This weekend I took a small baggy of dried mushrooms and dried red peppers to a family function (3 days of continuous eating..... ba-ad idea), and they came in all sorts of handy, so I thought I would share what was done with them, and then ask you to do the same. So, if you have dehydrated something, tell us here, and then tell us how you used them.
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I get my produce mostly from something called Bountiful Baskets (if you are in the Utah/Arizona area, you might want to check them out), and for $15 I get 2 small laundry baskets of produce. Most of the time it is stuff we eat - bananas, potatoes, etc. Sometimes however, we get things no one in my house will eat: mushrooms, peppers, 8 onions (1-2, yeah, we would eat), etc. So I have been drying them.
Mushrooms: slice and dry. when done, my in-laws have enjoyed them on pizza and in salad (still dry). My new BIL threw the remainder into a pot for stew, and they re-hydrated nicely. I have been throwing them in my coffee grinder for mushroom powder and sneaking it into soups and stews in powdered form - no one can tell, and we get some of the nutrients of mushrooms and a bit of the flavor.
Peppers: slice and dry. when done, my in-laws have enjoyed them on pizza and in salad (still dry). My new BIL threw the remainder into a pot for stew, and they re-hydrated nicely - in fact, he said that they were getting so big he threw in a lot less than he had been planning on. I am not a pepper fan, but I broke some into tiny pieces and threw them on my salad for a sweet crunch. It was almost like the sugars were concentrated, so they were sweeter than I find fresh peppers.
Lemon/orange peels: I peeled my organic lemons and oranges, trying to get only the colored parts, and dehydrated those. when dry - about 6 hours - I threw them into the blender and made powder. I now have orange and lemon zest for recipes.
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your turn - what have you been dehydrating recently?
