Solar Food Dryer, McFarland Creek Lamb Ranch

Originally published in the Methow Valley News, July 27, 2016

Katie Haven and Jackson Vanfleet-Brown demonstrate the workings of the solar food dehydrator

Two years ago this week our garden was over producing and there was no way to preserve it all, due to a series of unfortunate events – namely, hell and high water – that left us without power or running water for eight weeks of 2014. The garden decided to ripen every single fruit and vegetable all at once. We were drowning in bounty with no means to preserve it, so most of it was either given away, or churned back into the soil for compost.

So imagine my interest when Katie Haven of McFarland CreekLamb Ranch posted a photo on the ranch’s Facebook page of a solar dehydrator with the caption, “Just finished my new solar dehydrator. High overcast and its 130 degrees inside! Can't wait to start drying the 20 lbs of cherries I just picked.” Compact and lightweight, the solar dehydrator looked easy to assemble and even easier to operate.

I stopped by during a summer rainstorm when Katie and her friend’s son, Jackson Vanfleet-Brown, took a break from chores to wait out the rain. We chatted around her kitchen table while in her garden sunflowers and hollyhocks acquiesced to stormy winds and thick droplets of rain.

Thumbing through The Solar Food Dryer by Eben Fodor, Katie spoke about why she wanted to build her own, “I like the idea of minimizing electrical use, and I want to dry cherries and apricots.” The book contains detailed assembly instructions for an efficient and highly cost effective design for a simple, light weight box that is used to off the grid to preserve home grown food.

Katie and her friend’s son, Jackson Vanfleet-Brown, spent a weekend assembling the solar dehydrator from scrap lumber leftover after the rebuild of the McFarland Creek Lamb Ranch barn, which had succumbed to the Carlton Complex fires in 2014.

The food dryer is made from common materials, locally available here in the valley: plywood, 2x4s, ¾ inch trim, sheet metal, flat black spray paint, and glass and screens cut to order from Methow Valley Lumber.

The top of the wooden box is angled with a sealed glass cover. A back door is used to access the inside of the box, where removable food-drying screens slide above a piece of sheet metal, painted flat black. The black metal absorbs solar heat and transmits it to the air flow surrounding the food-drying trays.

The solar food dryer works with natural convection. Warm air inside the box rises and exits through small circular vents near the top of the box, creating a vacuum which draws cool air in through the bottom vents. The cool air is warmed as it flows below the black metal panel, and the now warm air rises around the food-drying screen above. The food is dried using this natural convection of efficient hot air flow.

A small thermometer tracks the internal temperature of the box, which can reach an astounding 160 degrees Fahrenheit on a triple digit day. Optimum drying temperature is between 110 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. To cool the internal temperature of the box, airflow can be increased by opening another vent on the back, near the top of the box.

To date, Katie has put up five quarts of dried cherries, and was in the process of drying apricots last weekend. “The cherries took about two days to dry, apricots took about 3 days,” she explained. Later this summer Katie will use the solar dehydrator to process tomatoes, apples, pears, and herbs.

The solar food dehydrator looks like a fun weekend project and a wise investment. No electrical power needed, no noisy fans. Just fill it up with produce and let the sunlight and natural convection do the rest of the work. More information can be found at www.solarfooddryer.com.

Shrimp and Veggie Summer Rolls with Garlic Sesame Noodles

An easy meal perfect for hot summer days. The only cooking required is to boil water in a kettle!

Thin rice noodles
Rice paper wrappers

Spinach leaves
Basil leaves
Red or yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
Carrot, sliced thin
Cucumber, sliced thin
Avocado slices
Cooked shrimp, sliced in half lengthways

1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
6 tablespoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
4 cloves garlic, grated

Sliced green onion and black sesame seeds, for garnish

Place thin rice noodles in large bowl, cover with boil water and let soak for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Thinly slice all vegetables, and line up at work station, forming an assembly line. Place pie plate of warm water beside work area.

Submerge two rice paper wrappers under water and soak for one minute. Gently press wrappers together under water with fingers.

Place the two wet wrappers on work surface, keeping one on top of the other.
Layer spinach and torn basil leaves down the center of the rice wrap, top with noodles, thinly sliced vegetables, and shrimp.
Gently roll,tucking in sides as you roll up. With a sharp knife, slice roll into 2 equal pieces.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.

In small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, canola oil, sesame oil, vinegar, and grated garlic. Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the rice noodles, gently tossing to coat noodles. Top with green onion and sesame seeds.

Serve remaining sauce with summer rolls as a dipping sauce.

