Lemon-Blueberry Diamonds

Ingredients:

Crust:

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter melted

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

Lemon filling:

2 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

6 large eggs

2 tsp. grated lemon rind

½ cup lemon juice

1 cup Sunset Valley Organics’ blueberries, rinsed

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions: For crust, heat oven to 350˚. Line 13x9x2- inch pan with nonstick foil. IN a medium sized bowl, stir together butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and salt. Gradually stir in flour until smooth. Press dough evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake the crust at 350˚ for 20 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. For filling, in a large bowl, mix granulated sugar and flour. Whisk in eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon rind and juice. Fold in berries, then pour filling over crust. Bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes or until set. Let cool in a pan on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Cut into diamonds.

Being Gluten Free

Gluten is a protein naturally found in certain grains such as wheat, barley, rye

and some oats. Foods that are made with these grains also contain gluten -

that includes foods like  breads, cakes, cereals, cookies, crackers, pasta,

pizza, and  lots more.

 About three million Americans suffer from a serious medical condition called

celiac disease. For someone with this disease, eating gluten-containing foods

causes damage to the lining of the small intestine (where foods go after they

have been eaten and digested). This damage makes it very difficult for the

body to absorb nutrients from foods. Over time this damage can lead to

malnourishment and possibly other complications.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/sitecore/shell/controls/rich%20text%20editor/~/media/Files/PDF/GlutenFree_Consumer_Fact_Sheet.ashx

Gluten-free Almond Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Gluten-free flour blend (or your favorite GF blend)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs Almond Meal/flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Sugar (you can replace half the sugar with Erythritol or Splenda)
• 1 1/2 cups smashed RIPE bananas (approx 3 medium)
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I use 2% Greek yogurt, but any will do)
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 6 Tbs butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 tsp Almond extract
• 1/2 to 1 cup  SVO blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12+ muffin tins with paper liners.

1. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine smashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, melted butter, and almond extract.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix gently to just combine.
4. At this point, you can gently fold in the blueberries, or, you can see what I do in step 6
5. Fill muffin tins pretty full (an ice cream scoop is great for this). If you have too much batter for 12 muffin tins, break out another tin and make a couple more.
6. If you didn't fold your blueberries into the batter in step 4, poke 4 or 5 blueberries into the batter of each muffin with a knife. Is that weird? I do it because this way the muffins don't sink to the bottom or break down from the folding and give me messy blue-colored muffins (although you might like them that way!). This gives me a muffin with whole blueberries throughout.
7. Bake for approximately 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Remove muffins from tins to cooling rack.
      You can find this recipe at
   http://bakecookeatmove.blogspot.com/2012/01/almond-banana-blueberry-muffins-gluten.html

Blueberry Applesauce Loaf

Ingredients:

¼ Cup butter, softened

¾ Cup sugar

¼ Cup applesauce

¼ Cup apple juice

2 eggs

½ cup milk 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour

1/8 Tsp. salt

1 Tsp. baking powder

1 Cup fresh or frozen Sunset Valley Organics blueberries

Topping:

2 Tsp. sugar

1 Tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions: In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, applesauce, and apple juice. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, salt and baking powder; add to creamed mixture just until combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour into a greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350˚ for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

About Our Newsletter

Sunset Valley Organics sends out a Newsletter every month. We like to keep our customers involved with what's going on here at the farm. This month's newsletter talks about how we dehydrate our blueberries. It also talks about our crew getting ready for foliar feeding. To sign up for our newsletter visit our homepage and enter your email on the right side of the page. Every newsletter offers either coupons or deals on our products, so its a great way to save.  This month's deal is $.50 cents off both kinds of our spreads. This is a leap year so we decided to put our most popular item on sale on February 29th only, because this day only comes around every four years. To find out what our most popular item is, be sure to visit our homepage and check for our  Specials on the right side of the page.

For our customers who already receive our newsletter, we apologize for the duplicate messages. We have switched to a new system and we are still learning the process. 

Rustic Blueberry and Nectarine Tart

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
10 tablespoons( one stick +2 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoon heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 pint (2 cups) SVO blueberries
3 nectarines (about 1 pound), peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Pulse flour, butter, 3 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream and egg yolk, and then add to flour mixture and pulse just until clumps of dough form. Firmly press dough into a 6 inch disk, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about one hour.

