No, we didn't grow the pineapples in our garden but they are easy to dehydrate and so good!  We are making our best ditch effort at gardening but alas I think we will grow our $50 tomato once again. sigh.  The plants are leafy but not producing enough veggies.  We are a farmer's market family.  I am grateful for all those green thumbs out there and will enjoy your bounty.  There is so much available now and you may wish you could keep the good nutrition for the winter...here is your answer!

Let me suggest....boldly encourage you, to consider dehydrating your bounty. Our family is hooked on fruit but you will probably be much better at preserving your veggie bounty along with the wonderful fruit.

We have three options to preserve foods: canning, freezing or dehydrating. With canning, you lose 60% of the nutrients. However, with freezing or dehydrating, you only lose 20% of the nutrients. So let's look at the how-to's of dehydrating...

What do you look for in a dehydrator?  You need to be able to control the temperature. The L'Equip Filter Pro dehydrator has this feature. When doing herbs you need 98 degrees; for most veggies and fruits you need 125 degrees; and for meat jerky, you need 165 degrees. You also want good air circulation, as this is how the food is slowly dried...yes, the L'Equip Filter Pro dehydrator has this as well. :)  An important feature is the solid state motor...yep, you guessed it...the L'Equip Filter Pro dehydrator has this as well.

So what is involved in dehydrating? You simply wash the produce, cut into the shape you would want it to be as a finished product, put it on the tray, turn on the dehydrator and let it dry! 

How long?....well, this depends on the water content of the food.  Watermelon is going to take 2-3 days!! Go figure! :)  Most items take 8 to 12 hours. This means you don't want to put your dehydrator in the center of the kitchen. It will also be warm. I usually keep ours in the utility room out of the way.

This leads me to another eye-opening thought!! The L'Equip Filter Pro dehydrator is the only dehydrator on the market which filters the air that flows over your food. Imagine the dust and pet dander in the air being pulled over your food! When I think back of all the years I dehydrated without the filter, it is rather sickening. This is the purest dehydrator you can buy!

Another suggestion: those wonderful tomatoes can be pureed and then poured on fruit leather trays.  You have now made your own tomato paste to use for the winter!  Another fun thing our family likes is dehydrated cucumbers!  Who would have thought they would be good?! 

How many trays can you do at once? You can stack the L'Equip Filter Pro dehydrator 24 trays high!  That is a lot of garden produce being preserved for winter. Let your imagination go, you will love it. 

Start dehydrating today!!

Begin Patriotic Fun with breakfast...  

Whole wheat waffles

a Sutton family recipe 

4 cups whole white wheat flour

8 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs

4 cups milk

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

Mix dry ingredients.  Mix & add liquids.  Cook waffle batter according to your waffle maker.  We have a belgin waffle iron.   

Now, take 3 waffles and layer with whipping cream and strawberries.  Top with a dab of whipping cream with blueberries.  It is a fun way to start your Fourth Celebration day! 

Patriotic Truffle Dessert 

Home made Vanilla pudding*

from friend: Nancy H.

2/3 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups milk

4 egg yolks

2 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. & 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, corn starch & salt in sauce pan.  Stir in milk gradually.  Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thick.  Boil & stir for 1 minute.  Stir at least 1/2 mixture in egg yolks.  Return egg yolk/milk mixture to sauce pan with other milk mixture.  Boil & stir for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla and butter.  Chill.

* I doubled the recipe as I wanted lots of pudding for the truffle.  If you use the single recipe, it will make a great vanilla cream pie.  You just need to have a cooked crust.  Pour the vanilla cream in the pie crust and chill.  Ready to serve in 2 hours!

For truffle:

Blueberries

Strawberries sliced

Angel Food Cake cubed

Layer sliced strawberries; next layer cubed angel food cake mixed with vanilla pudding; next layer blueberries.  Top this with another layer of strawberries/cake-pudding/blueberries.  Top with blueberries and garnish with strawberries.   Easy dessert that you can make ahead and have it ready for your celebration.  

Be sure to join Paula's Bread blog OR Paula's Bread face book for more blueberry recipes and much, much more!