Do you have forever friends? We live in an era when it is easy to keep relationships at a casual almost superficial level.  Texts and Facebook and email make it easy to maintain a distracted yet cordial acquaintance with other human beings all over the planet.

One of the blessings from moving to a homestead and adjusting to the simpler life is finding time to cultivate friendships.  As I age, I cherish my friends anew.  What is a forever friend?  Most people only have a few in an entire lifetime.  You can’t force them into being, they just happen.  I am so glad I was able to look outside my “box” to accept new friends who often are uniquely different.  Friendships take time, they must be nurtured or they fade away but, sometimes with forever friends, you can lose touch and pick right back up where you left off like Jim did when he found his old friend, Doug again and yes they both are delightful characters! 

Forever friends are rare treasures that will tell you the truth even when it’s not what you want to hear: they know you well and still love you. (Here, my forever friend, Melissa and I are at an orphanage in China).

I have another dear friend who I call, and as soon as I hear her voice, I know her state of well-being.  I called her recently and she was exhausted.  It’s canning season and that means long days for those of us who are committed to providing the best, purest foods for our families.  If we are not working in the gardens, we are preserving the harvest like drying a family favorite:  watermelon candy!   

When you have become satiated with eating watermelon it’s time to shift gears and start preserving some great tasting watermelon for winter.  It is yet another innovative use for the dehydrator. Buchheit offers both round and square/rectangle style units.

The recipe for drying watermelon:

1 medium watermelon vine ripen and sweet!

Sea salt 

1. Cut the watermelon into between ¼ and ½ inch slices, removing the seeds

2. Arrange the watermelon slices on the trays. Sprinkle with sea salt if you wish

    You can leave them drain over a sink or table with a towel down first but I just load my unit as I slice them, with no
problems.

Do not spray the trays with oil to prevent sticking (it will affect the taste and it’s not needed)

3.  Set your dehydrator on 135 degrees

4.  Check after 4 to 6 hours and turn over to completely dry the other side

5.  Watermelon candy will be flexible and leathery when dried. Takes from 8 to 15 hours drying time based on your dehydrator and external humidity.

6.  Pack between wax or parchment paper to prevent the candy from sticking together.

7.  Wash and rinse your trays as the trays and mats are sticky.

The texture and taste is very satisfying!  I would not recommend using a Food Saver system on this as the pieces are somewhat delicate and may compress together in a vacuum bag. 

Call one of your friends today or send someone a card and let them know you appreciate them.  Buchheit is offering free classes to enrich your pursuit of the simple life each month. 

Hope to see you in one soon!  Anne May