Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The new year brings new beginnings.  It's a year of ending a few things as well.   Many of the gatherings this year were small.  Either sickness hit most, some didn't want to be around people, and some did not get together over the holidays.  Either way, I did not cook/bake for the gatherings, and that was actually nice for once. January brings winter weather.  The weather is doing what it does - wintering.  Wintering in a weird way too.  If I was traveling, it would be a very good month for travel.  The temperatures are warming between 50-60 degrees, and rain. (shallots and butter) (homemade condensed mushroom soup, prepared as equal to one can of soup, to freeze) We are seeing more stores closing as the new year rolls in, and we have also found out that our nearest grocery store will no longer sell shallots.  I use shallots and butter as my starting base when making homemade condensed mushroom soup (which I freeze, one containe...

Using your dehydrator and guidebook, dice shallots, spread it out on parchment paper lined dehydrator trays.  My guidebook states to dehydrate at 155° (same for onions). I store mine in my freezer, as they quickly absorb moisture and when stored in the pantry do not stay crisp.  Anything from the onion family powdered will absorb moisture in the pantry as well (even in an airtight container). To re hydrate, I do equal amounts of warm water and dehydrated shallots (same for onions), and let sit for about 20 minutes and drain.  Used as you would in any recipe. At the same time you are making diced in the dehydrator, you can make finer diced, and grind in to powder and store the same way (in an air tight container).   Tip:  Use a food processor to dice the shallots (or onions).