Is that what you need to make jerky? Thats what I would do a lot of. hehehe
Yes, quote me!!! Even if its an impossed smart moment. We all need those who keep us balanced. LOL
March on the Homestead
My first dehydrator was an old electric one i got from that guy on tv like 15 years ago . Ronco something ? . I did lots of Jerky ! yumo
the excalibur has more trays and its square . My first one was a round tower.
Oh and the excalibur has a fan ?
I got my smart moment on record LOL i got proof. ! :)
Hey sewin...
You can use either a dehydrator or your oven to make jerky. I've not done it, but I've read about it and a friend of mine has told me she used to make jerky all the time in her oven.
I'll bet if you do some web research, you'll find some good instructions and marinades. Try Backwoods Home mag, they're handy with stuff like that. Heck, you'll probably find out how to make jerky on willow sticks over a bed of coals... the REAL old fashioned way. LOL
WOW! I will do some searching!! My family thinks jerky is a food group. hehehe I would love to stun them with homemade jerky. Other than me on a bad day. :0 as long as I dont have to walk on the hot coals I will be fine. LOL Thanks!!! I am on it. I would like to try your dried tomatoes too among other things.
Then if you want to go to the other extreme, check out Cabela's for deli slicers, marinades, commercial dehydrators, smokers, vacuum sealers... maximum tech jerky. Oh, and sausage making, too. =0)
Is your snow gone? I really did not know Newmexico got snow.
I know Taynors...the teachers say NO! Go figure. Something about the pyramid.
Hey Taynors, I resemble that remark! LOL
The garlic (I almost typed jerky) is doing well; it even did just fine in the 6" of snow we got, which is already gone. OF COURSE YOU SHOULD PLANT GARLIC! That's a major food group you silly. =0)
Oooh yes, where I am we get snow. There are even some good ski resorts in NM. Here's our March snow storm from 2005.
I hope you'll post your findings and pictures of how you do it, sewin. I think that'd be very interesting.
That whole food pyramid thing is from the FDA, which we all know is under the control of the evangelical militant fundamentalist health freaks. You know the ones... they don't live any longer, it just SEEMS like it.
LOL
Jay
WOW!!! WHo knew!! That is a bunch of snow. You must be near mountains! Good greif. My DS lived in white sands for about a year. She never mentioned snow.
I am all about rewriting the pyramid! And why a pyramid??? Why not a rhombus or an octagon. Lets break all the rules. Jerky AND garlic ar on top though. Sound good???
That's my partner running the shovel and her dog is waiting impatiently for her to get to the official pee spot. She's a very particular dog... LOL The dogs put off going outside for as long as possible...
We got 3' of snow in 36 hours. It was remarkable for March. The old timers say it used to snow like that in the winter up here. Now we usually get 2 or 3 one foot snows during the winter--along with several small snows-- with a nice sunny gap in between so it mostly melts off. But this year that foot turned into 6" and 2 snows with one small snow. So our March storm was very much needed and it's already all gone.
OK, so far we've got chevre, jerky, garlic in the pyramid...
Well, snow doesn't fall very often in White Sands, but up above White Sands is Blanca Peak, which gets quite a bit of snow, and there's a ski resort in Ruidoso... maybe she's keeping it secret?
That is indeed a lot of snow. I thought the dog looked eger to go!!!
Where should cheese curds go???
Is it like "What happens in Whitesands stays in Whitesands"? LOL
Well, I prefer them in my mouth... let's see, a little of the garlic would be nice mixed in. Hmmm... bread. Bread of the non-supermarket variety should be part of the decagon...
Decagon!! Genius!!! I agree. Bread of the non super market variety- in!
Tomatoes...
Of the dried variety or salsa?
Im weaning my family off the Wonder Bread slowly. I grew up with homemade bread and i just can't stomache the grocery store stuff yuckooooo . I know i married a man who eats the stuff so i can't complain to much. LOL
Jerky
chevere
cheese curds
garlic
red wine (homemade)
homemade bread
olives ?
then what else ?
