My son gets a kick out of reading everything these days, so he announced, “Do Not Drop!” when the UPS man came to our door. He figures the UPS man wrote it on there, or maybe “he told the printer to put those words there.” I think I was wasting my time trying to explain to him that the people who made the box wrote it, and that the people at CookWaresPlus.com who sent the box knew that it shouldn’t be dropped.
And why, you ask, should one not drop this box?
There’s a fancy kitchen appliance in it.
- It’s for preserving the summer harvest.
- It comes in black or white.
- It is the square brand, not the round one.
- It has trays.
Nope. Not a great big stockpot. Nice try though.
I have visions of 15 square feet of strawberry fruit rolls. Crispy nuts done all in one batch. Summer tomatoes powdered for tomato paste, so I can avoid the BPA lining in cans.
I’m sure you figured out by now that the lovely ladies at CookWaresPlus.com sent me an Excalibur Dehydrator to play around with. I’m looking forward to finding out new ways to use one, as I’ve only borrowed a friend’s not-quite-as-high-quality-brand before.
Don’t get jealous, now. There’s a box for you, too. How could I leave out my incredible readers?
As soon as Kitchen Stewardship has 4,000 subscribers, as seen in the green “readers” box in the right sidebar, we’ll have a little giveaway opportunity for a 5-tray Excalibur Dehydrator, valued at $179.90. (After the Spring Cleaning Carnival, if we happen to hit the numbers before the end of May.)
Mary and Sylvia at CookWaresPlus really want you to be able to get yours in time for summer harvesting, so let’s get there before July, shall we dears? 
I’m so excited to be able to share this opportunity with you. I think a dehydrator is even less intimidating than a grain mill, as not everyone may be ready to grind their own grain (hence mine still being in its box!), but anyone can slice and dry out strawberries or pineapple for on the go snacks.
Here’s the part where you’re glad you’re already a subscriber. Right now on this post, you can leave a comment for a bonus entry in the Excalibur dehydrator giveaway, whenever it happens.
The catch? You need to already have been a subscriber before today. Newbies, welcome aboard! You’ll get more opportunities like this, but I have to give a little gift to those who are already hanging in there with me.
Last time I did this, it was pretty doggone fun to “get to know” so many of you. This time around, I might as well make use of the fact that you’re leaving a note. Tell me something about yourself. It could be how many kids you have, your heritage, why you eat real food, how you discovered KS, your concerns for the world, what’s on your armpits…whatever. Help me get to know my readers a little better – and then let’s start brainstorming how to get even more people along for the ride here! Four thousand, here we come!
Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week with the Healthy Snacks to Go eBook rolling out and Mindful Momma educating us all about parabens in personal products. It should be a great week!
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Don’t miss the next bonus entry opportunity for either the Excalibur dehydrator or the Nutrimill grain mill! Sign up for a free email subscription or grab my reader feed. You can also follow me on Twitter or get KS for Kindle.
If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Disclosure: CookWaresPlus.com provided me with a very, very nice dehydrator, free of charge, in exchange for some advertising and happy mentions leading up to the giveaway. They are providing an Excalibur for you to win, too, although mine is better. Why? Because I’m the blogger. They’re can’t demand a positive review, though, and their generosity in now way affects my opinions. Those are pretty set in stone, in case you haven’t noticed! See my full disclosure statement here.
I’m from Michigan but currently living in Phoenix with my husband.
I’d love to dehydrate fruit, although I’ve found eating too much of it upsets my stomach.
I’ve been a subscriber via google reader for probably a bit over a month now and I love your blog.
Sarah-Anne Reply:
April 16th, 2010 at 2:24 am
1. I have two sweet little boys, 2 and a 1/4 years old, and 5 mos on Monday the 19th.
3. I LOVE healthy food. I love to cook. I love to know what I am feeding my family is healthy. And I love to make them happy with food
4. I think I discovered you when I googled making yogurt a year ago, but then I rediscovered you several months ago from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking.
