I dehydrate kale from the garden OR from the store and stuff it into a quart jar. I find it a wonderful pantry item I can add dry to almost anything from smoothies to meatloaf. The same goes for other greens. If you have your own dehydrator, dry your own and save a whole pile of money over purchasing it.

Have you looked on-line at Nuts.com or Frontier Coop? I purchase from both. Nuts.com have Organic Freeze-Dried Mixed Veggies (mixture includes sweet corn, carrot, peas, tomato and red pepper). Great rehydrated as a side dish, added to stir-fry or rice, tossed in a salad or soup.... I would be more inclined to pack freeze-dried vegetables and fruit than those I dehydrate at home. Freeze-dried take very little time and water to rehydrate compared to dehydrated, and the flavor and nutrition is much higher in freeze-dried. I can't wait until I have saved enough money to buy a Harvest Right Home Freeze-Drying Machine. I would also suggest Mountain House freeze-dried foods in packets that contain enough for 2-servings for convenience.

Nuts and Frontier are on my list. Just wondering if one is superior over-all especially for tomato powder and freeze dried. I've noticed, even in bay leaves, that quality varies. I had a bay tree for years that perished during a move and now purchase them.

(why is this pic so huge)

But this is what i mean...both green peppercorns are freeze dried. On the left are light as air and crush easily. Mild flavor as they should be. The other ones are hard as rocks and very strong tasting like regular black pepper. (i don't need peppercorns for my trip, just an example....but for another project i am trying to source good ones like the Fairway)

I do have an 8 tray dehydrator that we built. It is huge. But this is the wrong season. Greens are very expensive right now. As are tomatoes if you could even find a good one. I was given a crate of baby bok choy last month in a blizzard in ChinaTown, but i blanched and froze that. Big crate of kale i dehydrated last fall is long gone. So good we ate that as a snack.

Frontier just had a recall. Are they not SimplyOrganic as well?

One thing i'm sure i can get on the island is frozen spinach. A banana. Bad time of year for anything fresh.

I've got everything covered like dehydrated fruits and dried stuff. We won't starve. I just know i'll miss good veggies.

Placed an order with NorthBay. Just a fifty buck variety to give them a try. Should be a nice addition to what i already have. Wanted to try their leeks but missed it in my ordering frenzy, darn. Have to remember that if i have a good leek crop this year. Dehydrate some leek chips for soup.

I was stuck once for a week with no access to fresh fruits and vegetables, so I know what you mean. Sounds like you'll be "gone" a long time? I'd at least bring lots of fresh root vegetables, winter squashes, apples, citrus fruits, etc. which should all last fine for weeks with decent storage conditions.

Are you sure both peppercorns are freeze-dried? The one on the right looks like it was dried, not freeze-dried (due to the wrinkled surface), but I'm only going by the picture since I can't see the entire label.

Can you take a few pots of herbs? In the winter our main source of "fresh" food is from herbs, sprouts, micro-greens, and wheatgrass (juiced). Sprouts would be key if you can't get any fresh produce. I would also suggest packages of True Lemon and True Lime (REAL crystalized lemon/lime you can use for baking, cooking and seasoning).

I store a LOT of #10 cans of banana chips and use them for snacking and rehydrated for baking when I don't have fresh bananas. I can recommend The Spice House for tomato powder if you don't need a whole #10 can. A 14-oz. jar will last us for many months using it for tomato sauce, tomato paste, pizza sauce, etc....

I like dried leeks, zukes, tomatoes, corn and lovage as soup additions. Also mushrooms but only if an expert is around. I like the texture that dehydrated vs frozen veggies have in soup.

On Grainlady's advice I bought powdered tomatoes and powdered cheddar cheese; I've been pleased with both. Any thoughts or experience with butter powder?
Butter

I even saw freeze dried yogurt but we do take two coolers...one packed with ice for perishable favorites. We have a great market, Masstown, NewBruswick?, on the way, where we do a rest stop and fantastic veg, and probably some good long term storage ones...not sure this time of year. Once settled, we do have a small market, but better ones are a bit of a drive. After working every day all over NYC for 10 months, we do not want to get in a truck. Last visit we put about 50miles, maybe less, on the truck in three weeks.

