Vegetable leather

For Christmas, Daddy got us a nice BIG dehydrator which has been so much fun.  I (Emilee) have been doing a lot of experimenting with different leathers.
Here are some ideas and instructions for making vegetable leather.  The finished product tasted like a condensed vegetable soup.  You could probably use these to make a broth or just eat it as it is.  By the way, I did not take exact measurements, so have fun experimenting on your own and modifying if you so desire.

First of all, chop one onion.

Sauté the onion in a little olive oil.

Next, finely chop some squash (I probably used one or two) and add to the sautéed onions.

Puree one or two tomatoes and add to the vegetable mixture.

Finely great a few carrots.

Mix the vegetables and allow them to sauté until tender.

After the vegetables were tender, I added a tablespoon or two of some Italian seasoning consisting of garlic, basil, rosemary, and sea salt.  Feel free to taste your vegetables to determine if you need more seasoning.  Just keep in mind, the flavor will be condensed in the leather.

Fill the blender a third or half way full of spinach…

…then spoon in your vegetables until the blender is about three-fourths full.

Add a little water, just enough to allow the food to blend.

Give it a spin until all the chunks are gone.

If you have a dehydrator, lay your paraflex or thick zip-lock bags cut to lay flat on your trays.  If you don’t have a dehydrator but your oven can go down to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, take a cookie sheet and lay your bag on it.

Next, spread your vegetable mixture on the trays, about an eighth to a quarter inch think in the middle and a quarter inch thick around the edges. 

Place you trays in the dehydrator or oven and turn it on to 135 degrees Fahrenheit for 4-6 hours or until completely dry.

When the leather is done, carefully remove it from the paraflex or bags.

Role the leather up beginning rather tightly.  Mine cracked a little at the beginning but it finished nicely.

Cut the leather as long as desired…

…and seal completely with plastic wrap!

That’s all there is to it!!  These are a healthy quick snack that are easy to take along.  Give it a try and let me know how it works!