water, gently boil 5 minutes, remove) and tried it for myself this morning.

Yum! 

I think I will make some for the kids tomorrow morning (though I might let them cook a minute or so longer-still soft boiled, but the yolk will be more cooked).

Here's to Real Food!

REVIEW: Nature's Highlights GF Pizza Crust

I've been hunting for a good GF pizza crust. One that didn't leave my eye twitching and my nose itching, that didn't gum up as I ate it, and that didn't leave me feeling like I'd eaten a ball of dough an hour after I ate.

I picked up a box of 2 Nature's Hilights brand Brown Rice Pizza Crusts the other day at the health food store. I made one of them last night and so far they have been the best option I have found.

They cost just over $6 for a pack of 2 crusts. I ate a whole one, though I could have stretched it out to two meals if I had something to eat besides just pizza the other night.
 
The instructions say to defrost first, but I put the frozen crust in the oven while my family's pizza was baking and followed the instructions after that and it turned out great!

It's not a "thick crust", but it's not exactly a thin crust pizza either. Once assembled, I baked it on the oven rack and it turned out wonderfully crispy on the edges and not very gummy in the middle (I could have baked it a bit longer to fix the slight gumminess in the middle--now I know for next time).

The toppings I used to make my pizza this time were: 2 cubes of Basil from my freezer, olive oil, a blend of cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and nearly a whole 8oz package of fresh sliced mushrooms sauteed with some sliced onion and a large clove of garlic, sliced, and a sprinkling of sea salt. YUMMY!


Ingredients on the crust are listed as: Whole Grain Brown Rice, Potato. Since there is a simple ingredient list and no yeast, I think this might be a possible corn-free product. At any rate, due to the simple ingredient list, I would classify this as a Real Food.

The company doesn't have a website as far as I can find, but they do have the following contact info:
Nature's Hilights, Inc.
P.O. Box 3526
Chico, CA 95927
1-800-313-6454

12/30/11 Note: Based on others' experience with this crust, you might want to overcook the crust/pizza a bit (longer than the instructions on the box suggest to minimize the "gummy" factor). Do watch it closely, though, so it doesn't burn!

GF RECIPE: GF Oatmeal Buckwheat Pancakes

In my quest for nutritious GF breakfast fare, I found a recipe online that fits my needs, plus it follows the concept of soaking grains: Gluten Freely Frugal's Favorite Gluten Free Pancakes/Waffles. (By the way, I have been finding Gluten Freely Frugal to be very helpful in my endeavor to eat Gluten Free on the cheap.)

I pretty much followed the instructions, with the exception of substituting a heaping 1/2 cup Buckwheat Flour for the 1/2 cup Buckwheat Groats the recipe calls for and subbing butter for oil. I adjusted my liquid as needed and followed other instructions as listed.

Here's the recipe with my alterations:

GF Oatmeal Buckwheat Pancakes

• 1 cup yogurt

• 1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats

• heaping 1/2 cup buckwheat flour

• 1TB butter or oil (I used butter this time)

Put the above in your blender and blend for 2-3 minutes, adding a bit of water if needed to keep a vortex going. Leave on your counter at room temperature overnight. (The yogurt makes the grains more digestible and nutrients more accessible to the body.)


In the morning, add the following:

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend for a minute or two until combined thoroughly, adding water as needed to keep a vortex going in the blender.
Heat your griddle and cook.
Serve with maple syrup and butter or your choice of toppings.
Enjoy!

The kids ate without complaint until I asked how they were, and of course they said that their aunt's pancakes were better (from a mix). I need to learn to quit asking and assume that if they are eating it, it's acceptable!

This recipe was enough to feed myself and the three kids breakfast before school, but if it was a Saturday morning and my hubby was eating them too, it wouldn't have been enough by itself. Still, it worked great and I can very easily double the recipe! I'm thinking next time I will see how well it works for waffles!

Here's to Real Food!

RECIPE: GF Crockpot Beef Stew

Tis the season for a bowl of comfort food. For me, that means Beef Stew.

Here is the way I make it in the crockpot (spice blend curtesy of my mom's recipe).

GF Crockpot Beef Stew

1. Fill crockpot about 3/4 full with about a pound of beef stew meat(ground beef works in a pinch--brown it first) and a mixture of potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and garlic.

2. Add the following ingredients/spices and stir into veggies/meat:

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

• 1 tsp GF Worchestershire Sauce (Meijer brand is Gluten-free, as is Lea & Perrins)

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I want to try smoked paprika sometime!)

• dash of cloves or allspice

3. Cover with water or GF broth--I used chicken or turkey bone broth from the freezer (or, depending on how much liquid you like, don't cover completely with water--but do add at least a cup or so of liquid), put lid on and cook on high for 4 hours or so(or longer on low). 

4. If you would like to thicken your stew, mix about 1/4 cup gluten-free flour mix (the more starchy ones come in handy here) with a bit of cold water and stir into stew and let cook a bit longer until it thickens up. A different starch would work too (such as corn starch)--just be sure you don't use wheat flour or another gluten-y flour.

