Dehydrator Dog Treats

I shared this recipe once before, and since I was dehydrating more of our home grown kale, I'm sharing again.

First, you will need to cook the rice, and dehydrate kale and Parmesan cheese (see note) to make them.  Once you have these dried, you will then have them on hand to make the treats.

Dehydrating Garlic

It's that time of year again, when I dehydrate my home grown garlic.

Drying Lemongrass ~ Herbal Updates ~ So You Know

Lemongrass is new to my herb garden this year.  I planted it in a pot, due to space, and because I did not want it to spread too quickly, like my lemon balm did.

It was time to cut some leaves, and dry them for tea making.  I love to add this to our summer iced teas with spearmint too.

Cold Spell ~ Stocking Up Stats ~ Vegetarian Caesar Dressing

After discovering we were to have another possible frost last night, we did not plant the last two flats of vegetable plants.  Instead the mowing was finished, the goats got to enjoy their grazing time (without sun and heat), and I got the joy of cleaning the toilet. We actually had to put jackets on outside.

I had to dig out old sheets and cover the flowers.

Regarding stocking up stats...

Raw Vegetable Crackers ~ Using a Dehydrator ~ Other Farmstead News

The new recipe I made, is a raw vegetable cracker.  You soak chia seeds, raisins and sun dried tomatoes, and add other blended vegetables. 

(spread out on parchment paper before drying in the dehydrator)

The interesting part, is that they are dried in the dehydrator.  Now, I imagine you can bake these in the oven, but when it's 82° out, I preferred not to.  Although yesterday it was 60°F.

Goats in the Kitchen ~ Thinking Ahead and Other Tidbits

Everything is normal here today.  

The sunrise is a beautiful pink.

Dehydrating Orange Peel ~ Orange Peel Powder

Our grocer is finally carrying organic oranges, so I have been saving the peels and dehydrating them.

This is a first for me.  I've never dehydrated the peels due to not having access to organic oranges.  My plan is to use them for recipes for now.  We use orange peel in our hot cranberry punch, and now that I am making more teas, I think it would be nice to have some on hand for tea making.

I plan. . .

Our Onion Soup Mix Experiment ~ Tidbits

Why onion soup?  Because I have nothing else to write about today (yet).   

Believe it or not, I am still deep cleaning here and there (three boxes went to the thrift store), and finally got Hubby to replace the old (very old) light fixture in the kitchen.  We've had replacement for it for a long time, but have not had the time to get it up.

Back to the soup. 

Bavarian Crochet ~ Deep Freeze Day 5 ~ Turkey Chili ~ Goats and Chickens

I can't let January pass by without learning something new.  I didn't even plan it either.  I had just been flipping through a huge pile of borrowed library books, and opened this one.

Record Low Temps ~ Dehydrating Garlic

Last night, we hit an all time record low.  When Hubby called me from work about 7pm, it was already -17°F (actual temperature), with a wind chill of lower than -35°F.  The dogs are not taking the cold well at all.  My son said their legs start shaking after a few minutes outside to do their business.  Some times they won't even go, and he'll have to go out again.   It's too early to tell how the barn animals handled it.  As soon as the sun is up, we plan to do a quick check on them all.

Reclaiming the Garden

I'm reclaiming my vegetable garden . . .

. . . cleaning  it up

Frugal Tip ~ Dehydrating Cottage Cheese

I am learning to be much smarter with my dehydrator, and saving money at the grocery store.  They had 16 oz. tubs of organic cottage cheese marked down for clearance.  I paid $1.49 each, for two tubs.  They are normally $4.89 each.  They fit nicely on the 4 trays in my dehydrator. 

Dehydrating Garlic ~ Making Garlic Powder

Dehydrating garlic was next on my list of "to-do's," and to make garlic powder from my home grown garlic.  Some of my followers have probably already made homemade garlic powder, so forgive me if it's a boring post.  This is a first time for me.

We were gifted garlic two years ago, and planted all of them in the garden in the fall.  I dug them up the next season, and repeated that for one more year, expanding our harvest this year.  

Sorghum, Honey, Ginger, and Cinnamon ~ Baking a Healthier Gingerbread

I have been looking through some of the recipes I collected over last summer.  Recipes that I had not yet tried.  I found one that uses sorghum, and I just had to bake it!  I buy locally produced sorghum and honey, so I had the ingredients.  I just adapted it with organic ingredients and our fresh farm eggs.

Sorghum is still a form of sugar, so it is not recommended for diabetics.  However, from the articles I have read, most forms of sorghum do not contain gluten.  And like Molasses, it is a good source for iron, potassium, and calcium.  In one article, I read that it contains more antioxidants than blueberries.  I find this interesting.

Dehydrating Onions ~ Making Onion Powder

My garden may have produced small onions, but boy they are potent.  You would have had a good laugh, if you were here to see my 14 year-old and I, cutting them up for the dehydrator.  

