lemons into candy

Happy Friday! Today, I realized that I had too many tomatoes and lemons left over from holiday cooking to use before they went south, so I sliced up a bunch and threw them in the dehydrator. The best thing about dehydrators is they keep you from ever having to waste stuff.

When I was growing up, my mom always bought way more food than we could ever eat, and we'd end up throwing half of it away. That stressed me out. It's not like we had a lot of extra money laying around. She always said she'd wanted to have six kids, and that's the size family she shopped for. Only, she had three. If she hadn't married a hopeless alcoholic and gotten divorced when I, the youngest, was a baby, her plan might have worked out. Don't know why she stubbornly felt compelled to imagine she had six kids and a husband whenever she found herself in a grocery store. I guess we all have illusions or dreams that we cling to even long after hope has died. I still hope to wake up one day with a beautiful singing voice. Anyhow, to this day, I feel guilty if I toss any food in the trash. My sister is the same way. Enter the dehydrator. My precious.

Can't wait to see what I can do with these dried tomatoes and sugar-sprinkled lemons. I'll devise a plan tonight while I'm trying to fall asleep. That will entertain me. I'm so easily amused.