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Dried Flowers From Your Food Dehydrator

By como on

This article is about preserving flowers, leaves, and other foliage from your garden, yard, or bouquet, in a food dehydrator, thus extending their beauty in flower arrangements that will last to, and through, the winter months, or even beyond. Here you will find simple steps on drying flowers with a food dehydrator to produce a potpourri of color and fragrance.

The starting point is the selection of flowers. I use flowers throughout the following explanations but it includes other foliage that can be dried as supplements to a wreath, or any other dried arrangements that the imagination creates. Flowers, selected for drying, can be anywhere along the bloom but not past the point of full bloom. Do not use bloom that is damaged, by blight, insects, wind, or withered. If the flower has been subjected to pesticide, or dirt, it can be sprayed with a pump type mist sprayer, similar to one of the window cleaner sprayers, then gently shaken to remove as much water as possible. Never use detergents, or cleaner sprays.

Most food dehydrators have trays that are inch apart, that provides plenty of clearance if drying flower petals, or leaf type foliage separately, but for drying a complete floral bloom remove one or two trays, on the drawer type dehydrators, to accommodate an entire flower. The trays should be clean. I have lined the trays with parchment paper, but many food dehydrators have non-stick sheets available that fit their drying shelves. You need room when drying flowers keeping them spread out so as not to touch each other causing discoloring or distortion. A thermostat on the food dehydrator should range between 100 deg F and 140 deg F. Flower petals will dry well around 100-120 deg F for 2 to 5 hours.

A discussion about drying flowers would not be complete without mentioning Roses. Of all flowers from the garden, or florist, to me, roses and dried rose petals, produce the best aromatic fragrance, and potpourri, as any other dried flower. Their perfume seems more permeating, and is longer lasting than most blooms.

In earlier times flowers were dried by burying them in sand, as well as hanging them in a bag made out of paper, or porous cloth. These methods were time consuming, in most cases up to several weeks. It becomes clear now, why food dehydrators have come into vogue for making dried flower arrangements. The drying process is very less involved, less mess, and the drying time reduced to between the two to three hour range. This reduced time in processing contributes to a better quality of dried flower.

In summary, drying flowers, or foliage, in a food dehydrator has advantages over a microwave. Food dehydrators provide a wider drying area so items do not come in contact with each other causing spoilage of the petals during the drying process. Food dehydrators are able to provide for higher volumes of produce, not only do they have larger drying capacity, but can accommodate larger and more bulky flowers.

Online Diet Plan A Caring Support System And The Yay Food Diet

By como on

If youre trying to figure out how to lose 60 pounds or more, and, youre in a constant struggle to lose weight, you need to know that youre not alone. In fact, there are countless men and women who have a large amount of weight to lose and are still trying valiently to go it all alone. The Yay Food Diet plan was invented specifically for you.

Sometimes, its easier to lose weight when youre surrounded by an understanding group of people who know exactly what youre going through. Rachel Rofe, the creator of the Yay Food Diet, was once very overweight herself. Shes intimately familiar with what it feels like to try numerous diets that promise the world, but then fail to get you where you wish to be.

In fact, losing weight for most people can be a lonely struggle, especially if your friends and family are eating whatever they want around you. Some people will even sabotage your weight loss efforts in an attempt to prevent you from changing. If you are carrying around feelings of guilt because of your past failures, then Rachel is the one who is ready to offer a helping hand.

Heres how Yay Food works:

Yay Food is a membership club where everybody is there to do one thing lose weight in a supportive environment. Rachel herself was featured in Womans World magazine because of her stunning 100 pound weight loss. The reality is, she got so tired of failure that she came up with her own system.

Luckily, Rachel decided to share this system with others and the Yay Food Diet was born. Now, thats not to say that its going to work for everyone. This isnt a strict plan that mandates you do this or that. Its more about learning to eat healthy and sticking with your new, healthier eating choices.

Youll need to know too that this plan is not about dropping x amount of pounds in 10 days. Sometimes the best way to lose weight isnt always the quickest way to lose weight. I mean, if youre expecting to lose a huge amount of weight within a short period of time, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. Yay Food does calorie shifting, but its very relaxed. No need to beat yourself up if those 5 pounds refuse to come off this week.

Rachel likes to eat, so losing a large amount of weight on her program isnt about eating rabbit food. Theres a huge amount of foods you can enjoy, while watching your calorie intake. Afterall, if you enjoy what youre eating, youre more likely to be successful in the long run.

I wont say that the Yay Food Diet is going to guarantee youll lose as much as Rachel did, but I will say that its for people who feel they need a little extra support in reaching their weight loss goals.

