This week, I've been blessed with a second wave of persimmons and now they're spilling over my table- and counter-tops, piling up in corners and generally overwhelming my little kitchen. When I brought home the first abundant batch several weeks ago, all of the berries (did you know they were berries?) were over-ripe so I felt I had no choice but to sentence them all to the dehydrator. You can read about that project here.

Many of the gems from this week will be treated in the same fashion - peeled, sliced, dried, and saved for winter.

 

As if the persimmons weren't enough to keep me busy for days, I also brought home a hefty haul of the season's first apples. Many of them will become applesauce in the near future (stay tuned!) but I can't resist using some of those Fujis and Macintoshes to make dried apple rings.

Besides making great chewy snacks on their own, dried apples are a great addition to warm winter salads, baked squash dishes, and even in pasta!