[Madame Cholet]

I now have
1lb jar red onions
1lb jar white onions
 1/2 small jar garlic
next perp spinach.

thanks to peoples advise I'v been able to use up knibbled and less than perfect produce which wouldn't have stored.

[New shoot]

Glad its going well Rachel    You will be very pleased you did all this stuff come the lean months of winter 

Here's another idea for you.  I bought some very cheap mushrooms - reduced to 25p a punnet.  I dried them all as slices, then food processed 1/2 to a mushroom powder.  I have added it to spag sauce and veg soup and it adds a real extra dimension - very very yummy   

The cookbook I have suggests making all sorts of veg and fruit powders out of stuff to flavour breads or pasta, sprinkling fruit powder over ice-cream or yogurt as a dessert, using celery powder on tomato salads ... the list goes on and on.  Anything difficult to process can be frozen for 30 mins beforehand to make it easier.  I'm definately going to make more 

[Madame Cholet]

Glad its going well Rachel    You will be very pleased you did all this stuff come the lean months of winter 

Here's another idea for you.  I bought some very cheap mushrooms - reduced to 25p a punnet.  I dried them all as slices, then food processed 1/2 to a mushroom powder.  I have added it to spag sauce and veg soup and it adds a real extra dimension - very very yummy   

The cookbook I have suggests making all sorts of veg and fruit powders out of stuff to flavour breads or pasta, sprinkling fruit powder over ice-cream or yogurt as a dessert, using celery powder on tomato salads ... the list goes on and on.  Anything difficult to process can be frozen for 30 mins beforehand to make it easier.  I'm definately going to make more 
thank you
I'll have to look out for cheap mushrooms I bet they dry well I could string them whole over the stove too.
I like the red onion to snack on I bet it would be good in bread or pizza base.

[New shoot]

Onion powder sprinkled on bread or pizza base would be lush    I love onions as well   Might freeze and process some of my shallots to try that  

The book I have suggests making a snack by drying onions and cabbage until 2/3rds dry then toasting them in the oven.  Haven't tried this yet but plan to  

[MJS]

I also recently bought a dehydrator, thanks to your threads on here. So far I  have a small jar of dried garlic and a jar with cherry and ordinary tomatoes. I will certainly look out for reduced price mushrooms too. I did dry some chicken pieces (small) for treats for the dogs, but I left them out overnight and I'm afraid it was just too tempting for them! All gone in the morning

[Trillium]

I bought mushrooms on a good sale since they're rarely on clearance here, and they dehydrated beautifully. To keep them longer term, I used a mason jar and vacuum sealed the lid so they'll keep for several years. Just waiting for more mushroom sales.
Also dehydrated 4 heads of cauliflower that fit into a quart mason jar with room to spare   

I also plan to make tomato powder from paste tomatoes. It can easily be used in place of tomato paste.

Yesterday I took a deep breath, bit the bullet and ordered one of THESE bad boys to help me get through the volume this year. Ordered it elsewhere but this gives a better product description.

[Mrs Bee]

I got one of those last year with some birthday money.

In all honesty haven't done as much  as I could. Although I have done loads of tomatoes as we love those.

The ideas here have spurred me to try some other stuff.

I did part dry some grapes and plums to use in baking and they were really lovely.

The mushroom ideas sound good. will get an extra tray when I go to Spitalfields again.

What book have you got New Shoot? I obviously  need some inspiration.

[New shoot]

What book have you got New Shoot? I obviously  need some inspiration.

Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook  ISBN 0-688-13024-0  

That is a bad boy dehydrator Trillium  

[Mrs Bee]

Thanks for the book title New Shoot.

[Trillium]

Some great drying items are onions, celery and sweet peppers to keep handy for cooking. In wet years it's an excellent way to keep the veg in good condition.

I've also done lemon slices (for winter tea) and lemon peel for baking. The price of dried peel at the bulk shops is a real eye-popper. You can easily collect the coloured peel (none of the white pith) and store it in a container in the freezer  until ready to dry it.

I've also further dried cranberries and raisins. What you get from the shops will crystallize in a couple of years, but if you dry it further and keep in a sealed jar it will last many years in perfect condition.

[Madame Cholet]

just doing the spinach as most has bolted, saved as much leaf as I can then resowed them. Just doing some temp work at a local pub i'll see if they will get me a tray of mushrooms cheap for drying.
going to try some ready meals next, veggie bolongese and spinach & onion mash make 2 and dehydrate 1 for when i'm in a rush or when i'm hosteling again.

another question please New Shoot, when I did onion rings I spead them out would it hurt if they over lapped a bit.

[shokkyy]

You dried spinach? What does that taste like when it's rehydrated? And do you just use it in things like baked dishes, or as an actual side veg?

[New shoot]

another question please New Shoot, when I did onion rings I spead them out would it hurt if they over lapped a bit.

I let it overlap a bit at first then go back after a couple of hours and spread things out as they shrink.  If need be I do this a couple of times. As long as you don't crowd the tray too much it will be fine  

You dried spinach? What does that taste like when it's rehydrated? And do you just use it in things like baked dishes, or as an actual side veg?

I'm just experimenting with greens and they are quite useful to have around.  I know Rachell posted she had done kale not so long ago and found several uses for it.  It is more of an 'add to stuff' ingredient than eat alone as a side dish I think.  Not bad munched straight out of the jar either    

[Madame Cholet]

I don't generally eat spinach just as a veg its a bit strong. my favourite ways are with mashed pots, grated cheese and chopped softened onion or with onion and scrambled egg on toast. Also like the kale and spinach added to soups, bolongeses ect. the dried stuff can be just thrown in like the kale.

[New shoot]

Well that's todays project sorted    Only do a big supermarket shop once every 2 weeks but picked up cheap peppers and celeriac today.  The peppers are the value bags slightly mishapen ones but were reduced as well  

Going to do the peppers in chunks - already got a jar, but I love tomato and pepper type stews and they get expensive over the winter.  Drying them transforms a supermarket pepper into something much tastier and when they rehydrate in the stew, they soak up the sauce so get juicy and yummy  

The celeriac is going to be soaked in lemon juice water for a few mins to help keep its colour and think I might powder at least some of the end result as the mushroom powder is a big hit with me