My Dehydrator Is Working Hard - Apples, Pineapple and Banana Chips - Quarantine 2020

October 2020. It's almost a relief to see this year come to the end of the harvest season. Not just because I am tired, preserving is a labor of love after all, but because I will be glad to put 2020 behind me.

It is good that I am accustomed to being at home, but, self-quarantine is a bitch,  and now after a year of practice I have figured out how to shop online and mostly receive what I expect. 

I consider myself a professional grocery shopper. I am very choosy when it comes to my goods, especially fresh produce. Culinary College did not help as I became even more snooty after graduation. Until I started to use Instacart it has been hit and misses. Now, however, I am confident a "professional shopper" with some experience will select my preferences. 

Prior to that, it felt like a purple Minion was just throwing foreign and completely unfamiliar pieces of "who knows what" in the cart and expecting me to know and accept it as a valid substitution. I would wait for hubby to bring home our curbside pickup and cross my fingers. After much prodding, he agreed to try Instacart and I have been much happier. I can see from the things I receive that someone with experience has made the selection. 

Now on to the apples. 

The end of the season brings apples. I have a marvelous friend who picked up a mix of apples from a local orchard and brought them to my door. She is such a sweet girl. Thank you, Anita!

I have made enough apple sauce to last at least 18 months so I decided to look up other methods of preserving them. I found a wonderful PDF from the Oregon extension office on methods of preserving apples. I will link it here:

https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/8836/sp50446preservingapples.pdf

My family loved the little cubes I dehydrated and so I made quite a few jars full. These will be placed in a lot of things. First and foremost, granola. 

I hope you are all well and enjoying the Fall. I know I am. I also did some jars of apple rings with marshmallows, a whole pineapple, and finally some banana chips.

Stay Home, stay safe, and help where you can.

~ Cookin Mum ~