When you've eaten all the tomatoes and zucchini you can stomach and your neighbors run at the site of you because they don't want anymore either, what's a girl to do?
It is simply too hot here to can foods and I don't trust the process completely either! If it can't be lactofermented then I like to use the dehydrator and dry our vegetable harvests. Drying food has been around for centuries and it is a very convenient and healthy way to preserve food. Add your dried veggies to soups and casseroles for a nutritional boost, or just snack on them like veggie chips!
Why pay $$$ for those fancy sun dried tomatoes when you can make them yourself for next to nothing?
Slice your ripe tomatoes very thinly on a mandolin or food processor and add garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt & pepper, and a dash of olive oil. Mix gently with your hands until the slices are coated.
Place slices on your dehydrator and leave for about 12 hours. If you don't have a dehydrator you can place slices on a parchment linned baking sheet and put in a 150 degree oven overnight. Be prepared...your house is going to smell AMAZING!
To store you can put them in a jar covered with olive oil or simply seal in a ziplock baggie! They add such great flavor to salads, pasta dishes, and homemade pizza. 
Or even just straight out of the jar!For more gardening ideas check out:
An Oregon Cottage
Tuesday Garden Party
Great post! I love adding sun-dried tomatoes to salads, but I buy them from the store. They are quite expansive. Last year, I had a good tomato harvest and I was searching on the web for info on how to sun dry tomatoes, but somehow never got to do it. My tomato plants look very promising this year, so I hope to sun dry some of them.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! I am definitely going to do this when we get tomatoes:) Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteby way of Jami's garden party
I will be trying this if we get an abundance of tomatoes(fingers crossed), thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love tomatoes and this looks like a WONDERFUL idea! YUM!!!
ReplyDeleteFound you with Tuesday Garden Party
Oh yeah- I love dried tomatoes, though I usually just cut them in half, dry and cover with oil. I'll have to try some flavored ones...
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to share with us at the TGP!
I got a dehydrator for Christmas, just hoping the garden produces enough to use it! I like this idea!
ReplyDelete