Any and all tomatoes... including salsa, ketchup, pizza sauce and juice.
chevre and cheese curds might be considered the same... chevre being a sort of cheese curd. I think the bread doesn't necessarily have to be homemade, just not sponge bread. We have some wonderful artisan bread makers these days and sometimes it's nice to have some of that. =0)
Red wine... can we expand that to include all home-brewed spirits... beer, liqueurs, wines... there's a local winery that makes an absolutely divine peach wine and an apple wine to die for, all from local fruit.
Chocolate...
I am thinking we need a catagorie for salsa and olives (black or green)?
Consider it expanded and YES CHOCOLATE
Condiments?
Well, we have salsa, ketchup, what about mustard, and relish. I make a mean sweet pickle relish! Oh ya and corn relish.
Where would jams and jellies go?
hmmm...good question. Would they be condiments?
Let me know how that goes... I've been curious about them. =0)
The steamer you are talking about is a Mehu Liisa. JustMeLisa (a long-time member here) uses one and loves it. I'm sure there are others...
http://www.kitchenfantasy.com/shopping_cart/juicesteamer.html
Darius,
What is the difference between apple juice and apple cider. Not hard cider. Is there any difference?
I suppose the biggest difference is pasteurization. Real cider is just fresh apple juice (and sometimes cherry juice) not pasteurized, and in fact can ferment to make "hard cider" which is alcoholic. However, the difference at home is non-existent EXCEPT when you can the juice, thus pasteurizing.
I would think a steam juicer would naturally pasteurize the juice. Cider is usually pressed from raw apples.
My step-mother's father used to throw old apples in a barrel (wood) and add water about the time it gets cold. The apples would ferment and freeze, then he'd scoop the hard cider out that floated to the top.
I guess that is why cider always seems so light and crisp compared to apple juice. Is there a difference in getting the taste via pressing as opposed to "juicing" as in a grinding juicer? Would it change the juice from the clear, crisp cider consistency to the off the shelf heavy juice?
I've never made cider, but I read they typically they use early apples which have a crisper and more tart taste. I imagine pressing gives a more clear liquid that any kind of grinding, but I don't know for certain.
I would think Jonagold would make tasty cider. Granny Smith used to be my favorite until DH bought a bag of Jonagolds last year. They are delicious. Crisp and tart with a touch of sweetness.
BIG THANK YOU darius ! and a big ((())))
I didn't add the extra i in Liisa i guess that is why nothing on google showed up for me ?
We have an apple orchard a mile down the road from us. he does honey , cider and lots of apples ! of all kinds i think he has over 10 varietys .
he has an old press for his cider. It goes fast in the fall. He has a wonderful early apple i just love ! can't recall the name at the moment
but it will come to me.
just a FYI on cider . Easy does it . Can give a gastro intestinal difficulties If you catch my drift :)
Cajun i think the reason for the heavy juice is due to sugar content. I know the juice i get from the orchard here and the ones at the health food store are much nicer . Like you say a much crisper flavor and textrue
later
sue
Some folks say that the word cider traditionally means hard cider... I guess things are changing so that now there's soft cider (unpastueurized juice) and hard cider. And then there's that stuff in the store... sort of like the sponge bread of the cider world. LOL
I've read the best ciders are blended from several varieties of apples. There's a wonderful festival in Massachussets that I'd just love to go to. They have cider tastings, orchard tours, workshops... two days of cider indulgence. I think it sounds like such grand fun...
http://www.ciderday.org/about.html
I can't believe it's already the end of the month, there's still so much to get done before planting on Tax Day. Not to mention taxes... =0( Yesterday was absolutely awful outside, all day the wind just rubbed and bumped against the house, bitter cold from the north. Brrrrrr. I finished repotting everything and I have officially run out of room on my rack... I'll have to go into town today and buy more lights to hang from the bottom and put flats on the floor. Once again I planted waaaay too much and I haven't the heart to pick out only the few I need and let the other ones die. So it looks like a trip to the flea market for my next month.
The lettuce and other greens in the cold frame are looking good. We should be able to start thinning for salads soon. The garlic is coming along slowly, the daffodils got taken out by the snow and cold... again. =0( The pansies are flowering... who knew a pansy is tougher than a daffodil?
Have a good one today...
Jay