2. Preheat oven to 375°. Working on a large sheet of floured parchment paper, roll out dough into a 12 inch circle; transfer Dow and parchment to a large baking sheet.

3. In a large bowl, toss together blueberries, nectarine, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch until well coated. Pile for mixture onto dough, leaving a 2 inch border around the edge

4. Fold outside dough about 1/2 inch over fruit to form an outside edge, being sure to seal any holes, and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; continue baking until fruit is bubbly and crust is golden brown, 25 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature

Dehydrating Blueberries on the Farm

Our dried nutrient dense blueberries are so sweet, we do not need to sugar infuses them.
Our dehydration process takes approximately 10 hours. The time depends on how big or small the berries are. The temperature they are dehydrated at is approximately 165*F. The frozen blueberries are spread out on trays in a single layer and inserted into the dehydrator. Half way through the time cycle the trays are rotated to finish the process.  Our dehydrator is made locally in Eugene, Oregon. The name of our dehydrator is Harvest Saver. The Harvest Saver is made of a stainless steel construction that insures sanitary conditions for drying our product. There are thermostatic temperature controls, relative humidity controls and a multispeed fan that offers finest drying conditions. Our Berries are dried without sugar infusions, oils or preservatives

Lemon-Blueberry Layer Cake

Ingredients
1 ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups SVO blueberries
8oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup. Lemon curd

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line the bottom of a 10-by-15inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar and the butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the egg one at a time. Add the flour and milk alternately in 3 editions. Fold in 1 cup blueberries. Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake until a tooth pick is inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar. Whisk in lemon curd.

3. Sprinkle the cake with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Waste parchment paper and a cooling rack on the cake and invert the layer; let cool and transfer to a work surface. Cut crosswise into thirds. Place one third on to a platter and top with one third of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat with remaining cake and cream cheese. Top with the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Makes 8 servings.

No Sugar Added Spread Is Back!

Our Blueberry Spread No Sugar Added is back in our inventory. Our new batch of no sugar added spread will have the same incredibly delicious flavor with a new look to the label. The Spread is made with Organic Blueberries. Ingredients: Organic Blueberries, Erythritol, Fruit Pectin, Calcium Citrate.

Cream Puffs with Lemon Mousse & Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients
For the cream Puffs:
1 cup water
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ tsp. granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, plus one large egg lightly been 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Coarse sanding sugar, or sprinkling
For The Blueberry Sauce:
2 cups (1 pint) SVO blueberries
½ cup water
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon coarse salt
For The Lemon Mousse:
¾ cup lemon curd (recipe follows)
½ cup heavy cream, whipped

1. Make the cream puffs: pre-oven to 400°. Combine water, butter, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, and remove from heat. Stir flour until combined, and return to medium heat. (this mixture is called panade.)

2. Dry the panade by stirring constantly for 4 minutes. It is ready when it pulls away from the sides and film forms on the bottom of the pan.

3. Transfer to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low until slightly cooled, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add 4 eggs, one at a time, incorporating each completely before adding the next. Lightly beat fifth egg, and add a little at a time until batter is smooth and shiny. Test by touching it with your finger and lifting to form a string. If a string does not form, the batter needs more eggs. If you’ve added all the eggs and the batter still doesn’t form a string, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it does.

4. Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain ½-inch round tip, pipe ten 2 ½  inch rounds of batter onto parchment lined baking sheets. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350*, and bake until puffed and golden and centers are dry, about 35 minutes more. Let cool on wire rack.

5. Make the blueberry sauce: Bring 1 cup blueberries, the water, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat, and simmer until most of the berries have burst, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add remaining cup blueberries, and crush lightly.

6. Make the lemon mousse: Lightly whisk lemon curd, and fold on whipped cream using a rubber spatula. Halve each cream puff, and fill bottoms with lemon-mousse. Spoon on Blueberry sauce replace tops and serve.

Lemon Curd
Ingredients
 1 large egg, plus 3 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 Lemons)
Pinch of Salt
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces.
Whisk together egg, yolks sugar, lemon zest and juice, and salt. Bring to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook until mixture is thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in butter. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of lemon curd, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.