Happy Potato Day

Dehydrating potatoes is fun. It only took me an hour this time! Last time took 2 hours. So I must be even more efficient now.

Here's how I Dehydrate them:

1. Dump the potatoes out.
2. Peel over their bags.
3. Drop into a bowl of water to rinse the dirt off.
4. Cut into squares.
5. Drop into water.

6. Bring a pot of water to boil, strain the potatoes from bowl, and put into the water.
7. Set the timer for 5 minutes, and bring back to a boil. They should be done when the timer sounds.

 (lovely how the water turns rusty instead of the potatoes)



8. Strain the water off. (The starch makes it look soapy.)

9. The incredible cooling system.

 10. Take all the trays out of the dehydrator. Line with 1 paraflexx sheet to catch drips/bits of potato.

 11. Set them on the counter by the cooling potatoes.

 12. Start filling the dehydrator trays and put them in the dehydrator.

 13. When it's full, turn it on.

14. Now wait and smell potatoes all day.

Have a potato fun day!
Trisha.

Sunday's Weird Pictures

First off, (this isn't weird)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I'll come see you today!

And starting the weirdness,

I have to look in here for my sewing table and machine; this is my garage where all our treasures and junk are stored: The black hole.

And then clean out my sewing room and put it in here: (hopefully it can be painted first)

Can you tell I'm getting antsy pantsy now that I have new fabric?

The first 2 decorations above the desk on the shelf. These are 2 decorations that are special to me. I was sick of them being in my kitchen drawer. Call me weird if you want, but yes, that's where I stored them because I didn't want them to break during all this construction. And I am aware they don't match.

First, the bear I made in ceramics class in high school. I had never seen a bear before, and tried to make him look like he had fattened up for the winter. (he is dirty and dusty.)

Second, the bird my sister bought me when she was in Finland. It's so pretty purple.

 Bluuuuurrr! My zinnias in the garden keep on blooming! I think they're so pretty! just pops of color! like a color explosion!

 And to make it seem more like spring to me, weeds are growing from all the rain we've had recently!

 And flowers are popping up everywhere! and it's all still vibrantly green!

I ate the last of Thanksgiving today for breakfast. Sweet potatoes. This year I only had the leftovers of a couple bites of green bean casserole, about 5 pieces sweet potatoes, and some orange jello. All delicious!

Now I get to get ready for today. Have a happy Sunday!
Trisha

New things

I went to Jo Ann's Fabrics yesterday morning and caught their HUGE Black Friday sale. I am so proud of my purchases! I finally got a 100% cotton batting for the quilt I'm making, and a bunch of fabric (in the bag)! All for the best price I have ever thought possible! I got so much fabric and the batting for the same price as the full price I was expecting to pay for the batting but was shockingly 50% when I got to the register! I was so shocked that I didn't have to pay full price on the batting that I was walking on clouds the whole way out to the car!

I came home from work, and my husband had bought a fire pit!

Upon further inspection of my dehydrated blackened potatoes, I was grossed out thinking of eating them, so I threw them out. I saved the other ones in the sealed jars though. And I'm thinking tomorrow or Monday I'll dehydrate the new potatoes I had bought. I'm a bit tired today from all the craziness lately!

My wonderful sour dough starter was over taken by the bigger fruit flies within the last few days (those ones that are orange-red in color and bigger and rounder than the usual typical little black ones) and it started to smell different so I threw it out. PU! I'll have to restart.

Our Thanksgiving Dog Barricade:

 We have to block the dog from the doors now anytime we leave or he tries to chew his way in. He still got through, but managed to hold himself back for the worst of it this time. Just a few scratches. This was the aftermath of the barricade after we opened it up. This is what it looks like this morning. chairs still upside down one on top of the other, and I don't know when it will be deconstructed.

But I am still so excited about these oranges!

 The grass is still green, and the oranges add even more color! It seems like spring to me right now! It's not to cold or hot, just perfect!

I need to go finish cleaning my kitchen and house and then I'll have to get ready for work.

So have a good day!
Trisha.

Midnight shopping

We went to Target at 11:40PM. We stood in line out side, and then rubbed elbows with greedy people grabbing up flat screen TVs and other things like greedy ants. We waited in line to buy.

We left at 1 AM.

We bought 1 item.