The peppercorns on the right are freeze dried. Obviously not well executed. Well past, and too ripe to do so. And have noticed so called freeze-dried on other suppliers that say the same. And look just like that. Looks air dried to me.

SpiceHouse! Another i'm familiar with and did not think of. (Clearly this is a last minute trip plan). ...Just bought a new truck today. That is enough money hemorrhaging for a day, wow.

I plan on starting micro greens soaking in a few clamshells on the way up. Prepped ahead and ready, : )

I have in my notes from years past, a good nursery where i bought herb starts an hour just before the ferry, but again, it might be early for the climate. ...this is like driving to Miami from NYC, if Florida is an island. So the added ferry time. A big ferry, that holds probably 50 tractor trailers, and many cars...but why everything is not so fresh and expensive, so many seasonal travelers bring along what they can fit in their vehicles. Hard to believe i'm driving north, just when the temps here are trying to feel like spring.

Grainlady, i've followed a home freeze-drier on another cooking forum, so i understand how great that would be to own one. Expensive, but she is like a kid experimenting.

Mustangs81-

Powdered butter is a very good idea since no refrigeration is required once the can is open, and it works in everything from cooking to baking just like butter. Once open, it has a 6-12-month shelf-life. I used powdered butter in some of my homemade mixes when I made my own "convenience" foods before going gluten-free. When I mix it with water for a bread spread, I like to add a little melted coconut oil (regular cooking oil or olive oil can also be added) for a smoother texture and better mouth-feel. I can also recommend Red Feather Canned Butter and PURE Indian Foods 100% Organic Ghee.

I would also recommend OvaEasy Whole Egg Crystals over regular powdered egg products because they are much tastier and well worth the higher price. A #10 can contains 6 individual bags and each bag has the equivalent of 12-eggs (total of 72-eggs in a #10 can). I can even make "hard cooked eggs" with OvaEasy eggs by cooking the rehydrated egg mixture in (As Seen On TV) Eggies - those plastic eggs that float in simmering water and hard-cook an egg out of the shell. When I make them with OvaEasy eggs, the hard-cooked eggs are completely yellow since the yolk and white are blended, but they work just like hard-cooked eggs for egg salad or sliced or grated on a green salad. Hard-cooked eggs was something I missed when using powdered eggs, and now I've solved that problem by cooking them in Eggies.

Thank you for responding with detail. I ordered it and I'm looking forward to incorporating into my cooking.

I did manage to successfully dehydrate two trays of spinach. Nice and bright green and full of flavor. It is a meatier variety, not the thin, tender baby spinach. Much like malabar. Small leaves but thick. Another batch in the oven that i seasoned a bit for snacking...my oven will do 150 temp.

Running errands today and i'll probably do up a batch of kale after-all if it looks good. And how about cucumber? I had a 1/2 dozen persians that turned to soup overnight, grr. Such a short shelf life even fridged. Just not ever have i purchased just to dehydrate. Unless i end up with a huge crate at a steal of a price. Last seasons goodies from the garden are long gone...

This guy is good. I've watched a few videos. Never thought to dehydrate different types of macaroons. I do like my kales without any seasonings, but he does an interesting fruit and nut 'paste'. (i would toast the sesame seeds first, : )

That was quick...the order just arrived. A new experience cooking with freeze-dried but looking at the loot, quite a bit for some road snacks raw. And possibly a nice addition to soups, stews, chowders. 40-50 servings. The tomato should go a very long way. I think we are set and not needing to burn fuel to shop and spend the time in a truck when on holiday.

The first thing we make is a couple whole roasted chickens and make stock. (really good chicken!) ...also a bone beef broth. We have a small freezer and a small crap fridge. Cook stove is wood fired and also our heat. Challenging but fun.

An added hint from an Italian restaurant chef is to take a can of whole tomatoes without the liquid, cut in half and roast in the oven...with garlic and any herbs to suit. Use on baking focacccia, pizza, quick pasta sauces. Richens the flavor and removes the tin taste. Save the tomato water left in the can for broth and stock.

