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8B Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter
Stacking functions, or back to the dashboad again
PAMELA NOEL
When is a car more than a
car? When it can be Used for
something else. Using some-
thing for more than one
purpose is called "stacking
functions" in permaculture
parlance. A common example
is a tree, which performs a
variety of functions -- fruit,
shade, beauty, absorption of
carbon dioxide, the gift of
oxygen and more.
With my permaculture
hat on, I have embarked on
a "test run" for food
preservation -- namely,
dehydration-- but in a
non-conventional manner.
In this case I am using my
car as a fruit and vegetable
dehydrator.
Last week I started with
peaches and nectarines.
Slicing them one-sixteenth of
an inch thick I first put them
on wax paper, placing it on a
cookie sheet. Then I walked it
to my car, which was hot
from the sun. Cracking the
moon roof and the rear
windows an inch or so, I
placed them on the dash-
board at nobn.
At 4 p.m. I returned to the
car, still in full sun, to check
them. They were both dehy-
drated and paper thin. I could
barely distinguish them from
the wax paper. They were
stuck, married to the wax
paper. Back to square one.
This time I cut the fruit
one-quarter of an inch thick,
spread a little olive oil (just a
drop or two) on the cookie
sheet, and put it back onto
the dashboard. There were
still about three hours of sun
time left in the day, so I
thought I would give it a
head start, leave it in the
car overnight, resuming the
process the next morning.
Not a good idea. All the
moisture that had been re-
moved by the sun re-entered
the fruit with the night air.
The next day, after another
four hours, flipping the
peaches once, I had beautiful
dehydrated fruit. The next
few days I dried apricots by
cutting each into four slices.
Pears were next. Wonderful!
This was working. My excite-
ment was growing for this
project.
Next I turned to the garden
to see what surplus could be
dried. As the zucchinis were
out of control -- not only in
numbers, but in size as well, I
sliced them the size I would
use in soups and put them in
the car. Again, four to five
hours and the deed was done.
Beautiful zucchini slices to
pop into my winter soups.
I then turned my focus to
carrots, thinking they might
be more difficult. I sliced
them both one-eighth and
one-quarter inch, but the
one-eighth inch was more
successful. I assume this
was because of the lower
moisture content. I had more
ingredients for winter soups.
During this time my
brother was busy building a
6-foot-high dehydrator out of
wood, dowels for the shelf
rests, screen on top and
bottom, screen shelves and
Plexiglas for the fourth side
that faced the sun. On his
trial run he was able to dry
carrots, but found he needed
to keep moving the Plexiglas
side around to face the sun,
like a solar oven needs to be
in a constant relationship to
an ever-changing sun. This
worked as long as he was
nearby to adjust the sun's
focus. As I have more I want
'round my car, discussing
my method. I stood back
listening to the instructor
say, "Keeps the insects off,
you don't need to monitor it,
free energy, and your car
smells good." The best part
of this discussion was when
I heard some students say
they wanted to try it.
As I went back to my
office I envisioned an entire
to accomplish during the day, parking lot of "dehydration
I prefer to use my car.
While at work during the
day, I used to look for a shady
spot in the college parking
lot. No longer. Now I look for
the sunniest spot, which no
one else wants. After driving
to work, I place my baking
sheets on the dashboard, and
on beth the front and back
seats. It all works. Even more
fun are the looks my car
attracts from the students
who walk by.
I came out one afternoon to
find a culinary class gathered
on wheels," preparing fruit
and vegetables for winter.
Yes, I thought, this is what
we call "stacking functions."
Coming events toward a
• more sustainable community
include:
Sept. 21, Wild and Scenic
Film Festival, Town Hall
Theatre, 6.'30 p.m.
Sept. 22, Transition Quincy
meeting, Community Room,
Quincy Library, 5:30 p.m.
Oct. 8, Sustainable Agricul-
ture Workshop, fairgrounds
in Quincy, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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BASE
Food on the
Table: Tools
Heather Hunsaker
foodonthetable.com
We've an been guilty of get-
ting sucked into infomercials
featuring products claiming
to be the next new thing to
save you time and money.
Despite how nifty these
"as seen on TV" kitchen
gadgets look, most of them
are expensive and unneces-
sary.
Usuany, simple is best and
more effective. Besides the
basics a good sharp knife,
durable pots and pans, cut-
ting beards, mixing bowls
and measuring cups-- there
are a few other kitchen tools
that are useful, versatile and
affordable and can be a big
help in the kitchen.
Below are five kitchen tools
that truly will save you time
and money in the kitchen.
Kitchen shears. A good pair
of kitchen scissors will cut
anything, from dough to
chicken bones and lobster
shells. Use scissors to quickly
and easily "chop" fresh herbs
or trim skin from poultry or
fat from meat.
Fine mesh strainer. From
sifting flour and other dry
ingredients together, to
draining pasta and canned
beans, to straining puddings
and sauces into a smooth
velvety masterpiece, this
kitchen essential is ex-
tremely versatile.
Grater/zester. Grating your
own cheese is cheaper than
buying the prepackaged
variety and freshly grated
cheese melts better in dishes
like macaroni and cheese. A
good quality grater can also
be used to grate garlic,
onions (and other vegeta-
bles), lemon or lime zest,
fresh ginger or nutmeg and
even chocolate to top a
dessert.
Ice cube trays. Not only can
water be frozen in ice cube
trays, but they come in handy
for freezing other things as
well. Use ice cube trays to
freeze leftover broth, wine,
pizza sauce, pesto or even
homemade baby food for
quick portion-controlled
servings that can easily be
added to soups and sauces.
Food processor. Easily
one of the more expensive
kitchen gadgets, but an
essential one nonetheless. A
food processor is invaluable
for pureeing sauces, grinding
nuts and grains, chopping
vegetables or even mixing up
pie dough.
Looking for a time saving
affordable dinner option that
can double for breakfast or
lunch too? Try this Ham and
Cheese Quiche.
Ham and Cheese Quiche
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4- 5
Ingredients:
1 pre-made frozen pie crust,
thawed
1 cup ham, diced
1 cup Swiss cheese, grated
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black
pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400
degrees F.
Unfold pie crust and press
into pie plate. Using a fork,
crimp edges of dough.
Top dough with ham, Swiss
and cheddar cheeses and
spinach. Whisk eggs, sour
cream, paprika, pepper and
salt in bowl. Spoon egg
mixture over toppings. Bake
until pie crust is golden brown
and toppings are set, about
25 minutes.
Hunsaker graduated from Le
Cordon Bleu College of Culi-
nary Arts. She currently
serves as a writer and recipe
developer for meal planning
site foodonthetable.com.