6. And what’s on my armpits, coconut oil
7. thanks for your great posts about hand soap!
I have been a subscriber for a while, and I’m fascinated by all you do in the kitchen! My first step actually was grinding my own wheat. For a while I had in my kitchen my father’s 30+ year old wheat grinder (stones, not burrs). It was fabulous. I reluctantly gave it back when we wen gluten-free last year. Don’t be scared of the grinder, it’s so easy. As easy as loading up a a blender and pushing the start button.
I am so envious! I’ve been wanting an Excalibur for a while now, but unless they’d ship one for 220V, I’m out of the running. (Though, I do technically have a US address, so shipping wouldn’t be outrageous…)
I really love all you do here, especially how you incorporate faith, whole foods and avoiding nasties of all kinds. I started that journey when I had kids as well, going to pseudo/conventional healthy to discovering WAPF. It’s been a journey!! When I find others interested in the same journey, I send them your way! Our kids are about the same age, and my husband is from the GR area of MI. It’d be really neat if we happened into each other when we’re visiting his family. 
I have been a follower for a few months now and I made a sourdough starter thanks to you! I first made the crackers (YUMM and everyone asks for the recipe, and I send them your link), then the bread and pancakes – both great
I love everything you do; keep it up! and I’d love the food dehydrator – We live in Alaska and love to camp and hike, and it would be great to make snacks!
I am a long time subscriber. Something about me? Um…oh, I know! Every year around this time I start to get nervous b/c I am afraid my garden will fail in one way or another. I think that says a lot about me
Oh, you’re going to love it! Crispy nuts, and Wardeh Harmon’s beef jerkey, yum. I’ve dried apples in mine, too. And Cheeseslave’s granola! I want to do some veggies this summer. I was going to last year, but the veggie crop was pretty bad what with the heat and drought here.
I’ve been a subscriber for maybe a month now via google reader. I’m slowly trying to incorporate more real foods and take the processed ones out. I have four children and I homeschool them. We love fresh produce. Our garden keeps getting bigger every year!
I’m from Missouri and have been following your blog for about 3 weeks. I found it while starting my search for real food after reading Nourishing Traditions.
I’ve been following for about a year, and have enjoyed the information you gather on each subject…my husband and I are expecting our first baby in a few weeks. Lord willing after things get settled, I’ll be able to get back into the swing of things and start soaking my baked goods. (I already grind the flour fresh – and it really is easy to use the Nutrimill to grind it!)
I’ve been a subscriber for…oh….several months? You’ve been such a huge encouragement to me as I try to (in lots of baby steps!) get our family on the path to eating real, nourishing food. I’m lucky enough to have a toddler who will eat anything, but I’m pretty sure my husband is the world’s pickiest eater! We have LOTS of failures in the kitchen around here, but whenever I read your posts I get motivated to try again.
I’ve been a subscriber now for a while. I have 2 little boys, 1 and 4. I’m getting scared about all the chemicals etc that are posing as food in the grocery store. And while the changes are kind of slow, hubby is on board (much to my surprise), which makes it much easier!
I am so impressed that you have so many readers! I do have a food dehydrator but haven’t used it much. I am going to try gardening this year to fill in things that we don’t get from our CSA.
.-= Wendy (The Local Cook)´s last blog ..Traditional, Better, Best =-.
I’ve been a follower for a while and love your blog. I hope you get more readers quickly! I’ll do my part to spread the word. And I would LOVE an excalibur. I’m saving my pennies for one myself in the future!
My husband and I have 2 boys (24 months & 9.5 months) and are expecting baby #3 late this summer. I subscribed after following your directions for homemade yogurt (my mom made it when we were growing up, but I hesitated to make my own since she had a cool yogurt maker), and have been making it regularly about every two weeks. We did it, because we’re convinced we need to eat more good bacteria…especially my 9.5 month old who gets chronic diaper rash (blisters!!) despite our efforts to minimize his exposure to irritants an allergens. We hoping to find the cause of the recurring rash and eliminate it, but want to build up his gut to fight it off in the mean time.
