So, I recently decided to purchase a dehydrator!
I originally wanted to use it to dry all the herbs we are getting from our CSA this year. I haven't got around to doing that yet, but I've made some yummy veggie chips!
I've had great success with zucchini, beets and kale so far.
To make the zucchini and beet chips, I simply washed them and sliced thin with a mandolin. Mine was set to .5 (not sure exactly what that measurement is!). I then layed the 'chips' out on a single layer on the dehydrator. Sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and pepper. I set the temp to 115º and let them dry. The zucchini chips took about 3 hours. The beet chips took a bit longer, around 5-6. Store in an airtight container!
For the kale chips, it took a bit more work. After I washed and broke the stems off the kale I combined it with olive oil, salt and pepper. You can use any seasonings you want, but I decided to start of simple. You want to massage the olive oil into the kale. It will shrink down significantly. After massaging the kale, place on dehydrator tray in an single layer. I started these at 155º for an hour and then reduced to 115º for another 2-3 hours. They came out so crispy! Much better than my attempts in the oven!
And the end result!
