November Themes

It hardly seems like Christmas is next month! But first we have the great month of November, we love November around here. This month we will be posting about two very important topics, Alzheimer's Awareness, as well as Diabetes Awareness. Each Saturday we will have either a stimulating recipe for Alzheimer's Awareness or a healthy alternative for Thanksgiving for Diabetes Awareness.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. It's the most common cause of dementia, a group of brain disorders that results in the loss of intellectual and social skills. Sadly scientist don't fully understand what the actual cause of Alzheimer's disease. But as research continues, it is becoming apparent that a series of complex events take place in the brain over a long period of time, it is thought that it also involves a mix of genetics, environmental and lifestyle factors. In America 5.2 million people of all ages (2013) have Alzheimer's. 5 Million of that are 65 years of age or older.

While there is no known cure for Alzheimer's there are ways of slowing the progression. Specifically we will be focusing on blueberries and their link to slowing Alzheimer's. Scientist and researchers are not 100% on what exactly the link, or magic is between the two but the theory is that because Blueberries are so high in Antioxidants.

Why are Antioxidants important? Because they help repair tissue, cells, and DNA that have been damaged specifically by free radicals. Free radicals are all around us, from being exposed to the sun, the foods we eat, even our bodies create free radicals from the process of digestion. However as long as diets are high in antioxidants then the thought is that the free radical production can be kept in check.

Another thing that is magical about Blueberries is that they have high amounts of anthocyanin, this is what gives the berries that blue & purple color. Anthocyanin can also be found in other berries such as raspberries, blackberries, strawberries,  and aronia berries.

Autumn is for Apples; Baked Apples - A Healthy Treat -

Autumn is for Apples 

I love walking down to our orchard and picking all the apples from our trees. For those who don't know we have what we like to call an orchard. It's not really. It's seven apple trees, a pear tree, an a couple of plum trees. But it's tucked away next to one of our younger fields of blueberries, on the lower side of our farm. We also used this space as a make shift nursery when we had extra plants from last year and the year before when we were replanting our fields. 

One of my favorite things is to have baked apples in the fall, and this is one of my favorite recipes. 

Baked Apples 

Prep Time: 20 Minutes           Total Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes         Servings: 4
Ingredients:
4 medium sized, crisp apples (such as Gala or Honey Crisp)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup apple juice
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Hallow out the centers of the apples, I use a paring knife but a melon baller also works. You'll want to remove the stem and core leaving a good sized hole, around 3/4" wide. Around the top of the apple you'll also want to remove all that skin of the apple. You can do this with a veggie peeler or paring knife. 
3. Next combine the sugar, butter, ground cinnamon, lemon zest, nutmeg, and graham cracker crumbs in a medium sized bowl. I like using a rubber spatula, but a fork works just as well. 
4. With mixed filling, pack into apple holes until  level with the opening. Place the apples into an 8X8" dish.
5. Combine lemon juice, apple juice, and honey into a microwaveable cup. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir to blend and pour around the apples in dish. 
6. Cover apples with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. 
7. After 45 minutes, uncover the pan and baste the apples with the juice from the pan. Continue baking apples for 10-20 minutes more, or until apples are very tender. Serve warm or cold with pan juices. 

Nutritional Info (per serving): 300 calories, 1 g protein, 65 g carb, 5 g fiber, 6.5 g fat, 4 g sat fat, 41 mg sodium. 

Fall Photo Journal

We love watching our farm change colors in the Autumn, the leaves go from lush green into burt oranges and brilliant reds. We thought this year we might share some of the beauty that happens on our farm. If you want to see more check out our Facebook album.

September Updates: Hello Fall!

We had a great fresh season this year! Our U-Pick has never been so busy! We want to thank everyone who came out and made that possible, we truly appreciate your continued business and support.

Since our stand out front has closed we are now operating on our Fall & Winter hours. We will be open from Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm. We currently have frozen blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. We expect to have blackberries in a couple of weeks.