.-= Annie´s last blog ..Pre-dinner snack =-.
I’m a stay-at-home mom of two kids (5 and almost 2) from MN. I found your blog from passionatehomemaking.com I have been looking for ways to be healthier overall (food, plastics, cleaning supplies, etc.) It would be fun to try a dehydrator and use my own food. I’d be curious if my kids would like the results as they don’t seem to like most dried fruits that I buy in the store. I continually learn more as I read your blog…for example, I recently bought both agave nectar and stevia thinking I was doing such a great thing for our health…now I’m not so sure! Thanks for all the info.
I’ve been following you for a while now through bloglines. I’m pretty early on in my Real Foods journey, and am finally finishing up the book Real Food by Nina Planck. A great read! I have 5 kids and they’re my reason for beginning this journey in the first place.
I’ve been a subscriber for a few months and absolutely love your site! I especially love all the research you put into your posts. We live in the beautiful mountains of NC. I may be a tad bit older than most of your readers because our 3 childlren are 15, 18, and 21. I became interested in good nutrition when I was pregnant with our first child. We’ve tried many things over the years in the name of good health – being vegetarian, vegan, low carb, etc. But I am convinced now that eating real foods, traditional foods, is the wisest path to good health.
And one more thing….I have a dehydrator but you can’t adjust the temp. on it, so I never know quite how hot it gets. But I do love to dry the herbs I grow. I guess I’m overprotective, but once they are dry, I then put them in the freezer, and they stay green and pungent for a very long time. I’m anxious to start using it to dry nuts and such soon.
Sounds like a great dehydrator. We use my parents from way back when–it still works though!
Let’s see…I’m from Cincinnati, but now live South of the Ohio river (although just barely!) I’m the mama to two amazing kids and married to a wonderful man who puts up with my crazy ideas!
I’m the daughter and granddaughter of farmers and love to provide the best, most nutritious homemade foods for my family–it’s pretty much what I live for!
Like Annie, I also read your post on homemade yogurt and have been making my own now for about a month (maybe a little bit less.) It truly makes the best smoothies.
I’ve been a subscriber via Rss feed for a long time – I check your blog daily!!
I’m a catholic mom of five wonderful children (so far!) and enjoy not only your kitchen posts, but your spiritual/faith/religion posts.
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..Make your own….taco seasoning! =-.
I am growing my first garden this year. In the garden I have varieties of onions, tomatoes, and peppers. I am really looking forward to trying to make my own green hot sauce.
I really liked the videos on the Excalibur website and how the woman used mason jars to store her dehydrated goods. I use a food saver for vacuum sealing my dry goods and she uses oxygen packets.
I want a dehydrator to store my garden goods. Living in San Antonio makes storage difficult, but I can see the way around that with an Excalibur!
Google Reader subscriber! My husband is deployed and finding the motivation to do real food for one person is hard!
I’ve been a subscriber for awhile and love your blog. We really like your wheat-thin crackers and granola bars.
Oh I am sooo glad I am a subscriber!!! This sounds fun and yummy.
WHOO! Yes! My name is Lenetta, I’m just about to turn 34, and I love kitties and long walks on the farm with the cows mooing in the distance. I have a three year old that is a misearable sleeper, and a wonderful husband who isn’t Catholic. I was afraid of reading KS for a while, not really ready to jump into real food. But once I gave up and finally subscribed, I have been learning so much and loving it!
And it took me a couple of months to get my grain mill out of the box and going. Conveniently, my hubs gave up coffee, so the mill now occupies the spot left by the coffee pot. It’s so cool to grind wheat!
.-= Lenetta @ Nettacow´s last blog ..Spring Cleaning – Get the Sugar Out =-.
I’ve been a follower for a few months now. I came across your blog as a newlywed (officially 5 months now) and was searching for ways to manage my housekeeping better – simplify is my motto. I’ve loved all the new insights. Thank you.
I’ve been a subscriber (via google reader) for a while and would love to win an Excalibur dehydrator.