It was fun.

My husband said never again.

Guess what we bought last night?

For once, I have a comforter on my bed. We have been using a thin quilt meant for a twin bed and it either doesn't cover your feet, or it only covers part of you. And if one of us turns over, they remove it from the other person. I slept well last night. We had a choice of 4 different style covers. white, weird green stripes, weird polka dotted flowers, or black. I figured black or white, because we both didn't like their other styles, and I made my husband choose. Black it is. So now I have to figure out how that will match things in the room. It's quite manly now... I'll have to come up with an accent color.

I planned to go to another store this morning, but surprises will encourage me not to unless they will honor their black Friday coupon I don't have which they only sent out in the newspaper which I didn't get of course. I read it at my in laws only to discover it doesn't come in our regular mailings... I guess I'll have to call them... then I won't waste my morning there for nothing.

So what have you planned for today?? I have work. I had great plans to buy some other things at Target, but they didn't have them. Maybe I'll go there. I haven't quite made my decision yet.

Have a happy Black Friday!

Trisha.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a very

Happy Thanksgiving,

And don't forget to be thankful today!

Dehydrated Potatoes

3 pictures of the exact same thing! 15 lbs of potatoes:

 clockwise starting upper left: potato cubes, shredded potatoes I cooked, shredded potatoes I didn't cook, and potato cubes I didn't cook very long.

 Guess which ones look more appetizing? I still need to sort out a few: But these are done!

 And ta da! I bought 11-lbs more. Can't beat the price $0.59 per 5 lb bag! We'll try again the way their supposed to be done! (I only know it's 11-lbs because I weighed the bags. 5 1/2 lbs each! what a deal!

I won't waste the ones I already made. I'll make some sort of meal with them. I just haven't decided how.

I'll probably walk you through the process not today, or tomorrow, but probably Friday or Saturday.

I have work tomorrow morning, and it's Thanksgiving, so that day's out. Today will be spent cleaning my disaster zone of  a kitchen that smells like a bunch of musty potatoes. The dehydrated ones don't smell. It's the pots and pans and bowls I prepared them in.

Yup, that's my life. Monday I make something, Get invited to eat at some one's house, when home, need to hop into bed if I'm to get any sleep before work, get up 2 times during the night to stir potatoes around, and then
Tuesday I had work from 6:30AM- 7PM. I stop at the store for the last few things I need for Thanksgiving, I came home with a headache. I was so tired I went to bed after falling asleep on the couch reading. Now
Today, no headache, just scents wafting from my kitchen. Cleaning here I come! Then work, then home, then making Thanksgiving food for Thursday, then sleep, then work in the morning, then to my in-laws house. Whew! Then potatoes.

BUSY BUSY BUSY I'll be the next few days! Then I absolutely must get my Christmas shopping complete! And Christmas cards! See you around!
Trisha.

Early to bed, Early to rise...

Makes a lady healthy?, tired, and not wise. (Just slurs in speech, blinking, and stumbling)

I have work early today. I need to be there 6:30 AM because my lead server can hardly walk because of their back sprain.

Ya*wn.. Weird having to get up early...

Especially when you set the alarm twice during the night to stir around drying potatoes... My eyes are tired and the sun is not up...
-I haven't had to get up this early in who knows how long.

Yesterday I dehydrated 15 lbs of potatoes into shredded potatoes, potato chips, and potato cubes all for soups, or whatever. I had to giggle when my husband sampled 2 "chips." It only was 2. I guess they aren't for eating raw that way.

I also found out after I had them dehydrating for a while that they turn blackish unless you cook them all the way through first. I only steamed them 4 minutes. Oh well. I'll have to just serve up black and white potato stew or something.

I soaked the raw shredded potatoes about 7-8 hours. I sample dehydrated a few, and they didn't turn color, so I dehydrated 1/2 cooked, and 1/2 raw. You can totally tell the difference between the 2. While not black, the raw turned grey and pull away from each other while the cooked are white but stick together. So I haven't decided which I like better yet. Guess the true test comes with cooking.

I did fry up some last night I seasoned, and they were very good. Of course they weren't dehydrated yet. And of course they were healthy. (Aren't all fried things?)

So, I'll have more to write tomorrow with pictures of potatoes when I don't have work.

Have an awakeful day!

Trisha.