Back to the dehydrator original question - my fav thing to dry is sliced tomatoes. I use them all winter, ground up and with a little water to rehydrate, makes wonderful fresh tasting pasta sauce, pizza sauce, tomato soup, and ketchup by the cup. I also use them as you would "sun-dried" tomatoes. Same thing. Unpeeled little Roma's, Amish Paste, or my fav Principe Borghese heirloom tomatoes have a very rich flavor when dried. They do have to be firm low juice varieties or it takes forever to dehydrate where the sliced paste tomatoes take 8 hours total at 145 at the beginning then down to 135 - 140 for the remaining time. If you do use juicy tomatoes I'd recommend taking out the seeds and letting the juice drip out before putting them in the dehydrator. Another thing I make is vegetable leather. There are many recipes out there. Some I make have all the same ingredients as vegetable soup - add a cup of hot water, stir and stir, and after a while have hot soup. Since I grow organically and don't need all that salt as in commercial soups, I have a good tasting, good for you soup. One very important thing to do with all dehydrated foods is to put them in plastic bags or jars and put them in the freezer for 48 hours. This kills the native bacteria that lives in our air (and any weevils or critter eggs that might be lurking and survived the heating process). Nancy the nancedar

Your question is delving into a subject that is incredibly complicated. Most dog foods at the local grocery store are the equivalent of junk food for your dog. They have fillers in them, especially corn and wheat, that can cause all sorts of problems, both upper and lower GI, and a host of other things. Dogs were just not built to digest most grains well, especially corn. You would do well to Google the subject and educate yourself. Since you will probably get a ton of information about this here, here is my experience. I've had dogs for the past 17 years. Oldest (now in doggie heaven) had a corn allergy. Sores developed that just would not heal. I've now got three large mutts. Two of them have a wheat allergy, one of them took at least 6-7 years to develop, the other less than a year. It caused horrible diarrhea in both. One has had a history of UTI (thank you dog god, she's been fine since September). Dogs with allergies are on IVD venison and potato, the other one is on a high quality food with no fillers. I come in contact with lots of dogs daily. I know what they eat and I also see the probable results of what they eat. There is no question that a better quality food is going to help stave off numerous health problems, and perhaps extend the life of the dog. When my old doggie (Shepard/Lab)went, she was 14. Very old for this size dog, but she had three serious health issues. I attribute lots of positive results to better food, BUT, it ainÂt cheep. SG

I love a challenge...... You have probably already discovered this, but in the late 1800's and very early 1900's some sites have noted that NYC's Waldorf Astoria Hotel was known for it's wonderfully prepared Wild Canvasback duck. It appears that apricot was used in the recipes, along with cognac or brandy. I'd be inclined to contact the food doyen Martha Stewart through her Sirius radio program or perhaps on her website to see if her minions can come with anything for you.

Sylviatexas, yes, I have eaten mock apple pie that a friend's mother made for an after school treat when I went home with her after school one day about 1955. I had never had it, and if I had not been told, I would have thought it was a slice of apple pie. The Ritz crackers are halved, and the only thing that gives it away is that the edges of the "apples" are scalloped or look like they have been peeled with pinking shears. That was an interesting visit. When my friend introduced me to her mother, her mom gasped and asked if I was Jack ____'s daughter. I replied that I was, and she proceeded to tell me how he was so handsome and she had had a crush on him in their single days. At dinner that night I related this mom's report of my dad. He was tickled to hear that a girl he did not remember from his past remembered him. I have seen pictures of my dad from back then, and he looked like a slender Bert Lancaster.