November Newsletter

News From Around the Farm Is anyone else having a hard time believing it's already November? October just flew by! We hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! Our's was filled with spooky movies and popcorn (and of course our chocolate covered blueberry clusters!). Over the last month or so we've been getting the farm cleaned up and ready for Winter. One of the bigger tasks has been tying blackberry canes- we've been at it for about three weeks now and still aren't done! Another project we've tackled was spreading sawdust mulch among the blueberries, and the final big project we completed was pruning our black raspberries.  With the holidays coming up we would like to draw your attention to two important areas in the newsletter this month. The first being dates which we will be closed: Our normal winter office hours are: Monday - Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST  We will be closed: Thanksgiving-November 24th Day after Thanksgiving- November 25th December 19th- January 1st This means the last day we will be shipping holiday packages will be December 16th. The second, Holiday shipping dates as suggested by USPS and FedEx: USPS: First-Class Mail: Dec. 20th Priority Mail: Dec. 21st Priority Mail Express: Dec. 23rd USPS Retail Ground: Dec. 15th Destination Network Distribution Center Drop Ship: Dec. 19th Destination Delivery Unit Drop Ship Dec. 22 For more info about USPS shipping this holiday season check out their website.  FedEx: Dec. 16: Last day to ship FedEx Ground Dec.  14: Last day to ship by FedEx Ground for Alaska & Hawaii Dec. 12: Last day to ship by FedEx Smart Post Dec. 23: Last day to ship by priority overnight   Dec 22: Last day for 2 Day shipping; $16 charge for Saturday delivery For more details about FedEx holiday schedule check out their website.  Cold Weather Shipping  We will be able to bring back our Cold Weather Shipping special sometime in October. For those who are new to this, every year when it’s cold nation wide we are able to send our frozen berries by ground rather than 2 day air, which saves a lot of money! We can only offer this while it’s cold out, usually fall through the early part of spring. You do need to call us if you would the ground shipping though. Our online store is not set up for it. You can call usMonday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm Pacific. Holiday Gift Boxes: The Holidays are coming! It’s weird that it is already that time of the year again, right? We have gift boxes!If you want a gift box, but don’t see anything you like on our site, give us a call, we are more than happy to do custom gift boxes! If your thinking about ordering a bunch of them please keep in mind that if you want us to ship them to multiple address the order does NOT qualify for free shipping if it goes over $225.00. But if we ship it all to one address then it can qualify for free shipping, as long it’s more than $225.00. We are also offering if you buy 10 gift boxes you get one free (excludes shipping). Our gift boxes are great for birthdays, house warming’s, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years. Basically anytime you need a present or a nice gesture, we’ve got you covered. Holiday Gift Fair We will be at the Holiday Gift Fair this year, hosted by Home Grown Gardens, December 3rd and 4th. The fair will be open from 10 am to 5 pm each day. We will have our gift boxes there, and remember if you buy 10 then you get one free!  Home Grown Gardens is located: 4845 SE 3rd St, Corvallis, OR 97333  We will have an event added to our Facebook pagewith all the details, so be sure to check it out as we get closer to December.  Easy Vegan Apple, Dried Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls Tender, fluffy, and perfectly spiced, these easy vegan apple, dried blueberry cinnamon rolls are delicious with an afternoon cup of tea or as a special treat on a weekend morning (or any other time!). Serves: 12 Ingredients Dough 2 1/4 tsp yeast 1 tsp sugar 1/2 cup lukewarm water 3/4 cup room temperature/lukewarm non-dairy milk (I use almond) 1/2 cup oil 3/4 tsp salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour Filling 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tbsp melted coconut oil 1/2 cup dried blueberries 1 apple, chopped  Directions: In your stand mixer bowl, add the yeast, 1 tsp of sugar, and lukewarm water. Let stand for a few minutes. When the yeast has foamed up, add the room temperature/lukewarm milk, oil, salt, ground cinnamon, sugar and 1 cup of flour. Mix with a spoon to combine. Put stand mixer bowl in place, add 2 more cups of flour and using the dough hook, allow the mixer to knead. If the dough is sticky, add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Let mixer knead dough for about 4 minutes and until it is no longer sticky. Remove dough from mixer bowl and oil the inside lightly. Place dough back in bowl, cover with a towel and let it sit in a warm spot until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. After the hour has passed, punch the dough down and let it sit for a few minutes while you prepare the pan and filling. Line an 11" x 13" pan with parchment paper. Allow an overhang on each side so they can be easily removed from the pan when done. Slice apples into 3/4" pieces (see images above to get an idea of how they should look). In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Lightly flour your work surface, stretch and roll your dough into a rectangle that is approximately 12" x 18". Brush melted coconut oil over the entire surface. Sprinkle brown sugar/cinnamon mixture onto dough. Sprinkle dried blueberries and then apples onto the dough. From the long side, firmly roll the dough. Roll slowly to ensure it is tight as can be. Pinch the entire length of the seam to seal and turn the entire roll seam side down so it's at the bottom. Slice off an inch of dough from each end. Slice the roll into 12 slices. Place each slice into the parchment lined pan. It's OK if they are close together. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot. Let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. After the rolls have rested, bake for about 20 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes in pan. Remove using parchment paper overhang and place on a cooling rack.