How To Make Your Own Dried Vegetable Powders and Spice Blends

Sweet Pepper and Garlic Salt Spice Blend

 With my last paycheck, I scored a great find on ebay, a stackable food dehydrator for less than 20 dollars. When it arrived, I was eager to use it and practice, so I bought a bag of sweet, mild peppers from Meijer. Many ground pepper flakes are too spicy for my taste, so I decided I would dry the mild ones and make my own seasoning. It is packaged in the glass chalkboard container above. I mixed my ground, dried peppers with an equal amount of garlic salt for a sweet pepper and garlic salt blend. It is delicious!

Raw Sweet Peppers

 To make your own dried vegetable powders and spice blends, you will need:
-food dehydrator
-produce to dry
-clean coffee grinder
-containers for storage

Peppers Dried in Food Dehydrator

First, wash and dry the vegetables, slice them to a size that will fit in the dehydrator, then, dry them until they are brittle and have no moisture. My dehydrator only has one setting, and it took me 12 hours to get them to the very dry and leathery stage. Next, turn off the dehydrator and allow the dried items to cool. They will be greatly reduced in size. Then, grind the vegetables in a clean coffee grinder until you reach the desired coarseness. Finally, put them in decorative jars with salt(optional) or ground spices and herbs from your cabinet, to make your own unique blend. There are no added preservatives, so I would suggest using your spices quickly, to maintain peak freshness and quality.

Peppers Ground in Coffee Grinder

Below are some pictures I took of my garden today. I did some weeding and watering. The final picture is a close up of some cherry tomatoes that should be ready to pick next week! I also picked a pint of green beans to take home with me.

Garden on July 3 2015

Laden With Cherry Tomatoes