Dried Butternut Squash

I hope I am not boring you with my dehydrating news.  I dried butternut squash puree about 2 weeks ago.
I began with 2 butternut squash, cooked them in the oven, removed the pulp, and pureed in the food processor.

Then I spread the puree on the sheets that came with the dehydrator..... about 10 hours later, I had these large rubbery-looking sheets.


Next I chopped the sheets in the processor.  I packed in an air-tight ziploc and shipped to Abigail (along with a lot of other goodies); she can make butternut squash soup or have butternut squash puree with pasta or whatever she wants.  All the chopping and cooking has already been done; just add hot water!!  Thanks, Tommy, for all the butternut squash!

Squirrels, squirrels, squirrels

Poor  Gracie.  She loves this time of year.  Just open the door, and she runs like the wind to try and catch a squirrel.  She chased the squirrel up this tree and is so hopeful that it will run back down.  She did catch a baby squirrel in our basement one year.  Gracie is definitely part retriever!

Grilled Apple Salad

I got this recipe from Southern Living Sept. 2009.  Cleg and I ate it a lot last fall and winter.  Hope you like it as much as we do.  Sometimes we grill the apples a day or half-day in advance and reheat in toaster oven.

• 1 cup pecan halves, toasted
• 4 Gala apples (we like Granny Smith)(needs to be a crisp apple)
• 1 (6 oz.) pkg baby spinach, washed
• 1 (5 oz.) pkg spring greens mix, washed
• 3 oz. extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese, shaved (or your favorite cheese)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette

Coat cold cooking grate of grill with cooking spray.  Preheat grill to 350 - 400 degrees.  Cut apples crosswise into 1/4 inch thick rings, cutting from one side through the other.  Grill apple rings, covered with grill lid, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender.  Arrange spinach and spring greens mix on serving platter;  top with apples, cheese, and toasted pecans.  Season with salt & pepper.  Serve with Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette.  Serves 8

Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette

• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 green onions, minced
• 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Whisk together all ingredients until blended.

New Window

This week we had a glass company come to replace the glass in the large picture window in our dining room.  The seal had broken.  I was in the basement with the dogs when Cleg called me upstairs to see the beautiful new glass.  This is what I saw.

I was shocked to see the view was so clear.  As I got closer, I saw the glass was not even there.  Unfortunately, the glass guy had measured wrong, and the glass was too big.  They took the glass back to the shop, and came back in several hours.  Good thing it was not winter or summer.  Whew!!

Beautiful Day on the lake

Several days ago we went for a boat ride in the late afternoon.  We had not been on the lake in several weeks.  The day was crystal clear, and as you can see by the pictures, it was a little windy.  The trees have not really changed much.   But the sky was gorgeous!

Cleg tried to take pictures of George and Gracie, but they were not cooperating.  Gracie always turns away when the camera appears.  Do you like Gracie's life jacket?  She loves the water!!

As we drove into our cove, we noticed the full moon was already visible.  This is my attempt to get a good picture of the late afternoon sky.  Hope you can see the moon!!

Food Dehydrating 101

About 4 weeks ago, I purchased the Excalibur 5-Tray Dehydrator.  This is an experiment in preparation for next year's garden harvests.  I researched dehydrators for weeks before purchasing this one directly from Excalibur;  they were running several promotions.  The first thing I dried was apples;  they took about 8 hours.  They are pretty easy to do, and are a great snack item.

5 trays:  Before dehydrating

The next attempt was tomatoes.  I sliced them paper thin, peppered them, and then dried them.  These are the before and after pics of the tomatoes.  We have tried them on salads and I added them to a stew I made the other day.  They are really tasty eaten all by themselves!  I can also use them to make tomato sauce this winter.  The best part is you put them in the dehydrator, turn on the timer to the hours needed, and it will turn off by itself!!  I have so many fruits/veggies I want to try.  Just think, fresh vegetables year-round!

1 1/3 pint jars: After dehydrating

Favorite Dressing

I think I make this dressing once a week.... I got this recipe from a great cookbook Abigail gave me... "EARTH TO TABLE by Jeff Crump & Bettina Schorman".  The recipes are writtten by season; the book is all about organic farming... very interesting!

Dijon Vinaigrette
1 shallot, minced
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. sherry vinegar
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & freshly cracked black pepper

In a bowl, combine shallot, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar;  let stand for 15 minutes.  Whisk in sugar and mustard.  Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until well blended.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  (Make ahead:  Cover & refrigerate for up to a week.)

Makes 1 cup