I think I probably found you through a Kitchen Tip Tuesday on Tammy’s blog.
I like to eat real food because it’s food…not some man-made imitation. I’m so looking forward to strawberries from the farmer’s market!
Two things on my wish list, a dehydrator and a grain mill!
.-= kara´s last blog ..Deviled Eggs with Bacon =-.
Hello-
I found your blog through reading heavenlyhomemakers menu plan. I’ve checked back every day since, but just joined RSS feed. I’m a slow changer in the area of food, but I’m getting there. I appreciate your encouragement.
.-= Meghan´s last blog ..New Theme: Inuit Types =-.
I’ve subscribed for a while now. As for what’s on my armpits – organic coconut oil with baking soda and cornstarch.
.-= stephanie´s last blog ..Better late than never… =-.
This would be a great alternative to canned fruit when fresh is not in season. Buying dried fruit can be so costly.
I also think my four children would enjoy using the dehydrator and of course easy enough to turn into a science lesson for us homeschoolers.
.-= Maria´s last blog ..Pouchee Giveaway! =-.
I love your blog. I enjoy reading it and try to put some of the principles into practice for my family. I have a 3 yo boy and an almost 5 mo girl. My husband is from Africa, he really struggles with how processed all of our food is here. His view on things really motivated me to look deeper into all things related to food.
I’ve been reading here for a while via bloglines … I can’t remember where I first found your blog but was just following links one day & ended up here!
I really enjoy reading your writing and the research & opinions you share. A dehydrator would be a dream come true for us … we do a lot of back country camping, and dry food is a vital part of that — we’ve never bought those pre-fab ‘meals’ as they are so expensive and not that good! Currently we beg & borrow a dehydrator from friends to prep our camp food, or use the oven.
Yay, I just became a subscriber yesterday. I really enjoy reading your blog, I have learned so much. I have made your pumpkin muffins and apple cake so far, and they have been a huge hit. I also started making homemade yogurt and started my first sourdough starter. I love feeding my family healthy real foods.
im a mom of one in the midwest, currently living with the in-laws while we find some stable income for my wonderful hubby. i’ve researched nutrition and alternative medicine for many years now while I have been warming up to the theories of weston-price…or rather to the sometimes enormous appearing task of implementing traditional food practices. thankfully the in-laws have been almost as open to so many changes as my husband (who has always been amazingly open to food changes)
I subscribed for the Get the Junk Out thing so I haven’t been subscribed for long. My family is gluten-free for our health, which some days I hate and others not so much. We are on our 4th month of it and feel so much better though.
.-= Christi S´s last blog ..book review – Deadly Disclosures =-.
WooHoo! Pick Me! I’ve been a subscribor from the beginning . . . and what don’t you know about me? Hmmm . . . this might not surprise you but I was my schoolwide spelling bee winner in the 7th grade. Winning word was “fluorescent.” And then I was a cheerleader for three out of four years in high school.
There’s your fun “getting to know me” tidbit! now, I need that dehydrator!
best,
Sarah
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..10 Commandments of Playground Etiquette =-.
i have been subscribing for a couple months – i have 4 boys and am pregnant with #5. i am trying to clean up my diet and give them less fruit snacks and spend less doing it!!
I subscribed a month or so ago, and have enjoyed your blog immensely! I checked out NT from the library, then had to buy my own copy. We are also doing the Feingold diet (no preservatives or salycilates) for our 4 boys. A fancy dehydrator would be really helpful.
I’m a subscriber and was just thinking the other day a dehydrator would be fun to have! More about me? My husband is 110% Irish and thereby our kids all have Irish names….. we are still working on a name for the little boy coming in later July or more realistically early August
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Split Pea Soup =-.
I’ve been a subscriber for about 2 1/2 months, and I’m so excited about what I’m learning! (as you can tell from the million-and-one-questions of mine you’ve been so sweet to answer)
Hmmm…about me…I’m a photographer – it’s one of my biggest passions. AND, on the TMI side of things (you seem like a girl who isn’t intimidated by TMI), between following a natural diet and a little extra help from a low-dose steroid for a hormone condition I was born with, I had a period on my own for the first time since getting of “The Pill” a year ago! I’ve never been this excited about that before!
