Making Sun-Dried Tomatoes in a Solar Food Dehydrator - Hands On and How To. I love all forms of food preservation.
I also love reducing my environmental footprint whenever possible. I’ve often thought about the energy involved in canning, freezing and using my electric food dehydrator to save my summer garden harvest for wintertime eats. For me, a solar food dehydrator is the best of both worlds: I can dry food using the free, renewable energy of the sun (unlike the energy needed to boil water for my canner or run my electric food dryer), and my resulting dried food can be stored without any added energy (unlike the frozen foods in my freezer). A solar food dehydrator would allow me to literally save a bit of summer’s sunshine for the short, dark days of winter.
A Solar Food Dryer from Cardboard Boxes. WellPreserved.ca. This article is part of a six-part series based on our experiences at and after) Terroir VI.
Terroir is a gathering of the Hospitality Industry (mostly from Toronto but there is National representation in the audience) which is a full-day symposium held every April and brings some of the best speakers from around the city, country and the planet to discuss food and it’s future as it relates to that industry. For all of the articles in the series, click out link to Terroir 2012. This was the third time we had the privilege of attending Terroir and I arrived waiting for “the moment.” I knew it would happen, I just didn’t know when. In 2010, the moment occurred when Chef David Kinch introduced me to Umami and declared that his team assessed every dish for the presence of Umami and, if it was missing, they found a way to introduce it to the recipe. The Painted Hive: MAGIC Decal Transfer Tutorial with Free Printables! Some of you may remember, a little while back I posted a tutorial for DIY waterslide decals.
Among other things, I mentioned how awesome they are for creating custom embellishments without the need for any fancy-pants equipment. Yep, waterslide decal paper is a truly fab product, though as great as it is, there is one drawback – although it’s somewhat tough it’s not especially durable. So, whilst it’s perfect for ornamental purposes, it’s not ideal for more practical applications…until now that is! Magic decal coating paper is a product designed to be used in conjunction with standard decal paper to make the finished transfers super durable – yes, even dishwasher resistant!
If you’re already familiar with magic decal coating paper then please excuse my tardy excitement, though for everyone else who is just getting to the party now too, feel free to start throwing the streamers! 1 Image to transfer. Use anything you like. 2 Printer. Kitchen Window: Doesn't Take Much To Do It Yourself In The Kitchen. Nicole Spiridakis for NPR I never thought my 6 1/2-by-9-foot kitchen could double as a cheese making factory, but there I was mixing a vat of whole milk with cream and lemon juice to make ricotta cheese.
Cowgirl Creamery it wasn't, but as the curds wrested themselves from the whey, I was astonished anew at how I really don't need a big kitchen to create something from scratch. Nor do I need to supply my salt tooth with bags of organic corn chips from my neighborhood market — all that's required is some cornmeal, salt, an oven and a bit of time. The possibilities for do-it-yourself culinary projects are endless, I soon discovered, though I also discovered I had a tendency to go overboard. Case in point: I was at the farmers market last summer stocking up on cucumbers to make my own pickles (green beans, too).
Though I quickly — and wisely — nixed the budding beekeeper idea, there was no stopping me in my other endeavors. Plastic-Free Food Storage Alternatives. Many people who commented on our Beyond BPA post last week feel that completely eliminating plastic from our lives is a frustrating, unattainable and maybe even unnecessary goal.
That may be true, but it doesn't hurt to at least reduce the amount of plastic and disposables that we come in contact with everyday. There are a number of beautiful, stylish alternatives to commonly used plastic items that are worth checking out. See our list below the jump. Plastic water bottle alternative: Try bottles from Klean Kanteen, which are made from lightweight, food-grade stainless steel. If the plastic caps still bother you, try their Reflect line, pictured here, which is made of stainless steel, bamboo and silicone and is completely plastic (and paint) free. Plastic food storage alternative:Weck jars are made of glass, metal and rubber.
Safe Food Storage - Healthy Pantry Tips. Hungry tigress » fall/winter 2011-12: As anything worthwhile is, DIY locavorian eating is a process. discovering new tastes, or new ways to preserve a fruit or vegetable that grows well in my new england garden is certainly the exciting part. but what has been important to hone around my digz is what we actually eat – and eat regularly. particularly in the years (this one!)
When i don’t have as much time as i would like in the garden or the kitchen – and yes that is beginning to be a theme in my life – at least for now. from the fall equinox in september to the much awaited one in spring, occurring just two short weeks ago, my preserving time in the kitchen was mostly spent focused on the basics. throughout the winter months, canned tomatoes, fermented cabbage, chiles and indian citrus pickles define my kitchen. they are my staples – the collection from which i draw – to put an endless amount of nourishing, bold-flavored meals on our table. tigress’ fall/winter 2011-12 collection (the practical collection)
Charcuterie. Canning.