Olden Oasis Homestead

Dehydrating broccoli Most recipes tell you that broccoli will hold its beautiful green color better if you steam the spears for six to eight minutes first. However, that's not how I do mine. I prefer to dehydrate it while it is still at its peak freshness by simply laying it out on my dehydrator trays and dehydrating it. I do nothing more or less than that and it keeps its lovely green color just the same. How to dehydrate broccoli First, make sure that the broccoli is washed well. Then separate the florets and chop up the tender part of the stalks. The florets need to be broken apart so that they'll dehydrate well. Plus, so that your dehydrating trays will close properly. Place the florets and the stalk pieces onto the trays, leaving spaces in between them.  Set the dehydrator at 140 degrees F and dry for about eight hours. Some pieces may be ready before eight hours. I always check the trays about midway through and I turn the pieces of broccoli over during that time. Whateve...

Dehydrated Vegetables and Fruit Chips Snack time can be such a fun time, especially when you've done all the work preparing your dehydrated chips! When I prepare my fruit and vegetable chips, I never peel any of them, and I never remove the seeds (unless I am dehydrating apples, citrus fruits, grapes, or fruit with pits). Why? Both the seeds and vegetable peels are loaded with antioxidants, and they contain digestive fiber. Both are loaded with vitamins, among other needed nutrients. Plus, eating the skins and seeds also helps to improve your metabolism and gut health. For this recipe, I am using tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, and butternut squash. I don't soak the slices of tomatoes or any of the squash in citrus juice or citric acid solution. If you're concerned about browning, you can soak yours before dehydrating. My fruit and veggie chips never last long. However, if I was planning to make the chips for a gift or to put them away for long-term storage, I most certa...

Homemade sugar-free ketchup It's been a saucy past couple of days! I have prepared tomato sauce, spicy barbecue sauce, original barbecue sauce, and today I am making another one of my favorite condiments, which happens to be sugar-free ketchup. (If you prefer to use regular sugar instead, you can.) This is such a delicious ketchup, it's thick and tangy, with a slight hint of sweetness.  Ingredients: 2 cups of tomatoes, chopped (fresh or canned) 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon of minced garlic ½ teaspoon of yellow mustard 1 teaspoon of onion powder ½ teaspoon of seasoning salt  ¼ teaspoon of soul seasoning ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon of Splenda, or granulated monk fruit Instructions: Wash and rinse your tomatoes with fresh water. Then coarsely chop them. (Remove the seeds and tomato skins if you prefer, I do not.) Now, add the tomatoes into a blender and blend them until they're smooth. Pour the tomato purée into a saucepan, add the...

Original flavored barbecue sauce The weather has been so nasty here for the past week. It's been freezing rain, sleeting, and it's so very cold and yucky outside. So, I am in my comfy kitchen preparing various sauces using tomatoes. My recipe is for refrigerated original flavored barbecue sauce. I'm not processing my sauce in a canner, but you can if that's your preference. If you don't have any fresh tomatoes, you can make this sauce using canned tomatoes. Ingredients: 10 tomatoes, or 28-ounce can of tomatoes 1 cup of onion, finely diced 2-½ teaspoons of garlic powder 1-½ teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt 1 cup of Splenda brown sugar, or regular brown sugar 1 can of tomato paste, to be used as a thickener Instructions: If you're using fresh tomatoes, wash and rinse your tomatoes well. Slice them in half. (If you prefer seedless sauce, take the seeds out by squeezing each half.) Then chop each of them coarsely.  Now, transfer ...

Homemade spicy barbecue sauce I hope y'all enjoy homemade sauces. Today, I prepared a spicy barbecue sauce that's one of my family's favorites. If you don't have ripe tomatoes, you can use canned tomatoes for this recipe. I used ten large ripe tomatoes, but a twenty-eight ounce can of tomatoes equals two pounds of ripe tomatoes, which averages about ten tomatoes. For my spicy barbecue sauce, I used cayenne pepper flakes, because that's the type that I had on hand. You can use fresh jalapeno, habanero, chilies, or whatever type of hot peppers that you prefer. Ingredients: 10 large tomatoes, or 28-ounce can of tomatoes 1 cup of onion, finely diced 2-½ teaspoons of garlic powder 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper flakes ½ cup of hot sauce 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika 2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt ½ cup to 1 cup of Splenda brown sugar, or regular brown sugar (amount depends on your taste) 1 can of tomato paste, to be used as a thic...

Water bath canning tomato sauce Yesterday, I canned about 55 pounds of tomatoes. I know, that's a lot of tomatoes! So, I broke my recipe down to make it more manageable for my article today. Each quart jar, on average, will hold about 6 1/2 pounds of tomatoes when you're making tomato sauce. To make my sauce recipe, you'll need a water bath canner or a large enough stockpot that the quart jars can be submerged in. Note also that the water will need to cover the jars by about an inch. This is one of the simplest ways to make homemade tomato sauce because you do not peel, take the seeds, or the core out of the tomatoes. You'll only want to cut the stem portion off the tops of each one. Ingredients: Tomatoes, an average of 6 1/2 pounds, will be needed per quart. 4 tablespoons of 5 percent white vinegar per quart You can also use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice per quart, or use a dash of citric acid per quart, if you prefer. Spices of your preference (I didn't add any to ...

Growing tomatoes indoors Is it possible to grow tomato plants successfully indoors? While growing tomatoes isn't one of the basic (easiest) plants to grow inside, it certainly isn't completely impossible. With the right conditions, it's absolutely possible to grow tomatoes all year long indoors. Today, I will walk you through the steps that work for me. If you want to start growing tomato plants from seed indoors, before buying your seeds, you might want to consider purchasing dwarf tomato seeds (or plants). Dwarf tomatoes won't require as much indoor space and they will still produce plenty of fruit.  In my quest to grow this specific fruit indoors, I have found that tomato plants require a lot of indoor lighting (much like planting them outdoors). The plants need to be placed in an area where they'll receive at least ten hours of full light a day, whether it's natural sunlight or artificial light. Eighteen hours is optimal. If you don't have a greenhouse, ...