.-= Kelli M´s last blog ..Dawn and Shane – Married =-.
I’ve been a reader for a long time and a subscriber for not too long. Somehow I just didn’t understand the joy of google reader. Hubby and I have two kids with #3 on the way. I”m trying to joyfully embrace morning, noon, and night sickness. I grew up on a rural ranch, so ‘real food’ was a way of life. As a city dweller, buying everything at the store has been hard for me. Hence 11 tomato plants that I’m trying not to kill.
I’m from Kansas, I’ve been subscribing for a couple of weeks. I have 2 girls, 3.5 and 1.5. I’m trying to make sure they get started with healthy tastes and habits, but it’s really hard because my dear hubby is totally NOT on board or understanding at all. Change is not a word he likes one bit. I would love to win this because that’s probably the only way I’ll ever get one.
Don’t be afraid of your grain mill. My parents have one and I used it quite a bit growing up. They are super easy to use and make very yummy bread!
I’ve been a subscriber for about 6 months. I have an 18 month old son with multiple severe food allergies. This sent me on a quest for healthy food free of allergens . So a dehydrator would help me out soo much! Thanks for all your work. I have learned so much!
Hi!
I have been a subscriber for a month or so, but have been reading your blog for longer! I found you while searching for more natural foods. I have 3 kids ages 2 1/2, 4 &6. We live in sunny Arizona. I am intimidated by all the changes we need to make in our eating and living. Your information does so much to help me take one small (sometimes TINY) step at a time!
Thanks!
I have been subscribed for about 3-4 months through Bloglines. I’ve had a dehydrator on my wish list for about a year now and would love a chance to win one. Something about me: I’m a diabetic and a sugar addict, working on that big time at the moment, ouch! Oh, and I’m less than 5 ft. tall:)
Hi Katie!
I’m Lynn, wife to a deployed (for the fourth time) husband, mother of four girls (11, 6, 4, 2) and two huge (125+ lbs) dogs. I’ve followed your blog on Google Reader for a long time… probably about 9 months or so, but just became a subscriber a few weeks ago. Thanks for all you do… I’m learning so much!
Woohooo! great give-away. I have been a subcriber for a few months and enjoyed your post. In fact, my 1st batch of yogurt using your method just finished this am. Something about me… I am a SAH homeschooling, mom with a degree in electrical engineering, who has four teen-agers, 15, 17, 18, &19, who were all born in the span of less than 4.5 yrs! i am still amazed by that 4.5 yrs. I love being a mom.
I am an RSS subscriber, is that the same?
I found this blog from Mary of Simply Forties fame, thank you Mary! I am fairly new but have enjoyed all of it so far and would love to win the prize. 
I have a small tomato garden going now and also some beans and strawberries (so far). Hopeful for lots more. Thanks,
You are going to have so much fun playing with your dehydrator! I have the 9 tray version and love, love, love it! I’ve learned recently that it’s great for drying sprouted wheat before grinding (hint, you can try out your new grinder too!) It also makes great yogurt. We love all sorts of dried fruits and very occasionally beef jerky too.
.-= marcella´s last blog ..Yes, I do quilt =-.
Already a Google Reader subscriber, of course! Love reading the comments already posted. You folks that have spouses and in-laws/family on-board with your changes are so lucky! My hubby mostly tolerates what I am doing, and gets his junk food fix outside the house. My in-laws are the worst, feeding my kids (6 and 4.5) all sorts of processed and sugar-laden items, all the time! Ugh! I try to remind myself that they are eating well at least 90% of the time, which is better than most of their peers.
I’ve never had a dehydrator. It looks fabulous! I have a homemade box drier for beef jerky, which I suppose I could adapt with trays for fruit and nuts.
.-= Jenn G´s last blog ..Ghee, it’s nice to meet you =-.