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

I agree Teresa. I've been following Kevin's blog for a while now. He has a big following. Ann

If you would enjoy this book, and it's on my to-do list after reading the link, you might also enjoy "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" by James Lileks (2001) - highlights from classic American recipe books. Sarcasm at it's finest. Hubby and I took turns reading this book out loud at breakfast for a week and laughed ourselves silly to the priceless commentary and the amazing pictures from old cookbooks and pamphlets, many I remember my mother having, and many I had in my collection. As the book states on the back: WARNING: This is not a cookbook. You'll find no tongue-tempting treats within--unless, of course, you consider Boiled Cow Elbow with Plain Sauce to be your idea of a tasty meal. No, "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" is a public service. -Grainlady

I don't mind the cooking, it's the eating that has me.... That's Italian? Except for these peanut butter and jelly muffins Look ma, no brand names