Well, I have been a drying fool, I have had my dehydrator going since I got it, and I now have jar after jar of amazing dried goodies, I know how to use them by adding to soups/stews, make stewed fruit, use them in baking etc.
I got in the habit of using dried veggies and fruit from when we lived in the artic, when shipping is based on weight, you learn how to bring that cost down by ordering alot of dried foods, why pay for water weight!
I”ve made Jerky for years, and since being on the farm, I have dried alot of herbs and greens for winter use, more so then ever before, Now I had not made alot of fruit leathers, which has been a good learning curve but both of us are enjoying them, the only issue is that you can eat alot of fruit in a very short time, and fruit is to be a extra or a sweet, right now Dh is back up to eating at least a pint of fruit daily at work..
So I wanted to get a book on how to use those foods in a much wider way, so I ordered the Dehydrator bible, which includes over 400 recipes, I have been reading it, the recipes look good, the choices in recipes for all the main meals plus snacks is excellent. There is even a section on how to make crafts and or dog or cat treats.. I will have to give those a try, I can see a bag of them being used as a xmas gift to a few of my critter loving friends.
I do find the first couple chapters to be very much a repeat to the book that came with the dehydrator, they do have a few thing that the other one did not but overall the information is the same, that is a good thing, I like it when books agree with each other on the basics.
The only downside of the book that I can see is the amount of recipes that only make one serving, HUH? How often do you make a meal that serves one, now I think? that the idea is that this can be pre-made and then stored so that folks can just add water, cook and wham, bam, supper on..
I can see how this would be a great, I love the idea of having at least 10 days worth of meals for breakfast, lunch, or supper for days that you just run out of time and or for when I leave Dh home alone.. I’m going to do a little challange on this, and will do a post on what meals I picked, why and how it went putting them together and showing the final results. I will also try share and review recipe per month for awhile to see how good they turn out.
I am not sure it would replace my liking to be able to say to Dh’s, just go get a jar of home canned soup, stew or chili, but on the other hand, I like the idea of dumping pre-made dried soup or stew or dinner into the crock pot, add the water and go work on the farm and come in to a hot meal.
So while I certainly need to make some of these recipes to prove them out, I have to say that reading the book has been great, they cover all the area’s that I can think of on reason’s why you would want to consider making and using meals based on dried foods, it gets a solid 4 and half out of five, losing half a point for all those single serving meals that mean I will have to attach cards and write out the portions for 4 to 6 portion meals.
Just another Day on the Farm 
I bought a dehydrator this Fall and have not used it yet…thanks for your post, I now have the courage to dig right in!
Hi Copperhead, Welcome to the blog, and yes, dig it out and give it a try, start simple and go from there.. glad you liked the post.
I’ve used dehydrators for several years, but finally upgraded to an Excalibur and bought the same book! (though I already had the Mary Bell cookbook). I had to remind my husband – twice – that the fruit leather I gave him to take to work for snacking was the equivalent of eight pears in a deceptively small package. I cook apples and pears in the crockpot as though I were preparing a lazy fruit butter, and then use an immersion blender, mixing in spices and honey or maple syrup to add a touch of sweetness. I have jars of zuchinni, tomatoes, green beans, tomatillos, peas, apples, pears, bananas, and other herbs and greens waiting to be used this winter as well. It makes me feel good to look at them lined up on the shelves, along with my jams and pickles and grocery supplies all bought on sale.
Hi Ellen
Thanks so much for your comment, sounds like you are certainly ready for winter, does it not seem wonderful when you see your home prepared and preserved foods in the pantry!
Do you have any favorite recipes in the book that you have done that you would recommend? for me to try first?
Hey FarmGal, Might just have the answer to your “single serving” question…
Our family used to make dehydrated food packets for going on canoe trips. Everyone could eat a meal of their own choice (and making) – all from one pot of boiled water – in just a few minutes. Perfect for starving paddlers: fresh, healthy ingredients, no additives and all at pennies per serving (as opposed to those highly salted, mega expensive, cheaply made things you buy)!
Aw, interesting answer Deb, hmm, that would make sense, thanks for that thought, and now I am going to have to make a few and see if I can figure out prices vs store bought..
Looking forward to the recipe reviews, I would love some new ideas.
Hi Daisy,
Will share for sure, already have steel cut oats cooking up to make my first recipe out of the book, I will snap some photos and do a post on how they turned out.
I just got an older Excalibur (9 shelves) at the thrift store here in BC for $15 last week! It works amazingly. We’ve only done apple slices in it yet but they were done so quickly!
And wanted to say I bought the Kitchen Value food strainer and used it for the first time today. Had the kids helping and couldn’t keep up them (they using the strainer and I canning the sauce.) So canned 27 quarts today and still have 2 boxes of apples left for sauce (plus 2 boxes for pie filling or sauce depending how the pie filling goes). We had no problems with putting the gasket in the right place. The strainer is a lot bigger than I pictured which is wonderful for when you’re doing so much. We all enjoyed using it, and the novelty value I don’t think will wear off too quickly as it’s so fun and gets such fast results.
Thank you so much for the recommendation and all the tips too.
Sincerely
Natalia
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