I’m sort of fascinated by all the dried vegetables you can buy in markets these days. Lately, I’ve caught myself spending way too much time in Fresh Marketing thinking about how a dried okra could taste any different from a dried green bean. I never buy any to find out. I did steal some dried okra leftover from a party in my office and thought about it for the rest of the day. I really love okra in any fashion. This is what happens to a mind that only thinks about food.

Dried foods also remind me of the summer my Grandparents purchased a food dehydrator from a Ron Popeil infomercial (looks like you can still get one – and they have gone down on price). We spent the entire summer with my grandfather thinking about what ELSE we could dehydrate. There was no lack of fiber that summer on the Withlachoochee River.

I don’t have a food dehydrator, nor do I want one, but I did test a recipe for roasted chickpeas a couple of weekends ago. You basically dry – or roast – canned chickpeas in the oven and season them any way that meets your fancy. They reminded me of corn nuts . I seasoned mine with several spices from the pantry and didn’t use much of a recipe. Apartment Therapy gave me plenty of ideas on their post here. Check it out and give them a try. You can make a big batch of these and they will last through the week. They have to be healthier than an average potato chip and certainly less cash than dried veggies from the market – or a Ronco Food Dehydrator.