Dehydrating Garlic, Tomatoes and Apples

My precious Excalibur dehydrator has been working overtime these past few days and is doing a great job!   The garlic is still drying at the present and I plan to vacuum seal into small packages for winter use since I still have plenty of fresh garlic right now.

The garlic and tomatoes did wonderful this year despite the extrememly hot weather and they are two of my favorite picks in the garden.

There are still quite a number of tomatoes still ripening up on the vine along with the bountiful harvest ready for salsa.   I did dehydrate a considerable amount also and I refer to them as my sun-dried tomatoes (even though they weren’t actually dried in the sun).   They are excellent in pasta recipes or even sprinkled in a salad!

Dehydrated Tomatoes

The tomato that I dehydrated is the Principe Borghese which states it is good for sun drying.   I found it quite small and full of seeds – the smaller romas which I also dehydrated were meatier and had very little seeds.   Next year we stick with the romas for drying.   Two other varieties that did well were -

Illini Star tomatoes

Cherokee Purple tomatoes

Before the kids left for college I was able to dry up a ton of apples for them to snack on – they really enjoy these … and so do I!

Here’s hoping they eat healthy!!!

Billie in a box!

Billie the puppy made me smile today …

If its been a while since you had a puppy in your home you forget all those long hours of puppy training,  getting up a few times during the night,  wake up call in the morning at 4 AM and the constant repeat of the word No.  All that is quickly washed away when you have those “puppy moments” and remember why you brought the little bundle home in the first place….to make you smile and that she did today.

Yesterday we stopped at the local grocery store and I scored a big box of apples – they weren’t perfect apples and a few were even useless – they were boxed up and being sold very cheap – I was in my glory … a bargain for me and my dehydrator!!  So I sliced and dried all day yesterday and the dehydrator is still running with another batch.  Apple chips are the best!

 Apples drying in the dehydrator

My first big batch of apple chips – all types of varieties mixed

Trail mix with the apples – I will eat the apple chips just as is, but you can make up your own homemade trail mix very easily.  I added almonds, pretzels and chex cereal here….and those chocolate chex are to die for.  I could probably eat a whole box if that voice in my head wasn’t yelling Stop Stop…enough girl!

So the Puppy Moment came when I took a second to check where the puppy was since it was so quiet all the sudden.  I found her in the box that I had brought the apples home in – all snug and comfy.  She has ventured out of the box a few times but keeps going back in there to nap … she found it all on her own – no coaxing from me! 

I also spent some time this weekend packaging up the Free Seeds for the Great Garden Giveaway – they are all ready and waiting!  Make sure to tell all your garden friends about the event.  I listed the Free Seeds on craiglist this morning and received over 100 hits before someone flagged and deleted the post.  I am guessing it was viewed as a promotional thing of some sort.  Last year I gave away hundreds of seeds on craiglist and had no problem. 

Thank goodness I have my little puppy to make me smile!!!

Healthy Eating

I dried some cantaloupe the other day and was planning on making a trail mix with the cubed dried fruit but I have changed my mind.  Since I have been paying attention to what I put in my mouth and tracking my nutrition and fitness activity daily I have been sidestepping the chips and cookies (since I realized they are useless calories) and instead have been taking a  handful of the dried cantaloupe and munching on that and I am lovin’ it!!!  The dried apple is really good too – it’s like a new discovery here.  I have been drying fruit for a while now and usually leave it for the kids to munch on, but now I look forward to snacking on it!

 Dried apple & cantaloupe

I also picked up this Sharp Cheddar seasoning to add to popcorn for another healthy snack and it is actually very good.  Just 1/2 teaspoon is only 5 calories and that pretty much covered a whole pan.  I am sure you can more if  you want, but I was fine with 1/2 teaspoon!

Now for lunch the past 2 days I enjoyed this Asian Chicken Salad. The recipe I found on Spark People and it is healthy and low calorie … way to go!   A little preparation ahead of time and I am very happy with what I am eating.

For dinner we made Pork Stir fry ….. healthy, healthy and enjoyable once again!

 Pork stir fry

Marinate 1 lb. of pork loin, cut in 1/2″ cubes with 3-4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root and 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce overnight in the refrigerator.  We found using a plastic bag made it easy to swoosh the food and marinade around for good coverage – do this every couple of hours or so.  Next day prepare your vegetables – we used bean sprouts, snap peas, cabbage, red bell pepper, zucchini and onion.  Keep the vegetables separate and add them each to a skillet to cook – longest to cook, cook first.  Meat —>onion, pepper —>peas, cabbage —>zucchini, bean sprouts.    Add 2 cups of water with 2 chicken bouillon cubes and 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes and serve over brown rice.

Puppy Billie seems to rule the roost here … that didn’t take long!

Grocery shopping takes on new meaning

I was actually excited to head out to the grocery store yesterday even though we were hit with a foot of snow over the weekend.  I have been taking in all I can from the Spark People website and really planning out my meals.  For the first time ever…..really planning out my meals and it’s Fun!  So the grocery store was the place to be to find all different ingredients to whip up some new food.  I picked up 3 cantaloupes which were on sale at $1.19 each to cube up and dehydrate.  I will use this dried fruit to add to some type of granola snack I plan on making (still have to search the recipes to find the perfect recipe … there are tons!) 

 This time I decided to dice the cantaloupe instead of slice it.  I am thinking it will be easier to eat and better suited for a granola type snack.  I am hoping it doesn’t take that much longer to dry since it is thicker.  No parts of the cantaloupe are wasted at this household….the skins go the compost bin (some smaller skins to the worms in the worm bin) and the seeds and insides go to the chickens!!

 They love the seeds!

I will post the granola fruit snack I find or create once that happens.  I do have to run now since the new puppy is crying for attention (again!) … I forgot how much time they require.

 See her there at the end of the couch … passed out but not for long!  AND my spinach seeds have sprouted……. very cool!

My Spark book has arrived today ……. so I will grab it and head on into the other room to sit with puppy!  Happy Day!!

Dried Fruit and Broomcorn

I grew Broomcorn this past summer and it’s a really neat plant to use in crafts.  It can stand alone in a vase or with other dried flowers as a nice decoration or you can  use it in making wreaths or swags and I even attempted to make a broom with some of my harvest!  A good broom takes a lot of stalks … I believe I read 60-80 for a nice broom; I used more like 20 so it was sparse and more a decoration item.

Broomcorn in vase

 Finished broom

This past week I wanted to create a decoration using some dried fruit I had recently dehydrated and I thought the broomcorn would make a great base for the project.  I love my Excalibur dehydrator and you can read more about how I use it on a regular basis at a previous post I wrote if you are interested in owning one yourself.  Like I said I Love mine!!

 Sliced lemons

I sliced lemons, oranges and apples and added them to the dehydrator.  I gathered some cinnamon sticks, pinecones, a few red bows and, of course, the glue gun!

 

Pinecone wired to stalks

 Closeup of glued fruit

I assembled this in about 20 minutes – so fast and easy!  I will probably make a few more smaller versions and add them to the top of wrapped gifts this year – will add a nice touch!