We make stuff to have leftovers, for lunches during the week (we got three days of lunches after eating the bean stew I posted earlier for dinner). That's part economy and part that there are recipes it's really difficult to cut down.
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Cookin again
- Thread starter Dannyalcatraz
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We make stuff to have leftovers, for lunches during the week (we got three days of lunches after eating the bean stew I posted earlier for dinner). That's part economy and part that there are recipes it's really difficult to cut down.
I don’t downsize recipes- I use my freezer. Or share.
That 20lb ham we had recently was either eaten or in the freezers of our and 4 other households
That 20lb ham we had recently was either eaten or in the freezers of our and 4 other households
We haven't (yet) acquired a chest freezer, but we don't hesitate to make a recipe that (say) gives us more than a week's worth of lunches and stuff to throw in our freezer for some other dish. We will probably start cooking for company at some point, which will help some.
Sacrosanct
Legend
That's why I love my freeze dryer. Our food waste went to almost zero. About the only thing you can't freeze dry is oily food and bread. Well, you can freeze dry bread, but you can't really rehydrate it lol
No joke- we used to have a bread maker. Mom bought one for her sister, and one for us. Her sister used hers to destruction. I never unboxed ours. Eventually, we gave ours to her sister.
I love the smell of freshly baked goods. Hell- I love the smell of a good bread even if it’s days old.
I love the results, too. There’s maybe 10-15 breads we buy on a regular basis- some I will cross city and county lines to buy. There are also some restaurants we’ll buy bread from to take home when we’re dining there.
And yet, I can’t say why, but actually baking just doesn’t do it for me.
Most of my experience with food dehydration equipment was in a recording studio, baking old reel-to-reel tapes. That's ... different. ;-)
We don’t have a chest freezer (my maternal aunt does), but we have 2 full sized refrigerator/freezers. So we DO have some space to work with.
In 2019, we couldn’t host any big holiday meals as we’d normally do. So when I did some modest cooking for Thanksgiving, I made extra batches of certain dishes.
So when my paternal aunt stepped up to host Christmas celebrations, I was able to bring 3 dishes in large enough amounts to supply the party.
Sacrosanct
Legend
Not a food dehydrator, a freeze dryer. Totally different process
I know. Well, I at least know what the words are. I'm less clear on the processes (as relates to food; I have a pretty good idea what was happening with the recording tape).
Sacrosanct
Legend
In case anyone is curious, the main difference in freeze drying is that it freezes the food, creates a vacuum, then slowly heats the food. The moisture bakes out and the vacuum pulls it from the food. A process called sublimation. The food becomes lightweight like styrofoam and has no moisture left at all. Stored properly, it can last 25 years or longer. And because it retains it's structure unlike dehydrating which makes it all wrinkled, when you rehydrate, it comes back like fresh.
You can do some neat things as well. Like freeze drying Skittles. When you eat them, they are kinda like pop rocks.
You can do some neat things as well. Like freeze drying Skittles. When you eat them, they are kinda like pop rocks.
