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sarbar
Living The Dream



Joined: 28 Jan 2002
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Location: Freeland, Wa
sarbar
Living The Dream
PostSat May 19, 2007 5:14 pm 
Ree, did you salt the items at all? Don't, as it can cause tougher items. (And make it harder to rehydrate) Also, smaller is better in size wise smile.gif

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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sarbar
Living The Dream



Joined: 28 Jan 2002
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Location: Freeland, Wa
sarbar
Living The Dream
PostSat May 19, 2007 5:16 pm 
PS: If you haven't seen them, Oil Packets Very tasty!

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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GoBlueHiker
island hopper



Joined: 16 Apr 2003
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Location: These days... Boulder, CO
GoBlueHiker
island hopper
PostMon May 21, 2007 10:37 pm 
I dunno if anyone suggested this yet (I'll admit, I haven't read the whole thread), but Watermelon tastes extremely good from a dehydrator. Slice it like you normally would, then cut off the rinds and slice the chunks into ~1/4-inch slabs. Obviously you can expect a lot of shrinkage, but what you get in the end tastes exactly like Watermelon Jolly Ranchers! Really good stuff, in my opinion... - Mike

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ree
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ree
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PostTue May 22, 2007 7:43 am 
I can imagine a big chunk watermelon shrinking to the size of a sugar cube. Sarbar - yes, I did use salt. Thanks for the tip. Also, that was a great website you directed me to. Thanks! up.gif

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sarbar
Living The Dream



Joined: 28 Jan 2002
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Location: Freeland, Wa
sarbar
Living The Dream
PostTue May 22, 2007 5:23 pm 
I posted this today on my blog: Trail Cake: My good friend Ldyblade got this started this past week. On last weekend's hike she showed up with dehydrated chocolate cake. And proceeded to wave under my nose warm cake a few minutes later. Even though she gave me a bite I wanted the whole bag, dangit! So she let me in on her secret that she had figured out. And I went to work to duplicate it. L had used a boxed mix, but unless I buy organic mixes I can't use them (artificial flavors/colors) so I found a yellow cake recipe to play with, and saved the cost of a mix. Yellow Cake Mix: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/2 tsps baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup egg beaters, at room temperature 1 cup nonfat or 1% milk, at room temperature Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Very lightly grease a 13x9" glass pan. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. Mix together the sugar and applesauce, stir in vanilla, milk and eggs. Add dry ingredients until well blended. I used a hand mixer for this. Spread batter evenly into pan, using a spatula. Bake for 27 to 35 minutes on middle rack, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Depending on oven and humidity it may take up to 40 minutes for it.
Now, you might have noticed something. There is nearly no fat in this recipe. And that is the trick you need to follow. Most cake mixes can be made with applesauce or baby prunes (there is also a commercial baking prune mix you can get in the baking aisle). Use a 1:1 ratio of it to oil called for. For eggs, either use egg whites or buy Egg Beaters and use 1/4 cup per egg called for. You may have to bake your cake a bit longer, but that is fine. The applesauce you want unsweetened, as it adds enough sweetness on it's own. What I feel is that next time I make this yellow cake, I am going to make it a spice cake. It would be great for a blustery evening. Now onto the drying: I got the dehydrator out but did not line the trays. As much airflow as you can get is needed for this project. I cut strips of cake, then cut them in half, then diced them up, to large crouton size.
I dried them at 135* for 12 hours or so. What you want is crouton style. Hard and crunchy. Think of it this way, you are making cake biscotti. Rehydration: I tried two ways. First was doing it chunk style, the second was after running the chunks thru my chopper into smaller pieces/some large powder (you can use a blender). Each bag had 1/4 cup dry cake. I brought a cup of water to boil, and started with 2 Tbl in each bag, working it in by carefully kneading the bag. In the end the bags took nearly a 1:1 ratio of water to cake. I was happier with the smaller pieces, as it rehydrated almost instantly. Now you might ask, what does it taste like? Well, it tastes like warm cake. If you watch the water carefully as you add it, it won't be too wet. Even if you do, it is still good. The crumbs come together and it feels like a piece of smushed cake. L has said chocolate cake would be great with some adult beverage drizzled in as part of the water...... Come day 3, you pull cake out, you could be the coolest person in camp ;-) ~Sarah My Blog Entry

