Fun.. Fun.. Fun



Nesco Dehydrator



Five med/large grated dehydrated potatoes with green onions on a 12" dinner plate



Chives about half done in the dehydrator

I had intended to can most of the garden this year. My goal is not using the freezer for preserving our food. After playin with the dehydrator yesterday and today I think I will be drying a lot of things. From what I have read there is more nutrition in the dried food as opposed to canning.

I re-rehydrated some of the potatoes for last nites dinner and honestly I could not tell the difference in taste compared to fresh. I see this as a way of making more fast "slow" food. Also as a way of saving space which I have very little of.

I've heard you can dehydrate meat, eggs and even milk but I have a lot of research to do before I try that! Also properly dried and stored dehydrated food lasts a long time, serval people said 30 years, I take that with a grain of salt? I still have a lot to learn but this really looks promising and I'm excited about another way of storing our food.

If any of you have tips I would love to hear them!

Preparedness

Preparedness seems to be on a lot of peoples minds.

I’m sitting here on January 21and it is raining like crazy. It’s not the rain that makes me think but the thunder and lightening. In almost six-years of living here we have not had thunder this time of year. To say that the weather is screwy is an understatement!

I’m not the type of person to worry about what has yet to happen. Like most people I’ve heard what may or may not happen this coming winter solstice, I’ve heard about what bad shape the power gird is in, the volcanoes that may irrupt and take us all out, the list of "might happen" could fill a book. I don’t pay much attention to this stuff, I’m not scared, worried, or depressed about it. What would be the point in that? Fear, worry and depression keep you trapped and immobilize, keep you from doing what needs doing.

I’ve got plans for this garden season. I want to raise fryers (I only have layers now), turkey, and rabbits and increase my garden space. I plan on getting a hand powered grain mill and a pour through water purifier. I’m going to build an earth oven and bake sourdough bread. I’m going back to making my own soaps and laundry detergents. From the outside looking in you might think I’m preparing for something big. You would be right, I am. I’m buying the tools and learning the things that will make me more self-reliant and enable me to live the life I want to live. Will this make me more prepared in a bad situation? Of course, not only will I be able to help myself but also my family, my neighbors and people I do not yet know

A great blog on being prepared "The Just In Case Book Blog". Kathy Harrison is full of information and ideas.