Bell - Mary Bells complete dehydrator cookbook

THANK YOU

I have heard it said that if you repeat something three times, then it really is true. I hope that all the people listed here and everyone who shared with me their ideas and concerns over the course of my writing this book will hear me saying over and over again thank youfor your time, energy, support, ideas, and love.

A very special thank you to Joe Deden, my loving husband, for his strong hands and warm heart. It is wonderful to be in a relationship where food preparation is central to both of our lives. I knew Joe was the man for me whenright after we first methe proudly showed me his freeze drier!

To our children, Sally and Eric and Zack and Gabe, for being themselves and ultimately the best of all of our teachers. Included in the family circle are two very special peopleShayla Johnson and Bob Zank.

To my mother- and father-in-law, Adeline and Vince Deden. Adeline is a very good cook, and she deserves a lot of credit for helping me with the recipes in this book. It is a treat for me to be able to spend time with my family and friends who use food dehydrators and then enthusiastically share the results. This kind of food not only feeds the bellyit feeds the soul.

And to my niece, Diane Bell, with whom I share a curiosity about food.

I am grateful, too, to the women who worked on putting this manuscript together: Diane Cook, for her time and energy in amassing information; Pam Eyden, for organizing and asking good questions; Evie Righter, for strengthening the voice and helping me with the style.

To Caroline Krupp and Julian Bach at the Julian Bach Literary Agency, a thank you for taking me seriously and validating my efforts. And to Will Schwalbe, Director of Special Publishing Projects at William Morrow, for saying yes to the manuscript. To Zack Schisgal, my appreciation for his always friendly voice and helpful ways. And to Sonia Greenbaum for her expert copy-editing.

I am grateful to many people for the gift of friendship. Lee and Len Weiss provided support in so many ways, including sharing great meals together. Colleen and Dale Westerberg deserve lots of thanks for joining my team a long time ago. To those friends with special visionary spirit, like Jack and Genea Pichotta, from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, for their dedication in being environmental activists; and Paul and Barbara Stitt, from Natural Ovens in Manitowoc, for continuing to be clear-sighted in their goal to get good food to all people. To Margaret and Jim McHale for always being ready to help and for taking a look at the manuscript; and last but not least, to Gloria and Larry Martony, for being loving and loyal friends.

To Sue Miller and Marney Sheele and all the friendly folks in our aqua fitness class. And to Annie Beckmann, food writer, for her magnanimous spirit.

Over the months of writing this book, Gabrielle Laden helped me maintain my focus. And the Forest Resource Center staffPat Bahl, Sue Fisher, Doreen Bergo, Tom Hasvold, and Erik Ronnebergdeserve a round of applause for their willingness to participate in the recipe-testing process. Special thank yous to Mel Baughman for testing recipes, too, and for feedback on outdoor adventuring. Jerry Cleveland helped with the trail food cooking and baking. Thank you to Kathe Abrams, President, Twin Cities Herb Society, for all the help. And bless you Scott Bowe for keeping my Madison house together.

Deep appreciation is given to all the people I have met at home shows and at classes who asked questions, shared recipes and ideas, and provided information. My role in this project, I have come to understand, was as a vesselin getting as much information to as many people as possible. To that end, I would also like to thank Betsy Oman and Barbara Sanders for their help at shows. And to all the helpful folks at American Harvest, especially Ed Coyour, Mike Gutzmer, and Harvey Little.

To end on a high note, I am very grateful to Michael Schuller, my minister, for spiritual nourishment.