Hot Summer Days Are Perfect Weather For ...

making fruit leather.

raspberry, spicy peach, peach fruit leather

If you have an abundance of fruit and need a way to preserve it without heating up the kitchen, you could make a tasty treat for your storage pantry.

All you need is flavorful perfectly ripe fruit.

If the fruit has thick skin, peel it first.  Then chop and place in a pan.  Using a stick blender, puree.  Taste to see if it needs any sweetener.  You can use a little honey or cane sugar.  Barely heat to preserve the enzymes (keep it under 100F).

I added a little cinnamon and cloves to one batch of peach.

If using berries with lots of seeds, pass the puree through a sieve using the back of a spoon.

fruit puree ready, spread thin and it's ready for the shed

Have your cookie sheets lined with lightly oiled parchment paper.  Pour the puree and tilt the pan to help spread the mixture.

Put the pans in a nice warm garden shed (without funky garden chemicals) and leave for a day or two until dry to the touch and a bit leathery feeling.  You could also dry it in the oven on the lowest setting for a few hours.

If you use apples, I think they will need a little more cooking time to turn into a puree.

When leather is very dry, you can roll it up in the parchment paper, or remove and cut with a pizza wheel into strips.  Store loosely in a jar or parchment rolled inside a zip lock bag.

Preserving Herbs

I know it's summer and you have lots of fun things planned, but if you have herbs growing in your garden, don't forget to pick some of them at their peak, bundle .. and then hang to dry.  You will be so glad come winter when you can have your own supply to use for soups and stews.  Today I picked lots of dill .. leaving the smaller growth and any seed heads intact to continue growing.  Dill will reseed itself each year.  Some of the seed heads will be picked later and used when making dill pickles.  I'm off to gather some thyme.  

Making Potpourri

Now that summer has arrived there should be some flowers blooming in your garden.  A good way to extend their beauty through the dark days of winter and early spring is to dry them.  There are many methods.  You can pick blooms that are not quite fully opened and tie string around the stems .. then hang upside down from the rafters in a warm (dry) garden shed or garage.  Or you can snip the flowers from their stems and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and put into a 100 to 180F oven for a few hours.  Be sure to prop the door open slightly to allow moisture to escape and air to circulate.

 I use the drying setting of my convection oven set at 120F with the door propped slightly. Once dry from the oven heat, leave the flowers on the tray overnight on the counter to make sure the blossoms are completely dry.   Store the dried flowers in a paper bag or box.  When you want to make potpourri, simple take a few cups of flowers and sprinkle on a little essential oil, mixing well with your hands.  Once the oils have been added, store the potpourri in a plastic zip lock bag or container with a lid.  Small amounts of potpourri can be placed in little dishes, teacups, saucers and left out in different rooms of your home for a fresh floral scent ... even in the winter. 

How to dry flowers in the oven.
How to dry flowers by hanging

An Unintended 'Sweet' Treat

under developed walla-walla onions

Our walla-walla onions were planted directly in the soil from seeds this year and never developed bulbs.  Not wanting to just waste the large green onions that grew, I sliced and diced the tops and dried them in my dehydrator (oven).  They came out crispy, bright green, and have the characteristic sweetness familiar to their famed  name-sake bulb onions.  This treat will make a good topper on baked potatoes this winter; I'm thankful the frost didn't take them :)