Homemade Fruit Roll-ups

Recently I found this handy tip for hulling strawberries.  It is great for when you need to hull several strawberries and not waste any of the strawberry by using a knife to cut the top off.  It works better with a sturdy straw (like the ones you get from Sonic).  Simply place the straw through the bottom/center of the strawberry and push toward the stem.  The center/hull of the strawberry comes out through the straw and all you have left is yummy strawberries.  I used this technique to make homemade fruit roll-ups not long ago. 

This is something that I had wanted to try for awhile.  My mom, Seth and I made the annual visit to Reid Valley Orchard in Kentucky and picked lots of fresh blueberries.  It was surprisingly easy although it did require 5-6 hours on the lowest setting in my oven to completely dry out.  But, it did not require any specific attention during that time.  I just had to be in the house (which some days is hard to find that kind of time). 

 Just click here to get the full recipe, but here is the short version.  I pureed the fruit, cooked it on the stove-top with some honey and almond extract until it was thick and then poured it on top of parchment paper in a large bar pan, placed it in the oven and waited and waited.  It was worth the wait.  Once the fruit leather cooled, I covered it with plastic wrap and cut it into to three sections which I rolled up and then sliced into individual roll-ups.  Stored well and travelled well.  Tasty fruit treat without all the crazy preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. 

For more kitchen tips, click go to http://www.tammysrecipes.com/ and check out some of her yummy recipes and other great tips.

Enjoy!