She had goggles on, and I was trying to fan my eyes, but that failed.  We had tears, and tears and more tears. Sorry for the bad, blurry photographs.  We were laughing so hard at the time.

Dehydrating Blueberries & Topless Blueberry Pie

Each year we purchase 20 pounds of blueberries, and it gets us through winter and spring.  I make blueberry syrup, jam, jelly, freeze some, and bake some. 

This year I am doing something new - dehydrating some.  They will be wonderful in baked goods for after school snacks and lunch packings.  I will use them in my homemade granola bars too.

From a Journal Junkie . . .

From the Homesteading Journal . . .

. . . made my own bird deterrent for the strawberry beds - recycled pie pan, string, and a piece of recycled tent pole.  I used what I had, considering the budget is tight right now (from the tile project).  Later in the day I saw robins snacking away as soon as the wind stopped (and the pie pans stopped banging away).  I guess I better start saving up for bird netting and supplies.  However, I did spray paint some small stones red, and placed them under the plants for now too.  We'll see if they return after pecking at a stone. 

. . . planted new curly parsley, and more tomatoes. 

 . . .in preparation for hot days, I started to save and fill empty plastic bottles with water.  They are being frozen to place in goat water buckets.

. . . the bathroom tile project continues - humidity is a huge factor in it's completion. I cannot wait to use my shower again.

. . .found a way to recycle the plastic from an old, broken portable closet.

. . . made a homemade non-toxic, herbal fusion, disinfectant.  I'm looking forward to seeing the results.  I can make it from everything in the garden, with the exception of the organic apple cider vinegar (for the recipe and others:  14 Bleach-Free Surface Disinfectants).

. . . dehydrated 2 lbs. of organic carrots (with another 2 lbs. to dehydrate) I bought on sale for $.99 at the grocery store.  The only bad part about buying these, is the leftover plastic bag.




From the Handiwork Journal. . .

. . .crocheted another rag rug.  It's made from old sheets and pillow cases. 



From the Family Journal . . .

 . . .my youngest daughter gets to spend a few days with her Grandma.

. . . my son surprised me by cleaning out the refrigerator.

. . . my allergies are flared up from spending so much time in the wind this past weekend.  I hope to get some relief today.



From the Gratitude Journal . . .

 Today I am thankful for:

~ Much cooler weather. It's nice to have a break from the heat.

~ My rose bushes blooming again. 

~ My herb garden.  It's come in use for more than just cooking and baking.

~ God's promises.

~ The quiet morning here today.  I can't hear anything, but birds, and my dehydrator.  

 

From the Homesteading Journal . . .

. . . planted two types of potatoes, lettuce, red and yellow onions, spinach, arugula, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.  I picked some asparagus too.  We used the rain barrel water to water the vegetable plants we planted, and love it.  The rain barrel saves us water, and electricity (so we don't have to run the water pump to do it).  We definitely want two more barrels this year.

. . . weeded out the raised beds of strawberries.

. . . planted a rosemary plant and some organic basil seeds.

. . . planted organic sunflower seeds and two varieties of Shasta Daisies. 
  
 . . . dehyrdrated organic baby kale for dog treats (could not find organic, regular kale).

. . .made more homemade dog treats in the dehydrator.

. . . my 16 year-old made another batch of goat's milk soap.

. . . picked up a truck load of mulch for the flower beds.  I need another load.

. . .divided my Thyme and planted some around the front porch to ward of mosquitoes this year.  One of my "farm" books suggested this.  I will see if it helps this year.  If anything, I will have more to dry for winter tea and cooking.

. . .started crocheting washcloths for selling at the Farmer's Market.
  

 

Fancy Pen ~ Dehydrating

Here is another one of my fun pens.  This one lights up in the bottom, and flashes different colors when I write.  I can also turn of the light.

Hubby and I went to a choir concert last night.  Two of the girls were in it.  However, this morning they are grouchy.  Anytime they have an event on a school night, it wears them out.

I'm not sure what's on today's agenda today, other than cleaning up the mess the kids left in the kitchen, and laundry.

Yesterday I filled the dehydrator with more green peppers and one tray of jalapeno peppers.  I stocked up the dried ones and ground the cayenne to a powder.  Next on the list is making my own onion powder.  I'll have to wait until next season to make my garlic powder (unless I can find USA grown garlic here).  I re-planted my remaining garlic.

I also made a batch of breakfast burrito filler, using up more green peppers and onions.  I still have more in my garden basket too.

If the farmer is far enough away today, I will pull more garden plants, and weed the flower beds.  And of course, I'll be writing also.  Now that we have the goats dried up, I buy organic milk - $6.99/gallon.  We'll need the extra cash if we want milk this winter.

 
  

 

Freezer Meals ~ Clean Sweep ~ More Garden Bounty

While cleaning around the house, I found this 1963 cookbook.  This sounded like a great way to have sandwiches on hand.  I may have to try this recipe yet.  Although I'd make my own dressing for this.  I love the fact I can use own, canned sweet pickle relish.

Clean Sweep Updates: