I have a dehydrator which is used most of the time for drying my Wheatgrass as well as Cancerbush for powders that I take and sell to others (see http://www.wheatgrassandcancerush.blogspot.com/ ) for more on that subject.
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| The Grater |
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| Carrot, Butternut, Onion, Potato and Sweet Potato ready for the dehydrator |
I first tried just doing a basic mix using Butternut, Rocket and Garlic Chives in my mix. (the Rocket and Garlic Chives I had already dried during the growing season).
I dried this and put it through my "Oscar" to make it fine. It worked quite well BUT BEWARE, if you are going to use an Oscar, it is VERY hard work for him. You might be better off exerimenting crushing your dried veggies with a bottle or rolling pin, until they are fine enough. (I leave mine in cheese cloth and bash it through that until it is fine enough to go through Oscar). If it is a little lumpy that just means there is some "chewy" matter in your soup.
Then just add salt for taste, as well as some mixed herbs etc as you wish.
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| From the dehydrator |
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| Through Oscar once |
My second mix included Butternut, Carrots, Potato, Sweet Potato and Onion. I used the same method but did not grind it as fine. This tasted even better (after adding salt of course).
The luxury of doing it yourself is that you know exactly what is in your mix. No additives, no preservatives, no JUNK.
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| I use one tablespoon to a large mug |
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| And DRINK |
You can also experiment with how much of each ingredient to add to your mix. (Eg, I should have used more Onions in my mix). And every soup mix will have its own flavor.
Being a vegetarian myself, this is right down my alley.
Another blessing is that the storage life of your product, if you store in an airtight container, is many, many months.
I have learnt a couple of things in the short time I have been experimenting.
1 Carrots and butternut take longer to dry than onions and potato.
2 Cut your veggies as thin as possible. They dry quicker and are easier to crush when dry.
3 Onion I will class with the "Leafy" crops as it dries quickly. However you need a bit more as it tends to "disappear" on you because of its high moisture content, as it is not as bulky as the denser veggies.
4 And of course, what I mentioned regarding Oscar above.
It is 29/7 now and I have made my third batch. This one has, Butternut, Carrots, Potato, Sweet Potato and Onion. The photos are from this batch.
When all done, just add salt to taste.
Remember you have not cooked the veggies so all of the goodness should still be there. All you have done is removed the water and I think the hot water you add only "blanches" the ingredients, thereby leaving it even more nutritious.
ALSO Remember that I only clean the veggies before grating. The skins, seed etc is all included in the mix.
Now, here are the ingredients on the packet of bought "Cuppa Soup."
Maltodextrin, Cornflour, Mushrooms, Salt, "Modified" Maize starch (italics are mine), Fat Powder (hydrogenised vegetable fat, glucose, lactic casein), milk solids, stabiliser (E481), Emulsifier agent (E 551), Flavourants, Vegetable Oil (contains anti oxidnant TBHQ), Xanthan Gum, Caramel, Colourant, Parsley, Flavour Enhancer (E631, E627), White Pepper, Colourants (E104, E110)
WOW, AAAALLLLL the good stuff ??????????????????
And all your soup will have in is what you decide to put in it.
15/10
I have found that to make the "broth" thicker I add more potato. It must be the starch in it.............
The latest mix has,
Asparagus (I find it enhances the flavor)
Mixed veg (I buy it diced, until I can harvest from the garden, and then dry it)
Potato (the more potato you add the thicker your soup will be)
Sweet potato
Tomato
Rocket
Parsley
Butternut
Salt (for taste)
Garlic chives
I would love to hear from anybody who has experimented with this method and how they fare.
