Monday, June 5, 2017

Sunday Night Ramble

Had me a nice, relaxing weekend.  Our weather has been warm, with temps hitting the 90 degree mark.  I was happy to discover the central air conditioning for my building has been turned on.  We Minnesotans tend to melt at anything over 85 degrees, wimps that we are.  I have been turning off the air and opening windows at night when the temp goes down around the 60 degree mark.  Lovely sleeping weather.

Went into slug mode on Saturday.  Just pottered about with this and that.  Got my grocery order ready for tomorrow when the nice lady calls for it.  She has a sense of humor and likes to chat for a bit, which makes for a pleasant break in the day.  I really don't need to order much as my pantry is nearly full, so I'm filling in with staples like more salt, oatmeal, canned salmon, tuna, etc.

Now that my shelves are sorted out and I can see at a glance what I have for home canned food, I can better tell what I need to can this summer and fall.  Duane stopped in (I needed a tall person to get a box of dehydrated tomatoes off the top shelf.) and we went over the list for the Farmer's Market again, keeping in mind that shelf space is now at a premium.   His apartment is smaller than mine, but he said that he would do some rearranging to try to fit in a shelf for more canned food.  That would help.

A while back I connected on Facebook with a guy I went to school with.  He is a Vietnam Vet and a retired cop.  He knows more about what is going on around us than I do, so he messages me articles he finds that keep me up to speed, as much as I can be, anyway.  He calls me now and then and we brag on our various kids and grands and talk prepping and the state of insanity we now live in.  We talked a bit today of the latest terrorist attack in London.  It is just a matter of time until we are in the same boat as England.  I wish our government would care as much about keeping us safe as it does about scoring political points.  By the time the politicians figure that out, it may be too late.

In my quest for more storage space, I came up with a brilliant idea.  Well, OK.  Someone else thought of it and I am copying it.  I have been dehydrating lots of vegetables for long term storage because when dried, they take up much less space than canned.  I saw where some were grinding dehydrated vegetables into powder which reduces them even more.  So I experimented first with dried tomatoes by running them through my blender and then through a wire mesh strainer to take out the bits that wouldn't grind down any further.  Worked like a charm.  I tested the powder by adding a bit of water until I had a passable tomato paste.  More water gave me tomato sauce.  The leftover bits I stored in a jar separate from the powder to toss into soup, stew, etc.  I reduced the dried bell peppers I had to a powder and can add that to any number of dishes for flavor.  I think it would be good sprinkled on a salad or in scrambled eggs, omelets, etc.  Tomorrow I will powder some more tomatoes and some onions as well.

So that was the extent of my excitement here in my little corner of the world.  Quiet.  Peaceful.  No stress.  Just the way I like it.

10 comments:

  1. When space is limited, that makes perfect sense.

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    1. Gorges...It seems to be working out. The powder can be stored in my kitchen cupboards giving me more space on my shelves. Win - win. :)

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  2. So this is my second try at a comment...
    Sounds like the perfect weekend. I'm most comfortable when the temps are in the 70s, otherwise I melt.
    I tried making powder out of dried kale. A few summers ago, I grew a variety that I didn't like. But I didn't want to waste it either. So I dried it, pulverized it and added it to soups. Take good care - SJ

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    1. SJ...I do better in the cooler weather, too. Heat and humidity make me crabby. :)

      I am beginning to think that any vegetable that will be used for flavoring can be turned into a powder. One gallon of dried onions pulverizes down to nearly a quart of powder. I can store those quart jars in the upper cupboards in my kitchen where there is room, leaving shelf space free. I like to use the diced, dried onions in some dishes, but mostly will use the powder, I think.

      I tasted my tomato powder and it has an intense tomato flavor, so the powder will go a long way. Some time back I had bought a jar of tomato powder that was sold along with the dried bouillon powders at the store. It tasted like tomato flavored salt. I tossed it. I may can just enough diced tomatoes and tomato juice this year to fill up the shelf that holds tomatoes and dehydrate the rest. Later in the summer tomatoes at the Market are really cheap and Duane and I were thinking about getting 100 lbs. of them. I processed 75 lbs. of them either last year or the year before and have used up most of that.

      I love it when I learn something new and it works.

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  3. Yes, I'm all about learning new things. I think that's one of the great joys I get out of gardening. Each season brings something new.
    Tomatoes were the first thing I ever dehydrated & they were the reason I bought a dehydrator (used from the thrift for my 1st one). I had gotten hooked on 'sundried' tomatoes but choked on paying full price for those at the stores. I've followed your example and have now dehydrated frozen peas, corn, mixed veg and hash browns.
    I've used Lipton cup-a-soup Tomatoe in the past for seasoning things like Spanish rice. I can get a box of 4 packets for $1 on sale. Or $0.90 on the 10% day. It's the perfect quantity for me. SJ
    I'm off to the garden. Cheers, SJ

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    1. SJ...The Lipton tomato cup-a-soup isn't listed in the grocery catalog and I can only order from the catalog. But when we can get tomatoes so cheap by the 25 lb. box, it doesn't cost me that much to dehydrate. I use my dehydrated veggies mostly for soups, but it is nice to have them as a backup, just in case. I think the powders will be good for seasoning as well. Most of what I get at the Market this year will be dried.

      Enjoy your afternoon digging in the dirt. :)

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  4. Sounds like a nice weekend! I would never have thought of grinding veggies into powders...smart!!

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    1. It was a nice weekend, Jenn. I can't take credit for the veggie powder idea. I watched several videos on the subject before deciding to give it a try. Ain't the interwebs a wonderful place for information! :)

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  5. Hey Vicki...great you discovered tomato powder. I've not tried bell pepper powder. I use one of those Magic Bullet gismos to powder stuff. I like to powder cooked beans...like refried beans and viola! Instant refried beans. They are sold in the store, too, but pretty pricey. Have dehydrated and powdered cooked garbanzo beans. Then when I want hummus, I add a little water, olive oil, and chopped garlic. Instant hummus! I like to dehydrate shredded zucchini to have on hand for casseroles and zucchini bread. You've been a busy lady!
    Amish Heart in New Mexico

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    1. Hi Amish Heart...When I was getting ready to retire, folks told me I would be bored. They were wrong. I like to keep busy and there is always something going to keep me interested. Vegetable powders are what interest me at the moment. I like the way the bell peppers turned out and I will be testing some of it soon. I did dried onions today. I don't have one of those Magic Bullet type grinders so I use my Ninja blender and that works pretty well. There were some onion bits that just wouldn't turn to powder, but I don't mind that at all because they are about the same as those dried minced onions. Tomorrow - tomatoes.

      I hadn't thought about powdered cooked beans. Good idea. I will add that to my list of things to try.

      I'm glad you mentioned shredded zucchini. I had forgotten that I have some taking up freezer space and I need to dig them out and dry them. I just love my dehydrators. The possibilities are endless.

      Good to her from you. Hope all is well in your world. :)

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