Dried Flowers From Your Food Dehydrator

By como on

This article is about preserving flowers, leaves, and other foliage from your garden, yard, or bouquet, in a food dehydrator, thus extending their beauty in flower arrangements that will last to, and through, the winter months, or even beyond. Here you will find simple steps on drying flowers with a food dehydrator to produce a potpourri of color and fragrance.

The starting point is the selection of flowers. I use flowers throughout the following explanations but it includes other foliage that can be dried as supplements to a wreath, or any other dried arrangements that the imagination creates. Flowers, selected for drying, can be anywhere along the bloom but not past the point of full bloom. Do not use bloom that is damaged, by blight, insects, wind, or withered. If the flower has been subjected to pesticide, or dirt, it can be sprayed with a pump type mist sprayer, similar to one of the window cleaner sprayers, then gently shaken to remove as much water as possible. Never use detergents, or cleaner sprays.

Most food dehydrators have trays that are inch apart, that provides plenty of clearance if drying flower petals, or leaf type foliage separately, but for drying a complete floral bloom remove one or two trays, on the drawer type dehydrators, to accommodate an entire flower. The trays should be clean. I have lined the trays with parchment paper, but many food dehydrators have non-stick sheets available that fit their drying shelves. You need room when drying flowers keeping them spread out so as not to touch each other causing discoloring or distortion. A thermostat on the food dehydrator should range between 100 deg F and 140 deg F. Flower petals will dry well around 100-120 deg F for 2 to 5 hours.

A discussion about drying flowers would not be complete without mentioning Roses. Of all flowers from the garden, or florist, to me, roses and dried rose petals, produce the best aromatic fragrance, and potpourri, as any other dried flower. Their perfume seems more permeating, and is longer lasting than most blooms.

In earlier times flowers were dried by burying them in sand, as well as hanging them in a bag made out of paper, or porous cloth. These methods were time consuming, in most cases up to several weeks. It becomes clear now, why food dehydrators have come into vogue for making dried flower arrangements. The drying process is very less involved, less mess, and the drying time reduced to between the two to three hour range. This reduced time in processing contributes to a better quality of dried flower.

In summary, drying flowers, or foliage, in a food dehydrator has advantages over a microwave. Food dehydrators provide a wider drying area so items do not come in contact with each other causing spoilage of the petals during the drying process. Food dehydrators are able to provide for higher volumes of produce, not only do they have larger drying capacity, but can accommodate larger and more bulky flowers.

The Stunning Effects Of Blessing Your Food

By como on

Grandma was right. Bless your food.

It’s a rare thing these days to hear someone blessing their food. Other than Thanksgivingand quaint Norman Rockwell paintingsour food goes unblessed. Happily consumed, largely unappreciated.

There is real magic in the blessing of food – or anything else. This is not airy-fairy New Age stuff. Nor is based on any religious tradition. In fact, science is proving that the thoughts we think about something dramatically alter its physical structure.

Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto has been doing amazing work recording the effects of energy on water. He photographed the crystal structure of water before and after being labeled with words relating to various aspects of life.

Water samples exposed to hateful words like “I hate you” or “you make me sick” took on random, unattractive appearances. Water that was exposed to words like “love”, “thank you”, or “peace” changed to beautiful, crystalline structures much like elaborate snowflakes.

You will find photos of Mr. Emoto’s water samples at http://www.hado.net/water_crystals2.html. See for yourself what water samples looked like after they were blessed with various thoughts.

What Mr. Emoto photographed is how water reacts to thought. Water makes up 70% of the planet – including our bodies and the food we eat. If thought can affect water so much, imagine what it can do in our lives.

Try an experimentwrite “thank you” on a slip of paper and tape it to the bottom of an opaque coffee mug. Tape a blank piece of paper to the bottom of a matching mug. Fill both mugs with identical amounts of tap water. Mix the mugs up so you so you don’t know which one is which.

Now do a taste test and see what you notice about the taste of the water. Most people taste a difference in the water sample that was labeled “thank you”. No wonder cultivating an attitude of gratitude can create such huge changes in a person’s life.

Each time you sit down to eattake a moment to bless your food. You don’t have to do it out loud if that would make you feel self-conscious. Just bless it in your own heart and soul.

Food has life and energy. It’s not just a thing. It’s still alive. If you look at food from the perspective of quantum physics, it’s quite dynamic. In fact, it’s mostly energy and empty space. Like everything, food exists in relationship to the thoughts and the world around it.

Pay attention to the food that is about to become you. Be aware of what you are putting into your mouth. Eat with the care and awareness of what you want to become. That food is literally going to be YOUR body.

The 5 Most Important Facts About South African Food Before You Travel

By como on

With the 2010 Football World Cup kicking off in South Africa, bringing the world’s most watched tournament to Africa for the 1st time ever. For all those lucky enough to be in South Africa watching some of the games or just to absorb the festive atmosphere, there are a few key facts you should know about specific South African food – so you can experience the country and it’s culture to the full.

