Stacie if you have trouble finding any of your previous posts, like if they have slipped to page 2 or 3, you can just put your username in the search bar at the bottom of the page and it will pull them all up for you. I think Pixie Lou assumed that was your problem just as I did when I first read this one since it is almost a duplicate post. There was already discussion in that one about spices and bullion and dicing potatoes etc. ;) And then you can just add your further questions onto the existing post and it will get bumped back to the top. That way all the info is together in one place. Saves time for you as you don't have to re-type all the intro info and for us so we aren't just typing all the same replies over again. Ok? Dave

Stacie - have you read this instruction pamphlet on drying and using dried foods from NCHFP? Tons of info on all the basics. See link below. It gives you a table on rehydrating too. Dried vegetable soup can be any vegetables you want as long as they are all fully dried and as long as the particles are approximately the same size for rehydrating evenly. Otherwise you end up with mushy bits of onion or smushy peas while the green beans are still hard as rocks. So if you dice some then dice all, if you chop some then chop all, etc. For rehydrating you do it while it is cooking and rather than water we use broth - beef, chicken or vegetable - for flavor. Just begin with your favorite fresh vegetable soup recipe for amounts to measure out before drying them so the dried veggies will be in the same proportions when packaged. Personally I don't care for dehydrating previously frozen vegetables. They are soft and mushy, take much longer to dry than fresh, and lose most of their flavor in the process. THe secret is to make sure that every single piece of vegetable is totally dry. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Drying Fruits and Vegetables

Ok, ladies of the gardens, (and kitchens), let's let it ALL hang out now and go for it! We've worked all spring, summer and fall, and now it's time to talk cooking! And enjoying the fruits, (or veggies) of our labors. Like the rest of you, fall is the time when I love to get in the kitchen and cook, filling the house with wonderful smells. That's one of the reason I love Oklahoma, the change of seasons. Fall just brings with it, a change in the feeling of things as we change from one mode to another. It's time for soups, and stews, and baking breads, pies, muffins and biscuits,( slathered with butter and jam or jelly of choice). Tonight, I'm making, more for DS than me, chicken and biscuits. Only I make the biscuits separate, so they don't get soggy baking in the oven with the liquid part of the concoction. Then, he splits them once done and ladles the chicken "gravy" over all. Of course there are a hundred variations on the theme, and I've tried most all of them at one time or another, but that's what's on the menu tonight. I came across this blog and started reading. Great stuff, you can tell these ladies, (and guy) know their way around a biscuit. The one moniker cracked me up, "Old ladies in Fist Fights". Anyway, they were discussing the pros and cons of biscuit making. I am making mine ala Carol's, by the BIG BATCH, with the exception that I use butter. I keep my batch in the fridge or even freezer to keep the butter cold and fresh. I do mine a little different that those discussed in this blog. I melt a large batch of butter in the microwave, and then cool and put it in the freezer til it's ice cold and solid. Then, I work in the cold butter bits, one half at a time, to coat the self-rising flour mixture, to prevent as much gluten from forming as possible. Everythings done with the lightest touch possible and the least mixing. When the biscuits are patted out and cut, in this case, "Cat Head" biscuits, I dip them in melted butter, and pop them in a preheated 450 degree oven til nice and golden. I always make buttermilk biscuits, buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk cornbread, and as often as possible. Carol's method makes this painless. I suppose we could make many of our standard quick bread mixes this way. Salute Carol! Ladies, start your engines, (I mean ovens)! Barbara Here is a link that might be useful: Joes's Biscuit Blog

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP (serves 2) 1 medium head broccoli 1 medium potato, thinly sliced 2 TBL butter 1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped 2 TBL flour 1 cup warm chicken broth 1 cup warm milk 1/4 cup warm heavy cream Salt & pepper to taste 1 tsp dried basil Cook the broccoli & potatoes in salted water until tender. Set aside 4 flowerets of broccoli for garnish. Heat the butter ina saucepan & add the onion. Cook stirring until the onion is transparent, but not brown. Add the flour & cook, stirring until smooth. Place the remaining broccoli & potatoes in a processor or blender & puree the vegetables. Gradually add the broth & milk. Add the cream a little at a time until the soup is of the right consistency. Return the soup to the saucepan. Add pepper, salt & basil & reheat. Garnish each bowl w/the reserved flowerets of broccoli & serve.~~Simply Superb