Preserve the Harvest

We have rolled into October and holy heck I am feeling the shift in seasons… hibernation is creeping in

This time of year ignites an impulse to preserve the harvest. Been dehydrating everything. We bought a commercial dehydrator this season & this thing is legit. We’ve been dreaming about getting one of these for a few years now.. worth the wait🙌

Something deep within me is soothed from preserving. This dehydrator has brought it to a whole new level b/c you don’t have to buy any extras like vinegar or sugar, you’re not worried about botulism or rot, it’s lightweight, doesn’t take up much room & you can move through a lot of produce.

It’s a great use for produce seconds. Just chop off the blemishes & dehydrate the rest. We might try dehydrating our onion seconds & then grinding them into onion powder🧅

Haven’t done any canning this season, which is rare for me. However, we have traded produce for preserves with some of our lovely friends. Plus we have some leftovers from last year like BBQ sauce & plum sauce we can keep working through

Okay so this is a pic of our dehydrated peppers.. new favourite way to preserve peppers!

Last year I roasted red peppers, peeled off the skin, discarded the insides/seeds & stored them in a mason jar full of olive oil in the fridge.. Loved that so much

This season; however, our peppers had a rough start & had a lot of bug damage. I was hesitant to do roasted red peppers b/c I couldn’t see the damage until I cut into the peppers.. so I didn’t want to roast them whole, not knowing if they had worms in them🤢

Instead, they were sliced & dehydrated. I’m so glad I was re-routed to the dehydrator b/c they turned out even better than I could have hoped for. They are incredibly sweet & have maintained their colour beautifully

And wouldn’t ya know it, the pepper plants have pushed through & are now producing some grade A peppers💪 so I might still do some roasted reds after all

Fun

I dehydrated strawberries, pumpkin & squash last week, which were all interesting experiments. We’ll see how they rehydrate & taste this winter

A lady at the farmers market explained to me how she dehydrates kale & then grinds it into a powder for her smoothies.. friggen genius

So many ideas

So many foods.. in so many forms

Anyways, thanks for taking time to read this. It’s nothing too fancy, I know, but it’s my life & I enjoy writing about it. Whether anyone reads or not, it feels good putting these experiences it into writing

Let me know what you think, and pretty please share any dehydrating recipes/techniques 🤘

Much love