Got my dehydrator today!

[janus.rising]

a little excited! Family thinks I'm nutz, but what else is new there :). I got a Nesco american Harvest square one. I know that big ole' Excalibur is THE dehydrator to get, but I wanted to start with something a little more easy on the budget (what with Christmas coming up and all). Besides, it'll be a good back-up for when I do get my monster.

Anyway, any tips or tricks to share? good first recipes?

[DebB]

Hi janus.rising - Congratulations on your dehydrator!!! You'll have so much fun with it! What I like to do is to soak (and sometimes sprout) then dehydrate most of the nuts and sunflower seeds so I've got a "stash" all ready to go for recipes. I then store them in covered glass jars in the fridge.

Another tip is literally to just jump IN and start using it. Like any new piece of equipment, it can be intimidating. It takes practice to get the hang of it, don't be afraid to experiment around to get the feel for dehydrating. If you're in doubt how to store something after dehydration -you can always store in the fridge to be sure it won't spoil.

I've got Kale Chips going in mine right now and tomorrow I'll be making some granola.

This is the recipe I use for the Kale Chips, posted by Raw Knitster:

Can't get enough kale chips. All different kinds. Haven't tried one yet that I don't like. The dinosaur kale has more of a "chip" quality. The curly kale holds more of a coating and all those curls makes an extra crispy, textured crunch.

The last batch I made was using curly kale. They turned out rich and flavorful. Here's the recipe:

CHEESY CURLY KALE CHIPS - raw knitster - blessings clone

1 large bunch green curly kale***, washed, large stems removed, torn into bite size pieces

COATING:
1 cup cashews, (soaked 2 hours)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
1 T. nutritional yeast
1/2 t. himalayan pink crystal salt

Put coating ingredients in Vitamix. Blend until smooth. Using your hands,(same as with Awesome Goddess Chips which are indeed AWESOME), spread coating on kale pieces getting it inside of curls. Put on teflex sheets and dehydrate at 105 overnight or until coating is dry. Slide onto mesh screens and dehydrate 12 hours, or until very crispy.

That seems like a long time to dry kale chips. The kale was very curly, and the coating very thick. The smell drove my husband crazy, he LOVED it!

***The kale should be firm and curls spikey. If kale is limp, wash it, cut an inch off the end of the stems and stand in a bowl of water for an hour.

Raw Knitster ~ http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/archive/index.php/t-47077.html

[VeGenesis]

Got my dehydrator today!

a little excited! Family thinks I'm nutz, but what else is new there :). I got a Nesco american Harvest square one.

If it helps, I am a little bit jealous...

[spicyfull]

Congratulations on your Dehydrator.

[xPIXIEx]

Woo hoo. I long to one day have an excalibur too, but the nesco I have is doing just fine right now. You'll see once you make your first dehydrated food. :)

[Veganforlife]

Awwww. THAT is way cool! Now you are gonna really RAWk your house! :D

[janus.rising]

I bit the bullet and started un-cooking! My three year old and I have kale chips in the D and we made a version of larabars (since we both like them). Had a fun time with my little girl and she really enjoyed helping Daddy "cook".

Now we just have to wait for our creations to be done and see how they taste!

[Dianne K.]

will be getting my Excaliber dehydrator and a Breville juicer.I already have a Champion.I sometimes want to be quicker and the Breville is fast and accepts the whole fruits/vegis .

[Mindy Sue]

Uh oh..... I know somebody that is going to have a higher electric bill next month! ;) Congrats! Have fun dehydrating!

[DebB]

will be getting my Excaliber dehydrator and a Breville juicer.I already have a Champion.I sometimes want to be quicker and the Breville is fast and accepts the whole fruits/vegis .



Hi Dianne (fellow Washingtonian!) ~ Will you post back how you like your Breville? I started a post a few weeks back asking about Brevilles. I also have a Champion. Have you seen the Life Regenerator's YouTube videos? *Ü*

[Dianne K.]

DebB ,
I got my Breville Juicer and love it.It is fast powerful and takes in whole cucs,peppers,apples just like Dan's Videos on You tube.yes I watch Dan's videos.
The only thing negative about the juicer is things like kale dosen't grind as small as I would like.In otherwords the pulp if you were to make crackers would be better in the Champion because it is a finer grind.The juice is clear and great though from the Breville.

[DebB]

Thank you Dianne ~ It sounds like you're pretty happy with your Breville! My eyes just pop when I see how speedy it is on Dan's videos.

I admit however ~ I've never used the pulp for crackers or such, I just compost it. Do you follow a recipe, or are you one of those gifted girlies who can throw things together intuitively? (I was absent the day they were handing that gift out - ha!) *Ü*