Microwave and a digital scale from Harbor Freight. Weigh the blanks and write the number down then put them in a Ziplok bag and nuke at 75% power for about a minute. Let them sit for a couple of minutes and then take them out of the bag and cool down. Turn the bag inside out, put them in, lather, rinse and repeat. After 5 or 6 times, turn the power down to 50%.
DON'T WALK AWAY WHILE DOING IT AS THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE BLANKS CAN CATCH FIRE
After the inside of the bag is no longer moist, do it on a paper towel a few more times. After every other cycle, weigh the blanks. When they get to the point that they're at a consistent weight between cycles, they're good. I then let them sit for a day to reacclimate and use them.
Here are some walnut pens I did with a freshly cut branch. Only problem I had was using the kitchen microwave instead of the shop one and 2 kids and a wife who don't appreciate the smell of drying walnut...
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/first-set-auction-103205/ (The fountain pen pictures are on the second page)