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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sarbar
Living The Dream



Joined: 28 Jan 2002
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Location: Freeland, Wa
sarbar
Living The Dream
PostWed May 23, 2007 12:11 pm 
One more recipe: This is from my blog, and I had Mugs in my thoughts as I worked on it. Minus the cheese, this would be vegan. I love burritos, and often make them my dinner on the trail. My friend Ldyblade was working on an idea on our last trip together, and it looked good so I made up my own version of it. High protein, easy to carry and simple to make. I had run out of salsa for the trail, so I put a batch on the dehydrator. I put 16 ounces of salsa, on a lined tray, smoothed out with a spatula so it was an even thickness. Dried at 135* till dry (this will become salsa "leather", similar to fruit leather. You want dry all over, with no sticky spots. It may be pliable, but be sure to test it all over.) I prefer after drying to break it up in a blender, but you don't have to.
Trail Taco Burritos: In a quart freezer bag put: 1 cup instant rice of choice In a second bag put: 1/4 cup dry Fantastic Foods Taco Filling mix (I used a heavy duty sandwich bag for this) Also take: 2 Tbl to 1/2 cup of dried salsa, in a snack ziploc bag 2 tortillas 1 ounce cheese, if desired In camp add 1 cup hot water to the rice bag, stir and seal. Add 1/2 cup hot water to the taco mix, stir well and seal. Put both bags into a cozy for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add a 1:1 ratio of warm water to the salsa, seal the bag and knead gently. Let sit. Top the tortillas with rice, taco mix, salsa and cheese. Makes 2 burritos. This would also make a great Taco Bowl as well (no tortillas). To do that, cut the rice bag down halfway, forming a bowl. Top as noted and enjoyed. Less messy that way! The taco mix contains 12 grams of protein and 4 grams fiber per 1/4 cup dry. That is quite the kick for hikers.
~Sarah

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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Allison
Feckless Swooner



Joined: 17 Dec 2001
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Location: putting on my Nikes before the comet comes
Allison
Feckless Swooner
PostWed May 30, 2007 3:53 pm 
Has anyone tried drying ground chicken? I bought a pound of it today and would like to try, but if it totally doesn't work, warn me now before I waste the chicken.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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sarbar
Living The Dream



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Location: Freeland, Wa
sarbar
Living The Dream
PostWed May 30, 2007 4:02 pm 
It will work like ground turkey, but you will need to grease the pan a bit before you cook it (since it is a dryer meat). Turns into chicken gravel nicely.

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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Allison
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Allison
Feckless Swooner
PostWed May 30, 2007 4:06 pm 
Great, thanks. up.gif I know how to make gravel. Are there oils that are more stable than others? I have olive, corn, grapeseed and maybe canola on hand.

www.allisonoutside.com follow me on Twitter! @AllisonLWoods
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ScottM
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PostWed May 30, 2007 4:13 pm 
www.adventurefoods.com has dried chicken for sale. It is funny this thread came up because I just order a 1/2 pound from them today. It is freeze dried and comes bulk in small chunks. You can order in 1/4 pound increments. It is quite expensive (right around $45 per pound) but it is very light weight so you get quite a bit. The last time I ordered it was a 1/4 pound and I made quite a few meals out of it. I used it with some of their pre-cooked freeze dried black beans and made a chicken black bean chili that turned out pretty good. I tend to dry the things I can in the Dehydrator and then buy bulk items from them to combine. I am drying some fresh basil in my dehydrator as we speak. I will combine this with some of adventure foods pre-cooked freeze dried ziti noodles, their chicken chunks, some dried tomatoes, and a creamy parmesan tomato dried sauce mix to make a great chicken pasta dish with the flavors of basil and sun dried tomatoes.

