Just a friendly word of warning for all those Mums and Dads who give their little ones dried fruit for snacks....

After spending a day in the kitchen peeling, de-seeding and coring apples and pairs, and loading up the dehydrator...we feasted on our produce...yum...no preservatives or additives, fresh organic dried fruit....and then....we all had a big glass of water!!!

Uh...oh...yes, that's right...I think I consumed about 20 apples,they were so yum, and then they swelled in my belly..

Please limit how much dried fruit you give your little ones at a sitting..

*apples and pears*...not pairs..

Try making turnovers out of the fruit, my mom used to make huge plates of them when I was a kid. But, don't cook them in lard, as she did....I told her many times that all that animal fat would kill her, and it did!!!! And all the second-hand smoke that she breathed over the years...poor thing passed away at the young age of 88!!!!LOL

nice tip jess, i didn't think about that.

That is also one of my son's biggest treats... dried fruit. Although nothing compares to his love of cherry tomatoes.

Thanks bluesman...good suggestion...

However, the reason for drying all the fruit is so we can eat apples and pears and mangoes and paw paw, and all the other seasonal fruit, when they are out of season...and it's a space saver way of storing them...you can fit a whole tree of apples in a canning jar!!!

I wonder how that would work on wit? Dry humour and canned laughter? Enough for a year in a single serving!

*scratches head*

If you added water to the humour and laughter, would it swell??

And would it need a warning label?

*Open with caution...explosive good times within*

i thought this was about my sex life.i hope it expands once i get my feet wet in the dating arena........

Here is a great recipe for dried fruit from Alton Brown, he also has a similar recipe for beef jerky.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_37444,00.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31151,00.html

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1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 quart water
Apples
Mangos
Pears
Apricots
Bananas
Strawberries
Special equipment: 1 box fan, 4 paper air-conditioning filters, 2 bungee cords, 6 (14 by 14-inch) plastic dehydrator sheets


In a large mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice and water. Set aside until ready to use.
Peel, core and dice the fruit into 1/2-inch cubes, with the exception of the strawberries. Slice the strawberries 1/8 of an inch thick. Place the fruit into the lemon water and allow to soak for up to 2 minutes. Remove and drain thoroughly.

Lay 1 (14 by 14-inch) plastic dehydrator sheet on 1 of the air-conditioning filters. Place the fruit on the plastic dehydrator sheet and cover with another plastic sheet. Repeat this process with remaining plastic sheets and two more filters, stacking on top of the first one. Top these with the remaining empty filter. Next, lay the box fan on its side and lay the filters on top of it. Strap the filters to the fan with two bungee cords. Stand the fan upright, plug in and set to high. Dry for 42 to 48 hours. When dry, the fruit should be pliable but not sticky. You should not be able to squeeze moisture from the fruit. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow the manufacturer's directions.

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You can use Window screens instead of the AC filters and wash them between uses. You would need to buy new AC filters for each batch, because they would absorb fluid from the fruit / beef.

Ohhh …. Nearly the same thing happened to a group of us when we made a raw dinner – all raw foods, no cooking. The desert was almonds in dates then dipped & rolled in a wonderful mixture of raw cocoa power, agave nectar & coconut oil. You can just keep popping those things in your mouth all evening long. Soon though, there is the dawning that dates naturally create nature calls. Good thing there were no sweet toothed kids around to devour hand fulls.


On a similar note, I remember having a girlfriend who loved feeding dried bread to the local ponds ducks. It was a nice way to spend time together but she got a little disturbed when I told her, she feed them way too much one time. I told her that the ducks had packed their stomachs full & now they were going to drink water and when that dry bread expands they will blow up. Well, why else are there so many feathers around the pond?

We have a similar challenge in summer time...the trees are loaded with mangoes on the streets...and we are like the rainbow lorikeets...we feast on them!

However, hmmmm, there's something in that ' All things in moderation.'

Jess..... ...rainbow lorikeet...
I see those birds on my webshots screensavers...

thanks for all the little tidbits of info & insight,

the light hearted jokes and entries from others, too...



Oh, Camplight....
that treat you described sounds sooo good .....