While for those enjoying the world cup from their sofas in their home countries, wherever that may be, you may want to impress your friends or possibly South African colleagues with some food facts that most South Africans take for granted. So from the land of long white sandy beaches, wild animals, picturesque landscapes, breathtaking vistas and awe inspiring mountain ranges – here are some foods you definitely should not miss out on.

Biltong: Ask any South African abroad what he misses most and 9 times out of 10, biltong will feature in the top 3 most missed South African treats. Similar to ‘beef jerky’ in the USA, in that both are cured and dried meat, but the production processes are quite different. Biltong can be made from a variety of meats, including: wild game, ostrich or more commercially available beef.

Biltong is a long standing Afrikaner tradition evolved from the dried meat carried by the wagon-travelling Voortrekkers. The Voortrekkers were early settlers to the Cape Colony who ventured north into the interior of Southern Africa away from British rule during the Great Trek in the early 1800’s. With no refrigeration and being constantly on the move they dried and cured the meat preserving it from decay and insects.

There are many herb and spice combinations, with each town or city having their own famous biltong supplier. For the best biltong its best to ask the locals or alternatively you can just try them all and decide for yourself.

Rooibos Tea: Grown only in the Cederberg mountains in the semi-desert Western Cape of South Africa, Rooibos (pronounce ‘roy-bos’ – Afrikaans for ‘red bush’) – is a naturally green shrub but gets its deep red colour and rich flavour from fermentation similar to that of black tea.

Although in 1772 botanist Carl Thunberg was the first Westerner to mention this wild shrub, the indigenous Khoisan were well aware of Rooibos’ remarkable health benefits and had been brewing it for centuries. The Cape colony’s early Dutch settlers adopted Rooibos instead of expensive black tea from Europe. In 1904 Russian immigrant Benjamin Ginsberg, recognising its potential, became the first to trade it from the Bushmen and pioneered its cultivation. More recently, Rooibos has become famous for being the favourite drink of Precious Ramotswe of ‘The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’ novels.

Rooibos tea is full of natural powerful antioxidants and key minerals, and unlike green tea it has no caffeine and is very low in tannins, so all round a very healthy beverage – so much so that it is often bottle fed to babies, which explains why many South Africans are so addicted to it!

In South Africa it is common to drink Rooibos tea with milk, prepared similar to black tea in England, but to fully appreciate the tea it is best drunk black. The tea has a unique taste experience: an inviting vanilla aroma, woody flavours and a sweet, mild, fruity taste.

Rusks: With your cup of Rooibos why not try a rusk. Rusks are hard, dry biscuits (also known as ‘beskuit’ in Afrikaans) eaten dunked in cup of coffee, tea, or Rooibos. Historically, rusks evolved (along with biltong) during the country’s early pioneering days as a way to preserve bread in the dry climate.

Traditionally baked at home from a recipe handed down through the generations, the most famous commercially produced rusk brand is Ouma (grandmother in Afrikaans) Rusks. In addition to plain and buttermilk flavours, look out for homemade varieties made with amongst others aniseed, whole-wheat, condensed milk, muesli, and lemon poppy seed. Impress your South African friends; ask for an Ouma rusk with your cup of Rooibos!

Naartjies: Its winter in South Africa and Naartjies (or nartjie) are in season. A soft loose-skinned citrus fruit, Naartjies are similar to mandarins, satsumas or tangerines.

The name is Afrikaans and is originally from the Tamil word nartei meaning citrus. The word has been used in South Africa since 1790, but the first recorded English use is by Lawrence Green in the Tavern of the Seas 1947.

Naartjies are very popular at sporting events and can often find street vendors selling bags of the fruit outside football stadiums. So if you feeling like you missing out on your ‘5 a day’ fruit and vegetables and looking for a healthy snack in between your Castle beer (most popular South African beer) and biltong, get yourself a bag of Naartjies.

Babotie: Babotie is possibly the one truly South African dish that you can’t find anywhere else. Like rusks there are numerous varieties and every South African will swear to his mother making the best Babotie using a recipe handed down through the generations. Babotie is a spiced minced meat baked dish with an egg-based topping and includes dried fruit (raisins or sultanas). Served with rice it is normally garnished with walnuts, chutney (ask for ‘Mrs Balls Chutney’ – the most well known brand) and bananas. Although not noticeably spicy, the dish incorporates a variety of flavours that can add complexity, like for example dried fruit (usually apricots and raisins/sultanas), curry spices and milk.

South Africa has a very rich history and diverse cultural background, evidenced by the now 11 official languages and countless nationalities living in this naturally rich and beautiful country at the tip of Africa. Hopefully you have a few more nuggets of food info to not only impress your friends with but the truly appreciate and enjoy the country during this the first world cup hosted in Africa.