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini (or finely shredded apple)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350° F

In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in zucchini, oil, egg, lemon zest, and walnuts. Mix well.
Spray a 8x4x2 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust the oiled pan with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack in pan. After pan has cooled remove bread from pan and cool thoroughly on a wire rack. Wrap tightly with saran wrap and store overnight before slicing.

A Shameless Plug

At the two recent talks I gave, “The Complete and Entire History of the Methow, the Abridged Version,” I had meant to share the titles of the books I had gleaned for information, but forgot to do so at not one but both talks!

Side note: Thank you to everyone who came out to waste a perfectly good evening with me. I had fun, and I hope you did too.

A great book by a local author that covers everything but the kitchen sink is The Smiling Country, a History of the Methow Valley by Sally Portman. Sally, who is the Winthrop librarian, begins with the age of geology and ends by delving into the economy of ski tourism in the Methow Valley.

Arnie Marchand, an Okanogan tribal elder, wrote down a collection of native stories in The Way I Heard It. He recently spoke at the Methow Valley Interpretive Center, and shared many fascinating details about sustainable fishing practices before the dams disrupted the annual return of the salmon.

Roadside Geology of Washington by David D. Alt has diagrams and excellent content describing the western expansion of the North American continent as a series of island collisions along the shoreline. A section on the Methow Valley explains the location of the two fault lines on either side of the valley, and how to “read” the land today. Another good geological resource can be found in the Methow Naturalist publication by local resident Dana Visalli. These can be found at Cinnamon Twisp Bakery and at the Methow Valley Farmers Market in Twisp. Past publications can be found at www.MethowNaturalist.com.

First on the Land by Chuck Borg is filled with USGS maps, newspaper articles, letters and personal interviews about the formation of the Moses Allotments in the Methow Valley and the people who lived on them. An excellent collection of correspondence with the Bureau of Indian Affairs shows the record of land exchanges and is an insight into the political dealings at that time in history.

Methow (A Scrapbook) by Bob Tonseth is a collection of newspaper articles about the Methow Valley dating back to the 1890s. Eyewitness accounts, interviews, poems and day-to-day gossip provide a colorful look into the turn-of-the-century settlement of the Methow Valley.

Denmark immigrant U.E. Fries shares firsthand anecdotes in his book, From Copenhagen to Okanogan. He came to the area in 1887 and carried mail by horseback from Okanogan to the first Methow post office at Silver.

High Hopes and Deep Snows, How Mining Spurred Development of the Methow Valley byMethow Valley News reporter Marcy Stamper is an informative read filled with stunning pictures of hard rock mining ventures.

And now for a shameless plug …

The Shafer Museum is publishing the Miller family articles that appeared in the Methow Valley News this last winter. “We are the Methow, A History of the First People of the Methow Valley as told through the Miller Family” will be available at the Shafer Museum in Winthrop at the end of this month.

When I showed the proof copy to Chuck Borg, his face transformed into shocked amusement. “Where did you get this picture?” he asked as he pointed to the cover. The cover image is of rock art found in the valley, and was provided by the Methow Valley Interpretive Center. Chuck had come across this particular rock painting when he was a young boy. The specific location of the site is sworn to secrecy, so don’t even try to wiggle it out of Chuck.

Published, Methow Valley News, July 13, 2016

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Lemon Garlic Sauce and Vegetables

Last week I was in a morning rush and forgot to pack a lunch for work. A quick jog down the freezer aisle yielded a Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli frozen meal.

I usually keep my expectations low with frozen meals, especially anything with the words "lean", "healthy", and "low fat" on the packaging. This meal, however, was a pleasant surprise of delicious flavor - light, clean, and satisfying. I decided to try and recreate the experience at home.

The resulting dish was so good, there was none left to memorialize in a photo. Husband went back for seconds, and around forkfuls declared his desire to keep this recipe in rotation. A perfect mix of steamed veggies, firm pasta filled with creamy butternut squash, and a zesty, savory lemon garlic sauce made for a filling dinner.

1 package frozen butternut squash ravioli
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large carrot
1 red pepper
1 small zucchini
1/4 cup frozen peas
Fresh oregano and basil, for garnish

Gently boil ravioli in salted water according to package directions. Slice vegetables into narrow strips, and steam.

In small saucepan, slowly melt butter over low heat. Add garlic and let flavors infuse butter for one minute. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, chicken broth, and herbs. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Sprinkle cornstarch over sauce and whisk until thickened. Top ravioli with veggies and sauce, and garnish with torn fresh oregano and basil leaves.