Dehydrating Fruit - What do you really need?

  Oh, the beloved dehydrator.  As much a part of my food preservation system as my pressure cooker, boiling water canner, and vacuum sealer.  I've been making homemade banana, strawberry, mango, apple and other fruit chips for years now, as well fruit leathers, dried veggies, dried herbs, and even some dehydrated dinners for the trail.  We eat them as the fruit chips as snacks and as part of homemade trail mix while camping, hiking, etc.  The kids are so used to real fruit chips, they won't even eat the store bought stuff - they think it's gross.  You know, the sugar-coated kind that comes in a clam-shell case.  A couple years ago, we were out running errands, it was one of those days I was not prepared with snacks in the car, and my son asked for some strawberry chips.  Okay, sure, why not?  As a special treat.  Well, why not is that they're covered in sugar and soaked in preservatives, but let's put that aside for a moment.☺ He ate one and almost spit it out.  "What's wrong with these?  They don't taste like your strawberry chips.  Here, you can have them.  I'll wait."  This from a hungry 2nd grader.  Oh, yeah, Victory for Mom moment.  When your little ones can tell between real food and processed, manufactured food.  I was so proud.

  
   So, for any who haven't delved into dehydrating, fruit is the absolute simplest thing to start with.  And you don't need anything fancy.  I started off with a hand-me-down dehydrator and trays like this one:

   It doesn't even have a dial, you just plug it in and it turns on.  The temperature is controlled by turning the top vent, and you rotate each tray from bottom to top (or vise versa) to get each tray dried at the same rate.  It worked great, and it was free, so I was all over that.

   Then Hubby upgraded me to this one from Sportsman's Guide (no, I don't make money off the link):



   He is so awesome. This has 10 trays, a 12 hour timer, and temperature control.  And he got me some liners for fruit leathers and mesh tray inserts for small stuff like banana chips, herbs, and anything else that would fall through the trays.  I am all set with this thing!  And I passed my other dehydrator down to my neighbor, who was enjoying my fruit snacks and asking about which one she should buy.  Buy??  No way, pass along the goodness of free useful stuff!

   Back to fruit chips.  What do you really need to make them?

• A heating device.  A dehydrator (homemade or store-bought), an oven, a hot car, a tray in the sun (this doesn't work in Michigan, but in those 'dry heat' climates it does).
• A cutting device.  A mandolin or other type of even-slicing device is handy and makes it go quicker, but if you have a knife and can make relatively even cuts, that will work fine.
• A holy surface.  Some type of tray that allows air to circulate all around the fruit. Dehydrator trays, cookie cooling racks, even window screen.
• Good fruit.  Overripe or under ripe fruit is no good.  If you put not-so-good fruit in, you get not-so-good dried fruit out.

   See? It doesn't take much.  To dry, all you do is cut the fruit, lay it on the trays, turn on the dehydrator/oven/sun and let it happen.  And it is so yummy, and cheap!  Have you looked at fruit roll-up or banana chip prices?  Eek!  Buying fruit in season and on sale and then preserving it (in any fashion) is an easy way to stretch your budget.  Getting fruit on the cheap is a post for another day, but as for dehydrating, I'll show the banana chips next.

Joyfully yours,
K

Mom's Muesli

   I have never heard of Muesli (pronounced mew-slee).  The name looks cool, so one might think it is very complicated, but it is so simple.  It is a cereal-oatmeal mix you eat hot or cold.  When I came across it in a The Appalachian Trail Food Planner, I knew I wanted to try it for home and trail food.  The recipe in the book called for wheat germ, dates, and other fancy things, but I had just gone out of my comfort zone and splurged on flax seed (one step at a time…) so I made it the way my mom did.  I call it Mom's Muesli. :)

   So, really, it is very simple.  Oatmeal, raisin bran cereal, brown sugar, and raisins.  Mix.  Add cold milk and eat.  Or add hot milk, let sit a minute, and eat.  Or add cold milk, microwave about a minute, and eat.  All ways lead to yumminess.

   I do have dry milk in my line of ingredients.  We were experimenting with adding the dry milk to make it trail friendly.  I'm all about quick Yummy foods on the trail.  So we had a bowl of regular Muesli (no dry milk) with hot milk to see how much milk it needed, then had another bowl with Muesli, the corresponding amount of dry milk, and hot water.  Well, that was too sweet.  Experimentation at its finest.  So a little less dry milk, same water, and presto! we have yummy Muesli mix ready for the trail. If you have ever been in the woods on a cold, damp, or rainy morning, you know what a wonderful thing it is to have something nice and hot to eat or drink.  We picked up some little rocket heaters years ago for that exact reason.  A bit of boiling water and a packet of this can really set a good mood for the day.

   The book also says their recipe is great as a dry snack, and I'm sure it is with the added figs, walnuts, sunflower seeds and the rest they put in there.  Mine as stated here - not so much.  I did have 1/2 c. sunflower seeds in the first batch, but then I ran out.  I will probably add more dried fruit (I make my own) for my mix on the trail.  I encourage you to do your own experimentation, add different ingredients, see how you like to eat it.  Enjoy your food.  Prepare it in ways that suit your tastes and lifestyle, and then try it another way.  My recipe is below.  Feel free to copy into your own recipe book and send a link to your friends.

Joyfully yours,

K

Mom's Muesli:

2 1/2 c. quick oats

1 c. raisin bran cereal

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. raisins

  **For the trail, add 1 Tbsp dry milk per 1 c. mix

To eat:

At home, add equal parts mix and hot or cold milk.

For the trail, add equal parts mix and hot water.

Shopping Day 12-13-16

.  No hiking for me today- it's one of those days where one thing has to be laid aside for another.  Translation: I have chores to do, and grocery shopping, and Christmas shopping.  Ug.  I do not like shopping.
----- What? Did she... Did a woman just say she doesn't like shopping? Whaaaaaaaat?!?!?!?!
  I would rather do something productive than walk around at look at things I don't need that only want to dwindle the bank account.  Sure, there's the occasional (like, every 4-6 months) shopping spree at the thrift store, where I set aside a couple hours to stock up on clothes for the family.
----- Did she just say a couple hours? I thought she didn't like to shop?
   Yes, I said a couple hours, because it's almost always at a thrift store and I try every piece on.  My kids don't care so much as long as it is comfortable to wear, and for them I care that it will fit in. Not as in branded wear for brand's sake, but not 80's lace and flowers, either *shudder*. Just normal.  My husband has his style, which is easy shopping, but for me, I am not going to spend any money on something I don't feel great in.  I think I heard that in a movie somewhere.  Since there's no returns, I try it all on.  I cruise the isles, pull off about 20-30 pieces that look promising,  try them on, and usually end up buying about 1/3 to 1/2 of the pile. And at thrift store prices, even 20 pieces is easily inside my budget
   No clothes shopping for me today though, I had a bit of groceries and 4 stores for Christmas.  I always fight it, but each year I feel a little more commercialized. Maybe I just notice it more. I do like shopping for others when I am looking for particular things, or happen to come across something I know will be appreciated or enjoyed. So (preferably) most of my buying/planning is done throughout the year and early in the season. Then I am not mad-rushing to "buy something because it's Christmas." These type of gifts usually end up being junk that the person didn't really want in the first place, doesn't ever use (or feels guilted into using it), and an overall waste of money.  So I don't  buy junk. If I really can't decide what you want, or I know what you want is something best picked out for yourself, a gift card or cash is what you get.  Everybody likes gifts, but everyone likes jingle in their pocket, too.
   Now for the wrapping!

Joyfully Yours,
K