Serve and Enjoy!

Pic to come!

RECIPE: Another Healthy Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

Last year, I posted a recipe for Healthier Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix.
Today, I am posting another recipe that I think I like even better--especially since I can't find the Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa Mix now.

In my experience, most homemade cocoa mixes seem to not mix up very well in the cup, and little bits of stuff end up floating around and leaving a mess in the cup when you are finished drinking.

I have been making this particular recipe for hubby since January, using regular cocoa and Splenda instead of sugar for his low-carbness (I know, *sigh*).  When I made it the last two times I used the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa (more antioxidants and all that jazz). Hubby informed me that his cocoa no longer had clumps--I am glad he informed me, or I would have never known to share!

This morning, I made myself an experimental cup using sugar instead of Splenda and it came out wonderfully!

So here it is:

Another Healthy Homemade Hot Cocoa
1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup sugar (I use cane sugar)
1/2 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder

Measure the above into a suitable storage container (I used an old cocoa container). Put the lid on and shake to combine. 
Use about 3 TB per 12 oz. cup, or to taste.

I like to measure my dry mix into my cup, fill the cup just over halfway with hot water and stir it up, then top off with milk to make it creamier.




Alternative recipe--If you want to try it before you commit to making a full container:
Combine 4 teaspoons powdered milk, 2 teaspoons Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, and 2 teaspoons of sugar in your cup, add hot water (and milk, if desired). Stir and enjoy!

YUM!

RECIPE: Healing Dahl Soup

It's that time of year again! The weather  is cooling, and I am starting to crave hot bowls of yummy goodness.

Late last week, I was feeling like I was coming down with something.  I made Turkey Veggie Soup, but I also made up a pot of what I have dubbed Healing Dahl Soup.  It's thicker than soup, but has a warming spiciness to it--and it contains many ingredients that are known for helping the immune system to fight illness.  Thankfully, my cold only lasted a few days this time!

Here's the recipe:

Healing Dahl Soup
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger, freshly grated (fresh ginger can be hard to come by here, so I tend to get Organic Minced Ginger from The Ginger People--less waste, and it's not very expensive!)

2 TB veg oil (I used extra light olive oil)

1 cup red lentils, rinsed (other types will work)

4 cups water

3 TB lemon juice (I use Santa Cruz brand, since it's corn free)


1 tsp sea salt


1. Heat oil over medium heat in large frying or sauce pan.
2. Saute onion, garlic and spices together.
3. Add water and lentils and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Stir ever so often.
5. Remove cover, add lemon juice and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes or until lentils are mushy and thick. Add the salt.
6. Serve over rice, if desired. I generally serve it over brown rice.

Enjoy!

Here's to Real Food!

Food Journal 9-16-11

Breakfast:
~half a piece of Crustless Broccoli/Ham/Cheese Quiche
~PG Tips Loose Leaf Tea with local honey and a splash of milk


~Small serving of GF Granola and Brown Cow Vanilla Yogurt
~White Tea with local honey

Lunch:

~Sauteed Mushrooms, Red Pepper, Onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 hamburger...over Brown Rice ---Yummy!
~Hot Decaf Frontier Black Tea with local honey and Organic Farms Half 'n Half

Dinner:
~3 chicken legs baked with a bit of San-J Gluten-free  Szechuan Hot & Spicy Stir-Fry and Marinade
~Green Beans sauteed with chopped onion, clove of garlic, and mushrooms
~Large glass of 2% milk (to curb the hotness of the chicken, lol)

~2 GF Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars


Note to self: I need to drink more water--was feeling that at the end of the day!

Fried Okra, Fresh From the Garden

Fall is in the air. Mornings are chilly, and the garden has been beckoning me to come see what needs taking care of before the Big Freeze.

I am impressed this year with how big the Okra has gotten. With a freeze around the corner, I didn't want to put off eating some and regret it. So I picked what was ready...

...and decided that I was going to have Fried Okra for part of my lunch today!
I suppose this isn't a true recipe, with exact amounts and such. It's how I "just do it" though, so thought I'd share.

First I rinsed them off and patted them dry with a towel.
Then, I sliced them up like so:

Dipped them in egg and put them in a baggie with about 1/2 cup organic corn meal, salt and pepper, to coat.

I heated up a small frying pan with about 1/4 deep of extra light olive oil, and put one in to test. It sizzled up pretty good, so I put the rest of them in...

turning when the underside was browned.

I took them out to a bowl with a paper towel in the bottom to catch excess oil.

Voila!

 

Here's to Real Food!

Recipe: Gluten-Free Granola

I decided to make some Gluten-Free Granola.

For the record, most Oats are NOT Gluten-free due to cross-contamination issues in the field, on farm equipment, and in the grain storage and processing facilities.  To make truly gluten-free oatmeal and granola, you really do need to seek out oats labeled Gluten-Free.  I figured the cost of standard Walmart-brand Old-Fashioned Oats to be about $0.95/lb. Gluten-free Oats from The Food Store are currently $2.19/lb. I am not sure this is a fair comparison; maybe I should have compared to the cost of Quaker Oats for a more fair comparison. I will have to look next time I am in the store and report back.

