Picked up one of those dehydrators at WalMart last week. We had six bananas saying "use us or lose us," so I cut 'em up & let the machine work its magic. The kids think the banana chips are great; I think they're a bit strong but would make a good addition to my trail mix recipe. My mother-in-law offered me some apples for the next sacrifice; I hope to get 'em going tonight.

Anyone have some good marinade recipes for jerky? My son is itching to go squirrel hunting (after the first frost, we tell him) & I figure as lean as squirrel meat is, it'll jerk well.

As we ate supper Saturday, out of curiousity, I asked the kids what they would do if an ice storm knocked out power for a week & they didn't have TV, Nintendo, or computers. The answers came rapid-fire:

"Read."

"Coloring books."

"Play checkers."

"Go outside & play. After the ice melts."

"Do puzzles."

"Go hunting!"

Not bad, for 9 & 10! At least now I know they won't be driving me crazy in a "situation."

Did a little wiring over the weekend -- I have a line going from the laundry room to the little shed out back so we can plug in a lamp to keep water pipes from freezing. Two lines come the other way, where we can plug in the generator & run a few essentials.

Looking forward to the jerky marinades....

-- Larry Kollar (lekollar@nyx.net), October 12, 1998

Answers

If you're drying the food to last into 2000, you had better research on preparation of certain foods prior to dehydration or you may be rather dissappointed.

Try "Stocking Up III" by Carol Hupping. Can be ordered thru Amazon.com

-- Goldi (goldilucks@yahoo.com), October 13, 1998.

Dried beans can be cooked and dehydrated on a drier. They can be made up in crockpots ahead of time, then after they are dehydrated all they need is boiling water poured on top of them. I have done this often for camping when fuel is at a premium and it works like a charm. It does take extra time, but there is 14 months left... You could also do this with the rice, though i don't usually, because its always been too much trouble for me. This does save an awful lot of fuel though.

-- Damian Solorzano (oggy1@webtv.net), October 14, 1998.

Interesting about the beans, wouldn't the rice fall thru the holes?

Here's my jerky marinade (I put lots of pepper on) 2 lbs beef 1/4 c. soy sauce 1 T. lemon juice 1/2 c brn sugar 1/2 t. liquid smoke 1/4 t pepper 1/4 t cayenne 1 T Worcestershire 1 1/2 t each of garlic, onion powders and hickory smoke salt Sometimes I add BBQ sauce as well.

Originally this recipe also called for 1/4 t cloves, 1/4 c orange juice and 1/4 t dry mustard so you can add that if you want.

I want to try this with the addition of the hot chili paste that you can buy in oriental stores. If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out. I like things hot.

-- Kay P. (Y2Kay@usa.net), October 14, 1998.