Here's a couple that I keep on hand - I make my own yogurt cheese and we go through a lot of dip in the summer. Italian Dip Mix 3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes 1 teaspoon salt (optional - I don't add any) 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon onion powder 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 pinch ground oregano 1/2 teaspoon dehydrated carrots (if I have them) 1/2 teaspoon dehydrated sweet peppers (I usually put finely chopped fresh ones in) Mexican Dip Mix 1/2 cup dried parsley 1/3 cup dried minced onion 1/4 cup dried chives 1/3 cup chili powder (mild and/or hot) 1/4 cup ground cumin Salt to taste (anywhere from 2 tablespoons up to 1/4 cup) You can add smoked paprika, chipotle powder, cheddar cheese powder, etc. It's fun to experiment. For a quick dip, I take a cup of yogurt cheese (or you can use sour cream and mayonnaise) and mix in one cup of homemade salsa. DH can polish off the whole bowl even without the chips :-)

Redhaven is sure easy to can. It's a freestone, and there's none of that gouging out the red center where the stone was because when they cook, the red disappears. The flavor is just outstanding. Sure makes those canned peaches you get in the store pale by comparison. They are so slimy and have so few actual peaches in the can. I add a little salt and a little vinegar (you don't taste it and it helps preserve the color till you can get them cooked) to the water I slice the peaches into, sweeten them only a little, heat them, and then pack them in the jars. I don't waste space with lots of syrup. We've opened probably five jars since then, divided the contents amongst the three of us, and have enjoyed them immensely. The previous harvest, which was like three years ago, I prepared them the same way, but froze them. They froze really well and held their color after they were thawed, but I didn't have room in the freezer this time. If you don't have a Redhaven in your yard, Livesay's Orchard has that variety, among others, every year.

plllog- It sounds like you are describing freeze-dried food, which unfortunately, CAN'T be duplicated in a dehydrator. Freeze-drying is a commercial technique that forms a vacuum while the food is freezing. Stored properly, freeze-dried food has a much longer shelf-life than home-dehydrated, and freeze-dried foods are much higher in nutrients than those made at home, and freeze-dried foods rehydrate in a fraction of the time as home-dried foods. I store and use both home-dehydrated and freeze-dried. jennieboyer, Home\-dehydrated foods need to be used fairly quickly because they don't have any preservatives, and the nutrients degrade quickly \- even if they still "look" fine, and may even taste fine, after years on your shelves. Recommended storage times for home\-dried foods range from 4\-months to one year because the quality is affected by oxygen, temperature, and light. Most dried fruits can be stored for one year at 60\-degrees F, or six months at 80\-degrees F. (room temperature is considered 70\-degrees F.). The cooler the storage temperature, the longer the shelf\-life, and this is true for all stored foods. For each 10\-degrees above room temperature (70\-degrees F) the faster food degrades (nutrients are lost, color and texture may change). Because home\-dehydrated vegetables don't have as much natural (or added) sugar as fruit does, vegetables have about half the shelf\-life of fruits. I consider home\-dehydrated foods pantry foods which need to be rotated and used quickly. Unless you are 100% sure a home\-dehydrated food has 10% moisture or less, don't vacuum\-seal it because if any bacteria is present, it could potentially grow into a toxin \- even in the oxygen\-free container. In order to know the amount of moisture, you have to weigh the food before and after dehydrating. For more specific information on the subject, I suggest getting the book "How To Dry Foods" by Deanna DeLong. You can often find this book at the library and used book stores. As a general rule fruits dried at home normally have about 80% of their moisture removed and vegetables \- 90%. Only a small percentage of foods dehydrated are done until they are crispy dry. I do crispy apples for snacks (which store longer), and leathery apples for cooking/baking, which get used quickly. In my case, unless the dehydrated food is being used, they are stored in a dark, cool, food storage room in the basement. I always try to store enough apple slices for a year, but that's the only item I plan on doing that. Even foods that seem bone dry can still have some moisture in it. Each time you open a container of dehydrated foods, it will reabsorb moisture from the air, so make sure you don't leave the lid off a container any longer than needed, and use more small containers (pint and quart jars). The same problem of reabsorption occurs after the dehydrated food is done drying. Once the food is dry, allow it to come to room temperature, then place it in a container/s and be sure to condition it (an important step many people skip and find they have moldy food) before placing it in storage. If you pack warm food into a jar, moisture will continue to be expelled from the warm food and can be trapped in the jar, causing the food to mold. I would avoid using a timed dehydrator because it is possible for the food to sit for a long period of time after the timer has gone off, and it will most certainly have reabsorbed a lot of moisture, especially in a place where there is high humidity. I typically don't store home\-dried foods in large batches \- especially potatoes which are notorious for molding. Crispy apples destined for snacking I place in a snack\-size zip\-lock bag, then place the bags of apple slices in a quart jar. This way each time the jar is opened there is less chance any of the apple slices will reabsorb moisture from the air. There is an alternative method called dehydrofreezing where only about 70% of the moisture is removed, however, these foods MUST be stored in the freezer to prevent microbial growth. There are some advantages to dehydrofreezing \- the food has better flavor and color than traditional drying, and they reconstitute in about half the time it takes for traditionally dried foods. They also take up less space in the freezer than fresh\-frozen food. If you don't have plastic fruit leather sheets you can use plastic wrap to cover the trays, or you could try a produce bag with some cutting required to make it cover the round trays (both will require some over\-lapping). Caution \-\-\- do NOT place the food on the printed side of the bags because the ink is NOT food\-grade. I will also bet once you use a plastic bag or plastic wrap for this process, you will find the stiff plastic fruit leather sheets much easier to use and well worth the money. \-Grainlady

sapphires, I don't even like bananas, I don't even eat banana bread, but I eat this cake. Ashley says it's her favorite, the best she's ever had and it is darned good. It was posted on the Cooking Forum by a former poster, J. Garner, who worked as a pastry chef. Banana Cake (Rose Levy BerenbaumÂs Cordon Rose Cake) Jgarner-Cooking Forum (good as layer cake, elegant, delicate texture) mix together: sifted cake flour 2 cups sugar 3/4 c + 2 Tbs baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp puree together: 2 large ripe bananas 1 c sour cream 2 Tbs or up to 1/2 c 2 large eggs 2 grated lemon zest 2 tsp (I left this out since I don't like the flavor of lemon with banana) vanilla 1-1/2 tsp soften: Butter 10 Tbs (5 oz) Add butter and half of pureed mixture to dry ingredients in stand mixer and mix at medium with paddle for 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape bowl and add rest of banana mixture in two batches, mixing 20 seconds after each addition. Pour into 9"x2" round pan (I just lined the bottom with parchment, no spray or butter) and bake at 350 F for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then turn out onto rack to cool completely. Hint: Use smallest amount of sour cream and 3 bananas for more pronounced banana flavor Cream Cheese Icing Cream cheese, softened 8 oz. Butter, softened 5 TBS (2.5 oz) Sour cream 1 Tbs Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. Rum 1 Tbs Powdered sugar 1 1/4 C (5 oz) Process (yeah, the food processor) or beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and pulse until smooth. Makes enough to frost the top of a 9x13 sheet cake. I used regular flour, because I never have cake flour, and it always comes out great. Annie