One of the best things you can develop is a pantry, of base dry ingredients, so you can pull meals together without worrying about being out of perishable items, or worse they are so pricey you can't justify buying it (locally butter is now $6 a pound and up). Butter powder is a great ingredient… Continue reading Pantry Staples: Making Butter Out Of Butter Powder
Category: Preserving
Pantry Staples: Making Cream Cheese From Powder
What if you could make fresh cream cheese whenever you wanted it? And have it easy to do? If you love cream cheese, this will make your bagels and tortillas feel so loved. And to have the ability to make dishes that call for it, instead of a drive to town when you realize you… Continue reading Pantry Staples: Making Cream Cheese From Powder
Air Drying Herbs and Flowers
Drying herbs and flowers is easy to do, and takes little work to put away a years worth. And you don't need a dehydrator either. My method is very simple: Take a clean brown grocery bag outside and pick, tossing into the bag as you do. Then fold over the top to keep light and… Continue reading Air Drying Herbs and Flowers
Dehydrating Mushrooms
Overall I prefer freeze-dried ingredients for long-term storage over dehydrated, but there are a few things i far prefer dehydrated. Mushrooms are one of those things. The act of dehydrating changes the structure of the mushroom. Freeze-drying mushrooms leaves them intact and raw, but when you dehydrate them, the heat slowly cooks them. It removes… Continue reading Dehydrating Mushrooms
Chocolate Strawberry Spread/Sauce
My inspiration for this chocolate strawberry sauce was for a chocolate raspberry sauce I saw on Fresh Preserving's website. It contained a lot of sugar - over 6 cups of it. And while I love raspberries, my body reminds me seeds are not my friend. So I got thinking, and adapted the concept to using… Continue reading Chocolate Strawberry Spread/Sauce