Dehydrate Veggies to Add Flavor Punch to Your Meals

  When you're off cruising for more than a couple of weeks, especially out in the hinterlands of the Pacific Northwest, creating enjoyable meals that are rich in flavor and comfort can become a problem. After all, there’re not a lot of grocery stores from which to harvest fresh veggies. (Not to mention not enough cabin space in which to store them!)
  To my delight, I’ve discovered a solution.

dehydrated vegetables!  And I’m not talking about the health store’s dried peas and beans variety.
  I’m talking about celery and celery root, mushrooms, leeks, carrots, cherry tomatoes parsnips, and onions. There are probably lots more you can think of, but these are my favorites.
  What I’ll do is pull out some chicken tenders from the freezer and sauté them in a pilaf pan (I don’t like long handles taking up galley space). Then I’ll add the following:
·         bullion
·       a handful of dehydrated onions, mushrooms, leeks, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes,  celery, and celery roots.
·         a couple of slices of orange rind
·         maybe some small, sliced potatoes
·       enough water to rehydrate the veggies and create a broth to go with the chicken
·         herbs such as tarragon or rosemary
  It’s amazingly good and serves as a comfort food, especially on a cold day.
  When I’ve done this with fish like halibut, I’ve done all the veggies, boullion, and water for about a half hour first, then I put the halibut on top of it all and cook it for about ten minutes.
  These dehydrated veggies can also be used in clear and cream soups.
  How do I prepare and store the dehydrated veggies? Here’s how:
  I only dehydrate one type of vegetable per day. It’ll scent the house, so I don’t do this if I’m expecting company.  It’s important to note, though, that if I’m doing six different veggies, it’s going to take six days.
  I buy an ample supply. Maybe a couple pounds of mushrooms, ten whole carrots, etc.
  I slice them up thinly using a mandolin or the food processor.  For the cherry tomatoes, I just cut them in half.
  I spread them out in layers in my Nesco dehydrator. I don’t worry about keeping them all uniformly separated, because I’ve found it’s unnecessary. But I do have to dehydrate them until they’re crisp.  Then I know they’ll last well on our cruise.
  Note: My friend Kim successfully dehydrates veggies in her oven set at a low heat.
  When each vegetable is done, I bag it in a zip lock, making sure I get as much air out as possible. Label the bag if you’d like.
  That’s it.  Enjoy!!

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