Dehydrator Diaries: Kale Chips with Garlic

Red counters make everything look good.....It's been a while since I've brought out my dehydrator. I sort of feel bad for it - it's large and clunky and sitting in a bag and get so little love! I will change though and start making more kale chips or whatever chips. I made these for a little family gathering and they were gone in minutes. These are addicting and even more so because you know they are super healthy! Krack Kale Chips? Kidding. This was actually my second attempt at kale chips, the first time I lost track of time and over dehydrated them (I'm so neglectful to this dehydrator!) There is just one secret to this recipe, other than not over-dehydrating it, you have to massage the kale. A little something I learned from my buddy Sean, massaging kale makes it more accessible and tenderizes the kale. So set the mood, dim the lights and put on a slinky dress and massage your kale with your best olive oil like your about to ask it for a favor ;)

Kale Chips


Ingredients:
2 bunches of kale
Olive oil
Himalayan pink salt
Garlic powder

Directions:
1. Wash the kale, dry it, drizzle it with olive oil and massage it for 10 minutes
2. Sprinkle it with salt and garlic powder and toss in the bowl to evenly coat
3. Place in the dehydrator at 135 for 1-2 hours. Check for your desired crispiness.

Banana Date Muffins

I love dates - especially Medjool dates. Like all fruits that naturally have a pit, dates taste much better if you purchase them with the pit still intact. Can you imagine buying a pitted avocado or a pitted peach? It wouldn't taste very good. Buy your dates with the pit and always sample before purchasing. Dates can look sweet and juicy on the outside and be raw and dry and on the inside. At the Sunday Farmer's Market in front of the civic center on Market and 7th, there is a woman who sells a variety of dates. I usually sample one of each variety and I always buy the Medjool ones. I guess I just feel I have to sample the others in case I am surprised to discover that they suddenly taste superior. Keep your dates refrigerated for up to two weeks. Otherwise freeze them. Dates are nature's energy snack. Add them to bananas and yogurt in a smoothie. Add them to bitter green salads with goat cheese. Add them to a bowl of oatmeal, a banana and peanut butter sandwich. Dates - the food and the activity - are versatile, so have fun with them. I bought a huge bag recently and when we had some super ripe bananas, I decided it was time to bake dates in the muffins. Because dates have so much natural sweetness, you can omit all other sugar.


Banana Date Muffins :)


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup flax meal
3/4 cup oat bran
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 heaping tablespoons peanut butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps cinnamon
3 ripe bananas
2 cups Medjool dates, chopped
1  cup dried cranberries
1 cup soy milk
2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, butter two loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, flax meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl mash the bananas, add in the mango chunks, dried cranberries, soy milk, eggs and almond extract. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until incorporated.
4. Spread the batter evenly into the loaf pans.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Dehydrator Diaries ~ Apple Rings!

I recently bought a Nesco home dehydrator. It arrived, I was excited, and then it sat in its box next to our washing machine for a little over a month. I was beginning to think it was an impulse buy that would never be used. Then one day my roommate, Nichole, came home with a box full of green apples from a farm. There were so many that it seemed like little apple elves were coming in the night and replenishing the box. Nichole made a whole feast for her friends centered around the apple, she froze them, made some into apple butter and then we pulled out the dehydrator. This is the first of many Dehydrator Diaries:

We've been experimenting with different thickness of apples slices for dehydration and Nichole prefers thinly sliced apples that dehydrate into chips and I prefer thicker slices that dehydrate into rings.

Apples Rings & Chips


Ingredients:
For rings: Slice apples into 1/4" - 1/2" thick pieces
For chips: Slice apples into paper thin pieces

Directions:
1. Place apple slices evenly on dehydrator trays.

2. Turn temperature to 145 degrees Farenheit
3. Dry apple rings for 6-9 hours

Enjoy!