Moving towards self sufficiency ...

As the world gets more and more uncertain/chaotic, I find myself moving towards self sufficiency. More specifically, making/baking/preparing my own foods. I don't have space for a garden... yet ... but I can see that materializing in the near future ;) Until then, I can consume foods that are minimally processed.

I've been making my own pasta for over 15 years (I'm dating myself here! LOL). It's easy and so delicious ...  well worth the effort. I had tried to dry pasta, once, for future use ... it was a complete failure. It looked grayish and unappetizing. 

I recently became aware of my mistake, I used an egg & flour based recipe, which is not meant to be dried, but consumed within a short period of time. If you want to dry pasta, one needs to use a semolina & water base recipe.  BTW, if you are going to make shaped pasta, a semolina water dough is the one to use. It will hold your shape while the egg flour dough will not.

Armed with this new knowledge, I bought myself a dehydrator ... The Magic Mill Premium Food Dehydrator Machine. 

OMG, I love it. I always thought dehydrators were noisy but ... I was wrong. This one is quiet. Goes to show you that you get what you pay for ;).

I used it for the first time to make bread crumbs. I use the end of my sourdough bread. BTW, sourdough bread crumbs add a lovely flavour to your goods. I found the bread crumbs texture made in the dehydrator much better than in the stove. 

Next, I attempted to make dry pasta. I have the kitchen Aid attachment that's been sitting in my pantry for quite some time. I hadn't had any success until now.

 

One recipe gave me quite a batch ... multiple drying trays full.

I have not mastered, consistently, the fusilli pasta shape, but that will come. It's good enough for now. 

Another useful tip I learned ... when using fresh pasta, you need to add lots of salt and that because it has a short cooking time. Unlike dried pasta, which cooks for a longer period of time, less salt is needed.

I found this tutorial from Helen Rennie quite informative.

I've enjoyed watching her various vlogs.

In my search for proper instructions on dehydrating a variety of foods, I leafed through numerous books. I found this book  The Beginner's Guide to Dehydrating Food by Teresa Marrone to be the best. This is a how to guide, with temperature and time for most foods.

Most of the books I had looked at were focused on recipes .... I wanted instructions, a how to guide. So, if you are looking for a recipe book, this is not the one for you. She does have a section with recipes but minimal .... the bulk of the book is instructive. A great book to add to your collection.