This month on our blog you can find great healthy back to school snacks for kids to pack in their lunches, the journey to being a certified organic farm,  how we care for our farm after harvest, and the benefits that berries can have on cholesterol.

On our facebook page you can watch autumn take over our farm and enjoy the beautiful colors that happen. Our pinterest page is covered with delicious recipes that are good any time of the year.

This month save 10% of your order when you spend at least $20.00 on our website. Use code AUTUMN at check out. Valid now through September 26,2014.

Our Favorite Finds:

Overnight Blueberries & Cream French Toast Casserole

From Cookies & Cups

Serves 10

Ingredients

• Casserole
• 18 slices of white bread, day old works best
• 2 (8 oz) blocks Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup fresh blueberries or 2 cups frozen blueberries (before thawed)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 10 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• Blueberry Syrup
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup fresh blueberries or 2 cups frozen blueberries (before thawed)
• 1 Tbsp butter

How to Make

1. Spray a 9x13 pan with baking spray.
2. Cut all the bread in the cubes. Spread half the bread in the prepared pan, pressing down slightly.
3. In bowl of stand mixer beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together. Drop by the spoonful the cream cheese mixture evenly on the bread layer, spreading if desired. (Spreading this is a little difficult, but I prefer it). Top with the blueberries and then the remaining bread.
4. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and maple syrup. Pour over the entire casserole. Cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
5. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge 30 minutes before baking to take the chill off.
6. Remove Cling Wrap and cover with foil to bake.
7. Bake covered at 350° for 30 minutes and then remove cover and bake an additional 25-30 minutes until center is set.
8. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
9. Bluberry Syrup
10. While the casserole is baking prepare the syrup. IN a medium saucepan combine sugar, corn starch and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it's reached a boil simmer for 3-4 minutes until thickened. Add in blueberries and simmer for 10 more minutes.
11. Pour syrup over entire casserole or individual portions.

Notes

Serve immediately, or cover and store for up to 2 days, reheating before serving.

Rapberry Coconut Smoothie

From Creme de la Crumb 

Creamy dreamy raspberry smoothie made with coconut milk! Bonus: it's sugar free, dairy free, and vegan!

INGREDIENTS

• ½ - 1 cup coconut milk (depending on how thick you like it)
• 1 medium banana, peeled sliced and frozen
• 2 teaspoons coconut extract (optional)
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• optional: shredded coconut flakes, sweetener of choice, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add coconut milk, frozen banana slices and coconut extract to your blender. Pulse 1-2 minutes until smooth. Add frozen raspberries and continue to pulse until smooth.
2. Pour into your fancy schmancy serving glass, top with a couple of raspberries and a little shredded coconut, and enjoy!

GMO in Oregon: A Year of Progress

Last year we posted about what exactly GMO's are and what they can do to our bodies. In a years time two counties have passes measures that prevent GMO plants being planted in their boundaries. Those counties are Jackson (15-119 Ordinance to Ban Growing of Some "Genetically-Engineered" (defined) Plants) and Josephine (17-58 Josephine County Genetically Engineered Plant Ordinance). For now these are the only counties that are able to act against GMO's in Oregon because Gov. K... banned the counties from acting on their own and moved it to a state level, to be dealt with by Oregon's government, however 150,000 signatures have been gathered, which means come November the people will vote on GMO's and determine the fate of the state. The measure Oregonians will be voting on will be require food to be labeled regarding weather or not the contain GMO's.

In the mean time the best way to prevent eating GMO's is to eat certified organic foods, they by definition can not contain any GMO's. Most certified organic farmers are even now having additional testing for GMO's so they can say with certianity they do not contain any GMO's.

Here is some additional information on Oregon's Measure 92

The Non-GMO Project has also taken off like wildfire, in just walking around my local grocery store I am seeing more and more Non-GMO Project labels. This non-profit organization is the only third party verification and labeling for Non-GMO's in North America. They currently have over 20,000 verified products from 2,200 brands,

It's our right to know what is in the food we eat, what has been done to it, and where it comes from, and it's good to hold everyone in the food industry accountable. There is still a lot we don't know about GMO's, so just because we don't know they aren't bad for us doesn't rule out that they are bad.