I adapted a recipe from a cookbook my husband picked up from a semi-local coffee shop. It's called The Basics and More Cookbook and my copy was printed in 1999. The recipe I adapted mine from was called, simply, Granola I.

Following is my changed-up version:

Gluten-Free Granola (real creative, huh?)

~5 cups Gluten-Free Old Fashioned Oats
~1 1/2 cups Coconut (I got the kind from the health food store without the added sugar, sulfites and propylene glycol)
~1 cup seeds (I used pumpkin and sesame, but find I prefer all pumpkin. Sunflower seeds would be good too.)
~1 teaspoon cinnamon


~1/2 cup honey or 3/4 cup brown sugar
~1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
~1/2 cup water
~1 TB Gluten-free Vanilla


~1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit, optional
~1 cup nuts, optional


Preheat oven to 350*. Set out 2 9x13 pans or rimmed cookie sheets.

• Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.

• Mix wet ingredients (include the brown suger here if that's your sweetener of choice) in small bowl, then pour over dry ingredients and stir until evenly coated.

• Spread out onto pans and bake about 30 minutes, checking for doneness and stirring every 10 minutes or so.

• When the granola looks nice and toasted (hubby would even venture to say "just a little burnty" because that's how he likes it, lol), take it out of the oven to cool.

 

• Throw your dried fruit in and mix it up. 

• Add the nuts, if you choose.

• Cool thoroughly and store in airtight container.

Enjoy!

Here's to Real Food!

Dehydrating More Vegetables: Update

I thought you all might like to see how the veggies turned out this last time. :)

The corn is very crispy and hard. Even the "slices".

The cucumbers were a bit leathery still, so I put them in longer at around 135*. Same with the green beans. Leathery is fine; I am just experimenting to see if I can get them crisp and more like chips.  I gave a dehydrated cucumber to my oldest, who closely inspected and then ate it. He said, "Mommy, that dried cucumber you gave me rehydrated in my mouth! It was weird!" He makes me laugh. :)

I used about half of these green beans (I know they are purple here--they green up when they are cooked) in the turkey soup I made for my lunches this week. I just tossed them in as the soup simmered.  I could hardly tell the difference, once cooked.


I plan on putting more of my green beans from the garden in the dehydrater sometime today.  I rather like drying them, and saving some freezer space for when I come across good deals on meat and other foods.

Dehydrating More Vegetables

Today is another day for using my Excalibur Dehydrator. We have lots of veggies in the garden waiting to be eaten or preserved somehow for later on.

Today I am drying:

1. 3 trays of Sweet Corn (hopefully non-GMO, though I'm not 100% certain. It came from a generous relative.)

2. 1 1/3 trays of sliced Cucumbers, and

3. 2/3 of a tray of my Royal Burgundy Bush Beans

I've never dried any of these before, so this is new territory for me. Still, it's pretty easy. :)

For the corn, I had my oldest son shuck it, then I cooked it in hot water for a bit like you would do for corn on the cob. I let it cool, cut it off of the cobs, and spread it on the trays. I sort of like the chunks of corn you get when you cut it off the cob, so I left it like that for now. I will need to stir the corn a bit while it's drying, so we'll see how that goes. I'm not sure it will stay together once dried.

For the cucumbers, I just washed, peeled, and thinly sliced them. Then, I put them on the trays. According to some sites, they are good to incorporate into veggie soups(though I admit I have never knowingly  had cucumbers in a veggie soup!), as snacks, and to blend up into powder and make some sort of dip with them.

For the beans, the books I have do not say to blanch the beans. I simply washed the beans, snapped off the ends, broke them into pieces and spread them out on the tray.

I set the timer for about 10 hours. I will check on them once or twice in between to see how it's going and maybe rearrange the trays. 

Here's to Real Food!

Dehydrating Vegetables: An Update

I love my Excalibur 5-tray Dehydrator!
I thought I would update on how the veggies came out that I posted about here.

BEETS - just over 2 Trays




I had hoped the beets would turn out crispy like chips. Instead, they came out more like fruit leather. I even put them in for 12 hours longer or so to see if that would crisp them up, and it didn't.

Still, they are dried and will keep for awhile.  I have yet to reconstitute them and see if I like the texture of them cooked.

SUMMER SQUASH (Yellow Squash and Zucchini) - 1 Tray each

These also came out leathery, rather than crispy. They kept their color beautifully and I am hoping the kids will munch on them for a snack. I am also looking for soup mix recipe ideas in which to incorporate them.

ONION (just one) - about half a tray

The onion is also leathery, even after extended drying time. It should be pretty easy to use kitchen shears and chop it up into soups and such.

I think a higher temperature might yield crispier veggie chips, but then I think I sacrifice some of the nutrition due to the heat. I'll have to play around with it a little and see what happens.

So here is what I ended up with in the end for those 5 trays of veggies: