Often I will have four trays of the same thing in the freeze dryer, sometimes two trays of this and two trays of that but today, I have five different things on four trays! That’s kinda crazy but it is pretty.
Before loading it this afternoon, I took it all apart and cleaned it. It isn’t hard to do but I’m always afraid I’m going to mess something up.
I’ve only freeze dried scrambled eggs (raw, not cooked) but heard that reconstituted boiled eggs are great for egg salad, tuna salad and things like that. Making a fresh boiled egg isn’t difficult but right now, I have an abundance of fresh eggs. There are 16 dozen eggs in the fridge so I’ll probably freeze dry at least one more tray of boiled eggs. Each tray holds 18 eggs, though I probably have them piled a bit higher than is recommended.
Tray #2 is peppers. Vince came in and said “That’s so pretty! You’re very creative!” It’s a good thing I have a husband that is easily impressed. Slicing red, yellow and green peppers and piling them onto a tray is probably not terribly creative but I’m happy he thinks I’m creative. Peppers are expensive right now and any time I can get them on sale, I freeze dry them.
Tray #3 is cilantro. On the back 1/3 of that tray there are chopped jalapeno peppers. I will grind those in the blender once they’re dry and it will be jalapeno powder. I love having and using that but ran out so I had to buy peppers. Hopefully before this batch runs out, my peppers will be producing and I can make enough to at least get me through the year.
Vince doesn’t like cilantro. I’ll buy it and use a bit on my plate and before I know it, it’s gone bad. If I freeze dry it, I can simply shake out what I want on my plate and it never goes bad. I’ve planted some cilantro and it would be nice if it produces enough that I can put up a year’s supply.
My favorite tray, next to cilantro. It’s so easy to make small amounts of guacamole from freeze dried avocados, onions, cilantro, jalapenos, tomatoes and garlic. Add a bit of salt and lime juice and it’s the perfect guacamole. We bought four bags of avocados at Aldi and enough of them were ripe to fill one tray. By the time this load is finished, the rest of the avocados should be ready.
I store all the freeze dried food in jars that are vacuum sealed. Once I open the jar and start using the contents, I can either re-seal the lids or, if it’s something I use often, just keep the lids tightly closed and use as needed.
I asked Vince tonight if the freeze dryer quit working, would he replace it. He said “I don’t know . . would you?” I told him there are times when I think I wouldn’t and times when I think I wouldn’t want to live without one. I would definitely miss having freeze dried food in the pantry. There have been times in the almost five years I’ve had it that it sits for weeks without being used. Most of the time, there’s a load waiting when one load finishes. Let’s hope it doesn’t stop working any time soon.
What are your thoughts?