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sarbar
Living The Dream



Joined: 28 Jan 2002
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Location: Freeland, Wa
sarbar
Living The Dream
PostWed May 30, 2007 4:34 pm 
Canola or olive would be my choice, and use maybe a tsp or two, and a non stick pan.

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostWed May 30, 2007 5:10 pm 
In general the more saturated an oil is the more stable thy are because oxygen attacks the double bonds. The most stable are saturated oils like Palm and Coconut which are also the wost for you but are still better than artificially saturated oils i.e. trans fats which are even more stable. monosaturated oils like olive, peanut and nut oils are next most stable and will not kill you as fast, the least stable are polyunsaturated oils like Safflower, cotton seed and corn oils. When they go bad they get sticky and smell rancid. Very unsaturated oils like linseed and tung actually turn into a resin.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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ree
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ree
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PostTue Jul 24, 2007 8:47 pm 
I had a dehydrating disaster this weekend. I'm a newbie, so maybe some people out there will learn from my mistakes. Long story short, I spent all day Sat. cooking veggies to dehydrate, and in less than 24 hrs., they were growing MOLD!!! eek.gif mad.gif down.gif waah.gif hurl.gif 1/ Don't bother with a cheap dehydrators. I was really smug thinking I got a deal on a $40 dehydrator at Fred Meyer. Penny wise and pound foolish, I was. It's gotta have a fan. My Ronco piece of shyite didn't have any temp controls or a fan. Plug it in the wall - that was the only control. shakehead.gif 2/ If you're foolish enough to do #1, DON'T dehydrate when it's warm and humid (like last weekend), and you don't have climate control (AC.). I spent all this time, money, and effort - going to Trader Joe's, buying tons of zukes, shrooms, etc., meticulously cooking the veggies - not too much oil, not overcooking, etc., rotating the goddam trays, yadah, yadah, etc. rolleyes.gif Overnight, I noticed an odd smell... it wasn't unpleasant, but kind of sickening sweet. There was a lot of condensation in the dehydrator; a bad sign. By Sunday morning, I noticed a white substance that'd appeared on a few of the veggies overnight, and dammit if it didn't look like mold. It hadn't been in the dehydrator 12-18 hrs! Sarbar was nice enough to be my therapist and dehydrating spiritual advisor last weekend. bawl.gif I've done a little more internet research and it seems critical to have a fan, and have that fan on top, so food drips don't bother the electrical/fan element - both missing components on my cheap-piece-of-shyite-Ronco. Btw, Sarbar, I threw the Ronco out with the moldy veggies. up.gif Back to square one. Sur La Table has a Nesco (with fan on top) for $60. I called Macy's and by the time I got through to a live person, the person didn't know, had to call me back, then reported that they don't carry them. What an ordeal. Maybe I'll try Craigslist.

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forest gnome
Forest nut...



Joined: 24 Apr 2003
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Location: north cascades!!
forest gnome
Forest nut...
PostTue Jul 24, 2007 9:03 pm 
I bielieve that I get adventure foods "dehyd." HONEY POWDER... for coffee and pancakes this is good stuff. they are a great co. with good service!!

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sarbar
Living The Dream



Joined: 28 Jan 2002
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Location: Freeland, Wa
sarbar
Living The Dream
PostTue Jul 24, 2007 9:37 pm 
Ree, you might check on Amazon.....they sell all the Nesco ones! They have the one I have as well, and you can get a Nesco Snackmaster for around $60! I am glad to hear you tossed it all out. A big bummer though frown.gif Btw, the comment on honey powder.....you can now get two brands of granulated honey at uwajimaya in Seattle. Stuff is great, it looks like sugar, but can be used like honey by adding in water. Pretty cool!

https://trailcooking.com/ Eat well on the trail.
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