If you live in the state of Oregon, remember to vote this November because our votes are going to have a huge impact on food labeling and GMOs.

Heathy Twist on Thanksgiving

In need of some healthy alternatives for this Thanksgiving? We have been stumbling across what we thing could really be some delicious stuff!

1. 7 Healthy Twists on Your Favorite Thanksgiving Dishes- This seven slideshow shows some great alternatives to the traditional dishes and also gives you the recipe right there! Now thats convient!

2. 9 'Recipes' for a healthy Thanksgiving- This slideshow gives recipes as well as tips on staying healthy during thanksgiving this year. 

3. Pumpkin Souffle- Serves 8: Nutritional value per serving:  Cal 109/Fat 2 grams/Carbs 19 grams/Fiber 3 grams/Protein 5 grams

  Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp. demerara sugar
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 (15 oz.)can pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup 2% fat milk
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. fresh minced rosemary
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 2 egg yolks, room temperature
• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tbsp. demerara sugar and ½ tsp. ground cinnamon.
3. Coat  8 (6oz.) ramekins or a 1 ½ quart soufflé dish with cooking spray.  Then sprinkle cinnamon sugar and set aside.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add flour then gradually add the milk, whisking until blended.
5. Cook for about 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.
6. Take off the heat and stir in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, rosemary, nutmeg and salt.
7. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg yolks on high-speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.
8. Slowly add milk mixture to egg yolks, stirring constantly.
9. In another large bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high-speed until soft peaks form.  Slowly pour in sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff peaks.
10. Gently stir in ¼ of the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture.
11. Then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites being careful not to deflate the egg whites.
12. Pour mixture into ramekins.  Place ramekins on a baking sheet.  Bake individual soufflés for 18 to 20 minutes, one large soufflé for 1 hour until soufflé has puffed and is golden brown.

Autumn is Upon Us!

Happy start of september! We have finished up our blackberries and are putting our fields to bed for a nice long rest after they did so good this summer. They deserve a break! We will NOT be at the Corvallis Farmer's Market this fall, and WILL be open at our farm during the week. Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm.

We love watching our fall colors come into our blueberry bushes:

Wrapping Up November

November has been a really busy month for us here on the farm...

In the blackberries and raspberries we have been training the canes, meaning that we have been tieing the canes up and making them behave. It looks like the Blackberries are super healthy and we are already showing a good bud set for next summer's harvest.

In the blueberries we have been doing a lot! We took out about 12 acres of blueberry plants that were 42 years old in order to plant a new variety called Liberty. We are also foiler feeding, this helps to set fruit buds for the coming year.

U-Pick Is Open, Let The Season Begin!

Yesterday was the first day of our U-Pick Field being open and we had a great day! So many people came out, especially for being a Wednesday. Our field is full of huge, gorgeous blueberries, that are getting sweeter with every passing day.

Our U-Pick Price is $2.65 per pound, we recommend bringing your own containers to take your berries home in. We are kid friendly, but ask you leave your pets at home. On sunny days there is little shade to park under and animals are not allowed in our fields. We are open from 8am to 6pm daily, now until around the 17th of August. 

If you dont have time to come visit us at the farm, stop on by the Corvallis Farmers Market on Saturdays. The market is on 1st. Street, along the river front in downtown Corvallis. Our booth is across from Denison Farms at the end nearest Great Harvest Bakery. We have all of our products available for purchase as well as fresh fruit.

Also look for our fresh raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries at Albertsons (Corvallis,OR), Market of Choice (Corvallis, OR), Trillium, and  Ocenana (Newport, OR). If they are out request us by name for more! 

For our out of state costumers, don't fret we haven't left you out! Soon you will be able to indulge in our raspberries and blackberries by buying them frozen and buying our other products that will become available sometime this fall! Keep checking back for details!