Who Needs a Fancy Dehydrator?….. You.

Posted by admin as live-culture, recipes

Well, Stephanie asked the question (see comments)… “What besides yogurt, do you use your fancy dehydrator for?”

Here’s why you need a fancy dehydrator: Synergy. Ever notice that eating fermented foods gets easier when you have the right equipment? Same thing happens when you add a dehydrator to your kitchen mix. I happen to have an Excalibur nine tray, which I LOVE, and I kinda fell into by accident.

“It was Christmas time in early 2000’s and iPods were hot. My stepbrother wanted one, and my parents subscribe to the mentality of each kid getting the same value gift, so my sister Blythe called me all jazzed and said we have a $400 budget (or something like that) I personally couldn’t think of $400 worth of anything that i wanted, but I had been running around with Pat Greer so Blythe had seen how Pat had 6(!) of the Excalibur nine trays, and had just purchased 3 more dehydrators that are the size of small outdoor A/C unit . So she said, “What the hell, get a nine tray.” So I did.

So in the seven years since then, how has a dehydrator influenced my health, eating, and life? The biggest impact has come from the ability to have dandelion tea EVERY DAY (watch out if you spend any time with me, cause I’m gonna get you drinking it too). See, I had a wicked rough back injury in 2005, and took much medication as I healed. As a result my adrenal glands were CHEWED, and I went from having an hour glass figure to that square hips and back end, otherwise known as the butt-shelf.
Look around, who has the butt-shelf? Folks who are on the edge and look like they might be drifting towards diabetes, and this was certainly my case. Enter the dandelion.

When I first started looking for a way to restore my adrenal health I first thought of nettles, but then I saw nettle’s close cousin, the dandelion. I have access to miles and piles of fresh seasonal dandelion from my job at Central City Co-op so I dusted off the Excalibur and began dehydrating like a wild woman. I know the secret to recovery with herbs is a consistent repeated action, otherwise known as “slow and steady wins the race.” So in the beginning I didn’t really consider how much to dehydrate, I just got busy. And I got drinking.

The hour glass figure returned, and soon other folks were noticing. I then became the dandelion tea hook up, so now when dandelions come in season I dehydrate five bunches every Wed, and I do it Oct – March.

And because I’m frugal, if the dehydrators going how else can I utilize the extra heat and airflow? The top of the dehydrator will stay warm, so you can dry dishes, make kefir or yogurt (cover with a loose kitchen cloth) and here is my favorite, keep your crock of culturing veggies close by, your veggies will culture fast (in my experience half the time, even if the dehydrator is only on a short time) and delicious.

I use tons of herbs in my cooking, cultured vegetables and health, so it is great to be able to dry cups and cups of dill, basil or oregano that I freaking grew myself. Occasionally I dry fruit, and my friends the Jays dry apples and pears for their dog Blaze as a snack. OOOH, and I almost forgot when I have tons of bananas I make the fruit leathers which are fantastic as snacks for when I am funning around.

So for me an Excalibur smokes the round cheapos, and has so paid for itself in the money I haven’t spent on convenience food or in medication to regain my health. Not to mention the quicker turn over time with my cultured veggies.

And thats what I know,
Rowan