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Tired of squash yet? I sure am. I joined the extended winter plan with the local CSA, so squash is not in short supply these days. I get a big box of produce once a month from the farm. It is a selection of produce that is stored in a root cellar. It’s another way to eat local grown, (and support the local farmers).
Since I don’t have a root cellar yet, I need to bake the squash almost away, (because it is not fresh off the vine). I used the pumpkin from last weeks CSA box in some tasty oatmeal muffins. However, I decided to try something different with the carnival squash. I thought it might taste pretty good in a fruit leather.
So I did an experiment. It turned our great on the first attempt. This is not a huge accomplishment, since fruit leathers are pretty hard to mess up, but it still made me happy. The trick is to mix your berry, fruit, or veggie with apple sauce. Apparently the pectin in it holds everything together very nicely.
This fruit leather was SO easy to make, and since it is dehydrated it will last a long time too!! (Much longer than the squash would last on my kitchen counter-top)
Ingredients
1 cup of baked squash
2 cups of applesauce
1/4 cup organic honey
1. Purée the squash in a food processor or Vitamix.
2. Mix in the honey and applesauce.
3. Spread the mix onto a ParaFlexx liner for a dehydrator. (If you don’t have a ParaFlexx liner you can use parchment paper.)
4. Spread out the mix evenly. (On my Excalibur tray it was ~1.5 cup of the mix per tray).
5. Dehydrate at 135 F for approximately 12 hours. (Time may vary according to your dehydrator).
6. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the fruit leather. Roll up the fruit leather inside the parchment paper. Cut the roll in half, (or smaller if you prefer small strips).
If you do not have a dehydrator, you can make fruit leather in the oven. I have not tried it yet, so I don’t have any specific instructions for that.
The fruit leathers turned out perfectly. They were so easy to make too!! Now I have another no mess healthy snack to carry in my purse. (Moms with small children know how important this is).
If you are new to dehydrating and would like some recipes, Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook is a great resource!
Have you tried making homemade fruit leathers before? How did you like it?
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