Re: [Paddlewise] dehydrator recipes.

Mike-

I recommend the book "Trail Food" by Alan Kesselheim.  It includes 
preparation instructions and drying times for most every food you would want
to dehydrate.  It also has a lot of good (tasty and nutritious) recipes and
menus for trips of various lengths.

It is really the only dehydrating book I like for actual camping food:  most
of the others offer good drying instructions, but their recipes are
surprisingly complicated, often require kitchen ingredients or tools, and
aren't suitable for camping without major changes/substitutions.

Otherwise, my favorite dehydrated food recipes are pretty much what I make
at home.  Soups and pasta sauces work really well when put through a blender
or processor to even out the consistency.  I keep meat out of any
soups/sauces, because it needs different drying temps and times than fruits,
veggies, or grains.  If you want to add meat dry it separately and add it
when cooking.

Dehydrated fruits seem to have much more flavor than the dried stuff you can
buy.  Dehydrated ripe nectarines were the best camp snacks I've ever had.

As for the dehydrator itself, make sure you get the round kind, not the kind
with rectangular trays that don't dry things as evenly...

Whether it is dehydrated or not, I always test it out at home before taking
it on a trip.  I have definitely blown it in the past by bringing things
that were so unappealing I couldn't eat them when they were the last thing
left in the pack (chocolate maltomeal, eeeuuuwwww).

>     I have been hinting rather strongly to my family that I want a food
> dehydrator for Christmas.  If I don't get one from them I will be buying
> on myself shortly after that.  Does anyone have any favorite recipe's
> for a dehydrator that they would like to share?  Any special tips on
> dehydrating and re-hydrating?  I am planning several multi-day kayak
> trips in the upcoming year and would like to experiment with the food I
> intend to bring before I am forced into eating it because it is the only
> thing I packed.
>     On a side note, how many others are there out there who bring their
> camp stove and cook set out onto the back porch just so you can field
> test a new dish?  And how does the family react?  My daughter thinks
> that it is normal, I think the rest of the family just humors the
> slightly warped among them.
>     Thanks for the help, and the humor!
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