Fruit Leather (or in this case, Fruit Chips)

Yesterday was the day I decided to try my hand at a childhood favorite, Fruit Leather or just good old fashioned Fruit-Roll-Up.  The process was simple enough, boil some fruit in some water, strain, dry and serve.  Easy huh? Well apparently not.  I have, however, learned my lesson and know what to do differently the next time I make this delectable treat and I will pass that wisdom on to you.


Fruit Leather

Ingredients:
1 lb Strawberries
¼ cup Water
1 dash Lemon Juice
Sugar to taste

Directions:

1. Cut up strawberries into quarters or eighths, depending on preference and place into pot with water and lemon juice.










2. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally to keep the color, until the fruit begins to break down.

3. Transfer the concoction to a food processor or blender or even a food mill if you have one (i used a food processor, worked fine) and blend it till it is a fine liquid. At this point, taste the mixture and add sugar if you want it to be sweeter, keep in mind though that the natural sugars in the strawberries with usually be enough for most people.


4.  Use a sieve to get rid of the seeds and pour liquid onto a baking sheet covered in microwave proof plastic or parchment paper so that it is about ¼ to ⅛ thick, the thicker the better.


5. Preheat your oven to the lowest possible heat, in my case it was 170 degrees Fahrenheit and place your liquid mixture in there for about 12 hours, making sure to flip it halfway through.

This was my finished product and it tastes pretty good!  The only mistake I made was that I did not use enough strawberries so the final product came out more like a cracker than a Fruit-Roll-Up but hey, they are still mighty tasty.

On a side note, I also attempted to make a kiwifruit mixture too but little did I know that when boiled, kiwifruit takes on the smell of a combination of broccoli and asparagus, not appetizing in the least.  Now you know.

Beef Jerky

Today marks the third time that I have ventured into the realm of beef jerky making.  Despite seeming like an arduous task, the process is fairly simple albeit long, though for most of the time you can just go about your day like normal.  Shall we begin?

Ingredients:
1 flank steak (I got 1.5 lbs worth)
⅔ cups soy sauce
⅔ cups Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes (you can add more if you like spicy food)
1 tsp liquid smoke


Equipment
1 20" x 20" box fan
2-3 20" x 20" furnace filters depending on how much steak you use
6 8" bungee cords










Instructions 
1. Get your flank steak and put it in the freezer for 30 min - 1 hour to make it easier to cut


2. Cut your flank steak into ¼-½ inch strips following the grain of the meat

3. Place the strips into a large ziplock bag and mix in all the ingredients.  Let marinade in you refrigerator for 3-6 hours. (Any longer and the meat will be too salty, any shorter and the salt wont be able to kill off any bacteria that might be residing on the meat)

4. After letting the meat marinade, pull out your fan and furnace filters.  Pat dry the meat and place on one of the furnace filters. Place the second, empty furnace filter on top and bungee the filters to the front of the fan.

5. Place the fan upright and have it blowing out a window for 12-15 hours before enjoying your delicious beef jerky!

This stuff is so delicious! I just can't contain myself and have to force myself to not eat all of it at once!