what a difference a day makes!

While I’m waiting to see if the weather everyone is talking about actually happens, I thought I’d share a bit with you. From the forecasts I think (and hope!) that we’ve seen the end of the 100F+ days for this year. I can’t be certain, of course, but I hope so!

However, as long as its been unholy hot here and sunny to boot, I figured I’d do well to see what else I could dry in my car. My thoughts turned to mushrooms.

Now seriously, I had no idea if this would work. I imagined a tray of soggy gray nastiness and that seemed as plausible as anything else. But I got lucky. The ‘shrooms went from this:

soft and supple

to this:

crispy deliciousness

in just about 8 hours in full sun on my car’s dashboard.

Amazing!

Now I must say that there is not a lot that is more boring than a plain mushroom. They get their yumminess from the olive oil/garlic/onions/(insert your favorite herbs and spices here…) that they’re cooked with. So I improvised a bit.

I made a blend of roasted garlic powder, smoked salt, and truffle (mmmmm) salt, and tossed the mushrooms with it before laying them out on foil on a cookie sheet. I think the salt pulled some of the moisture out and helped them dry faster. At least that’s my story (grin).

That said, I cant even really offer you a “recipe” this time. Just get a pound or so of whatever mushrooms you like (I used shitaake this time). Slice thin and toss with garlic powder and salt. I used about 1 tsp of each for 1 pound of ‘shrooms.

Line a cookie sheet with foil, spread the mushrooms, and put them on you car’s dashboard as long as the internal temp of the car reaches at least 150F. Mine was at 160F. Leave for 8 hours or until crisp. I did open the car door for just a minute or so at about 4 hours to let the steam out… and oh did my car smell wonderful!!

Let cool before putting in a zip bag or other airtight container, and snack at will!

That’s probably it for my dashboard dehydrator this summer. At least I hope so – I miss cooking in my kitchen!

Until the next time… stay safe!

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