Here are some hints/tips for using freeze-dried foods....

1. You can eat it as-is, but make sure you drink extra water.

2. Hydrate it with less water than you think. I like to cover the bowl with a plate to keep the steam in when rehydrating vegetables. Fragile food (fruit and cheese) place in a bag or bowl and spritz with water. Place in refrigerator and stir every few minutes. Rehydrate cheese (by spritzing with water) and let it sit in refrigerator overnight before eating/using (and yes, it will melt on your pizza ;-). Spritz/add only "enough" water - NO puddle of water in the bottom of bowl. Pour any extra water off before it's fully rehydrated.

3. You don't always need to hydrate first....
Rule: If it's covered with liquid at least 15-minutes how it's used in the recipe, don't hydrate first. Just add 2-4 T. extra water for every cup of freeze-dried food.

4. If you are using freeze-dried meat, DON'T overcook it. Hydrate in warm or cold water and then add to what you are cooking. If making chicken salad, don't add much water at all to rehydrate because you also add mayo.

5. Antioxidant phytochemicals found in the fruits' fresh state are retained at levels almost as high after freeze-dried.

6. A #10 can = 10-20 pounds of produce - depending on type.

7. At camp, when you heat water be sure to heat enough to fill a Thermos or two. You will have "instant" hot water for rehydrating freeze-dried foods. If you take several Thermos bottles, you can also "cook" in them.
http://www.thermoscooking.com/
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Tomato powder:

Storage: Place in small jars (user-friendly amounts) with airtight lids. Store in-use jars in the refrigerator, which is a dry environment due to the frost-free feature. Don't leave the container open any longer than what it takes to take out a measured amount. I also place moisture-absorbing packets in the top to help prevent clumping. Even a folded white paper towel placed on the top of the tomato powder will help absorb moisture. If the tomato powder begins to clump, you can grate it on a grater or microplane to make a powder again. Tomato powder has an indefinite shelf-life, when properly stored.

Quick Pizza Sauce
(for 12" pizza)
1 T. tomato powder
3-4 T. hot water (it will mix with cold water, as well, but you will get a better consistency with hot)
Italian or Pizza seasonings to taste
"shot" of vinegar
sweetener of choice, to taste (optional)
pinch of salt

Mix together. Allow to sit for a minute or two to absorb the liquid. Mix again and add more water if it's too thick.
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For 1/2 c. tomato sauce: Mix 1/8 c. (2 T.) + 1/2 c. water
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For tomato juice: Mix 3/4 c. powder + 8 cups of water = 64 oz. bottle of tomato juice. You can make it as thick/thin as you like. Add some Fruit Fresh and a dash of salt (also Tabasco and/or Worcestershire).
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THRIVE Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 c. THRIVE tomato powder
1-1/2 c. water
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. basil (dried)
1 t. Italian Seasoning
1/2 t. pepper
pinch of sugar
1/8 t. baking soda

Combine tomato powder and water in a medium sized bowl. Once mixed, add in dry ingredients with the baking soda last. Add the baking soda to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes. If you like the more "crisp" taste you can omit the baking soda. Don't worry about the sauce foaming or getting lighter when you add the baking soda, it will settle down.

The tomato powder has been the biggest surprise. Glad i have a big bag. I'm using it all the time. Soaking ahead of time especially the veg in a bit of warm water...

Micro greens have been fantastic as well. I have 9 small trays going in a sunny window. In succession so we now are getting a tray a day. I use the method of cutting, leaving the root stock, then adding more seed on top of that, then a light covering with more soil. I have squares of t-shirt at the bottom so i can pull them out with ease....rathe than buy the matt fabric.

The smaller seeds like the arugula and the spicy mix are fast. 4-6 days. The cilantro and beet are not worth it for short term. Great salad, and what a treat.

Why, oh why, did i forget one of my kombucha mothers?

I have been roasting chick peas and whole canned tomatoes that i've never done before. Using the saved tom can liquid for soups.

I am really wowed by.........your view!