Dehydrating Celery

After Thanksgiving everything seems to be on sale. I had to go to a couple different stores today but I got a lot of great deals. Celery was one of them. Normally I don't buy celery because Phil doesn't like it but it was such a good deal (50 cents) that I decided to get some. I used to dehydrate it and slip it into our soups and stews so Phil wouldn't notice as much.

First it has to be dehydrated. I waited until tonight to start it because the heat from the dehydrator will be appreciated the most at night when we really need it. I started by pulling the celery apart and washing the stalks. I then cut a little bit off the large end and fed these pieces to the meal worms. The rest was chopped up into small, maybe 1/4 inch pieces. I do use the leaves as well because they have a really nice flavor and can be added to most anything. I then blanched them for a 1 minute in boiling water. Blanching is not really necessary but the celery just looks and tastes better to me when you blanch it first.

After blanching you drain it in a colander and run cold water on it to stop it from cooking more. Now it is just spread on the dehydrator trays and left to dry overnight.