Reloading the dryer

[catsittingstill]

Yesterday I didn't have anything to put in the food dehydrator. To remedy this unnatural situation I went out and bought about half a bushel of apples (Jonagold, I think--green with red flecks, crisp, and tart-sweet anyway). I brought them home in triumph, set them on the counter... and realized that I had just set myself up to core, slice and peel half a bushel of apples. Since I only have a pairing knife, caused me some concern. So I called around and yes, a store in Knoxville had a doohickey to handle this. I went out and got one. It's called an apple peeler/corer/slicer (isn't Anglo Saxon wonderful?). You impale the apple with the core aligned along the screw axis, then turn the crank; in five turns it peels the apple (mostly--it's not so good with the stem and blossom ends), slices it in a long spiral, and cuts the core out of the middle. It's so fast that apple juice splatters and I elected to wear an apron. But it sure makes drying apples faster!

Didn't make it out to go canoing today. Maybe tomorrow.