The latest Informaiton on Natural Healing

goji berries propertiesDehydrate Vegetables for Long Life

Drying or dehydrating vegetables is one of the oldest known methods of food preservation. The really great thing about it is that you can do it at home with equipment you have on hand.

You should pick your produce at it's peak and work as quickly as you can to preserve its colour and taste.

Prepare your vegetables as if you were going to serve them. Wash them well, trim, cut, chop, slice, whatever. Thickness will play an important role in how long your veggies take to dehydrate, so bear that in mind when preparing.

Next you must blanch the vegetables. This will preserve the colour and flavour of the vegetable. Most vegetables have an enzyme that, left active, is what makes it spoil so quickly. Blanching the vegetables stops the enzyme action.

Follow available guidelines for blanching (available at www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com). Once blanched, chilled and drained, you are ready to dry or dehydrate your vegetables for long term storage.

The Rules

Of course, there are heaps of rules...but let's start here.

There are three methods used to dry or dehydrate vegetables. Sun dried, commercial dehydrator or oven.

Sun drying is the least reliable method for areas with variable temperatures. Unless you live in a climate that is a consistent 90F with low humidity for a guaranteed 3 days in a row, you risk your produce.

Once the drying starts, it cannot stop until finished. So DO NOT let your vegetables cool again until they're done. Having said that, lots of places do have that sort of weather...but more places don't, so sun drying is a bit of a gamble for most.

You can purchase food dehydraters in a range of sizes, but unless you are going to be doing an awful lot of this, it's probably better to wait or buy one with a group of friends to pass around. They aren't very expensive, but they are usually used for quite short periods of time.

So, we're left with the oven. It's almost certain that you have one, so nothing new to buy. It is time consuming and a little fiddly, but it's such a great result!

Oven drying

A home oven will only dry small quantities at a time (up to six pounds of produce, depending on the number of racks you have) so don't be preparing bushells of veggies at a time!

Set the oven at the lowest temperature and preheat to 140F (60C). If you are uncertain of the temperature, put a separate oven thermometer on a rack you can see. Check your temperature every half hour or so.

Lay out your vegetables on stainless steel screen mesh or wooden frames covered in cheescloth. Do NOT use cookie sheets as the air must circulate around the food. Having the food sit next to metal sheets may also transfer a metalic taste. Using other types of metal materials may react with the food so please don't.

Load up the veggies. Doing trays of items similar in size will keep the drying even. For instance, doing pumpkin, carrot and potato might be a good mix. Try not to mix strong flavoured items as the flavour may transfer from one vegetable to another.

Keep the oven door open about 3 inches or so during drying. It is vital that the temperature is maintained at 140F (60C) and that the moist air can escape. Move the trays around frequently to ensure even drying. No oven has even heat throughout.

Keep a close eye on your drying vegetables. Don't let them scorch and keep them moving.

Depending on the vegetable you are drying it will take between 4 and 12 hours to dry. Once they're done, the vegetable pieces will be hard and should shatter if hit with an instrument.

Store in a water tight container. To use, just add them to soups and sauces as they are, or reconstitute (cover them in a container with water 2:1 ratio) for approximately 2 hours before using.

Judy Williams (http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com) splits her time between being an executive and an earth mother goddess.

No Dig Vegetable Gardens represents a clean, green way to grow your own food. The site covers all aspects of growing, cooking and preserving your harvest.

Night Feeder of Kuala Lumpur

Ever having the urges to eat at night? But can�t help it and grumbles your way through the night losing much needed sleep! If you happen to be in Kuala Lumpur you need not worry because there�s the �pasar malam� the local night market that sells almost everything cheap! At the �pasar malam� you can find all kinds of food, cooked or raw, fruits, vegetables, clothes, and even toys for your kids.

You can also head towards the �warong Mamak� an Indian Muslim eatery that serves special kind of soups, the �Torpedo Soup� and the �Gearbox Soup� after hours, the hot tasty �Torpedo Soup�. It�s a local favourite aphrodisiac! The �Gearbox Soup� is made of cow�s bone marrow and will certainly warm up your blood in the chill Kuala Lumpur night. There�s also the �kopitiam� a Chinese colonial era type of eatery to cater the nostalgic taste buds that crave old-fashioned cooking serving Chinese teas even to a shark fins soup. Entering a �kopitiam� means go inside the 1950 and 1960 era with the jukebox and the golden oldies memorabilia dominating the interior bringing back the comfort as you walk the memory lane. You can�t help it but to think of the Beatles as you sip the hot Chinese teas in the middle of the cold Kuala Lumpur night when the song �Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da� went on playing at the jukebox making your heart filled with wonderful emotions and stomach full of delicious foods. If are you still hungry you can still go to the many street hawkers of Kuala Lumpur particularly located in the famous tourist hot spots the Chinatown or popularly known as the Petaling Street which cater to all sort of diverse cooking from the Chinese �dim-sum� to the Malay �satay�, the street hawkers of Petaling Street opened till late night warming the chill night with their hot fragrant cooking sending mouth watering aromas into the air, which will make you just drool over the good Malaysian foods.

If you�re lucky you might spot a Lion Dance in Petaling Street, a group dance of two or four people adorn in a dragon suits.

When you finished with Petaling Street you can also go straight to Little India located at Jalan Masjid India there you�ll find an abundance of spicy Indian cooking like the chapatti and �Tandorri chicken� that will spice up your cold boring night as you most probably enjoyed Indian cultures at work like �Thaipusam� , �Ponggal� festival and �Deepavali� when you eat there at the right time and night. So if you happen to be in KL and in the night don�t be afraid, be adventurous and try all the Malaysian delicacie.

Rohana Ismail is a cooking enthusiast since her childhood. To discover about authentic recipes from Malaysia and traditional Malaysian food, please visit http://malalysianfoodtasty.com website today.

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