Appetites®

Appetites: You should dry out your food

Dried fruits and vegetables
Dehydrating produce can help keep your bounty of fruit available months from now.
Courtesy of Beth Dooley

What can you do with the bounty of fruit and vegetables left at the end of summer?

If you can't eat it all right away, try drying it out.

Beth Dooley, author of "Minnesota's Bounty: The Farmer's Market Cookbook," shared some ideas for drying fruit, vegetables and even meat.

No dehydrator? No problem.

Dooley says it's possible to turn your convection oven into a dehydrator by using its lowest setting, 135 degrees.

Spread the foods out across a lined baking sheet so they don't touch each other. It takes 12 or more hours to dehydrate food, and during that time you'll want to rotate the pan and shake it so items don't stick.

Use the audio player above to hear more from Dooley, and below are some dried food serving suggestions she shared:

Dried tomato bruschetta with dried corn and kale chips: Reconstitute the tomatoes in enough olive oil to submerge. Store in the refrigerator. When ready to use. Remove and use to top bruschetta and mozzarella cheese. Scatter dried corn kernels on top.

Chevre, honey and dried blueberry bruschetta: Top bruschetta with fresh chèvre, drizzle with honey and then scatter dried blueberries over the top. Serve with fresh blueberries on the side.