A Little Dehydrating

 Well, we did it. We purchased another dehydrator to add to our arsenal of machines. This one is a stainless steel one with 10 racks. The drying are is larger than my largest Excalibur and a good 20 years newer. Yah - we thought it was time to get a new one. Mind you, there's noting wrong with the Excalibur, it's just we wanted to try this one and the price was unbeatable. I am not exactly loving it - and prefer the old one to this one, but I have to give it a fair chance. One issue I have is that it is digital verses my older dial model. When the power goes out, even for a few seconds, it is off for good. That's a definite drawback when I'm in the middle of drying something and the power goes off in the middle of the night. Setting the time and temperature is another thing I must learn. The unit is extremely quiet, so I have a hard time telling if it is running. Yes, I know it's a learning curve and will take a bit of time. 

So, to test this machine out, I've dehydrated a few things - garlic scapes, frozen green beans, and mint. I ground the scapes into a powder and will be using them for flavoring my soups, stews, eggs, etc. I am conditioning everything now, and then they will be sealed and find a permanent spot on my shelf.

 

I lined the tray with parchment paper.

I got out my old Ronco dehydrator to make some Minute Rice. No reason to use the big ones for just a couple of the trays. The Ronco is nice because I can add and take away trays at will, making it exactly the size I need. Now, back to the rice... My son thinks I can by a box cheaper than making it, but I know exactly what is in it, and when I making up a batch of rice to eat, I just make a bit more to dry. My rice has only 2 ingredients: rice and water (I know where both came from) and I'm sure the cost is cheaper than the store brand even with the electricity used. It doesn't take long at all to dry and I like having some on hand to use in my dry-mix meals. If I want to make some plain minute type rice, I just pour it out and add hot water - one for one. 

.The finished product

The Homestead Has Been Quiet

 

My little laundry helper. 

Life has been going along with no real change. I've been on burnout and have not had a lot of interest in doing or trying much for new things. I've been just tired and everything that I had plans to do over the past 6 months, I really didn't. I didn't get my herbs planted, so no creating a new herb garden and forget about the flower bed! It looks neglected and with no new plantings. On a positive note, the daisies did extremely well and multiplied like crazy!

We didn't plant much of a garden and the things that were planted, went in late. We have been battling a family of groundhogs, and they are winning. We have no beans, cabbage, greens, okra, or pretty much anything that I had really looked forward to harvesting. It's disheartening to say the least. Living in town has its drawbacks, and this is one of them. At this point, I have no idea what we'll be harvesting this year. Sigh

On a brighter note, I have been working more with replacing grocery store items with the homemade version where I can. I am getting more and more disappointed with the way things taste. Things are different and not in a good way. We bought some beef and a turkey from the local farmer and have been pleased with the meat we've gotten. With us both being seniors, we are always looking at stretching our food and income. It's not easy but it is interesting and a challenge - and that challenge is growing more difficult as time goes on.

I hope your growing season is going well. What is your best fruit or vegetable this year?