Monday, September 18, 2017

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Previously seen in our January 2017 newsletter, it's finally making it's way to the blog! Better late than never? This week we transition from Summer to Fall officially, but we can't say bye to fresh blueberries just quite yet! 
"A deliciously moist, lightly sweet "coffee" cake bursting with juicy ripe blueberries."
INGREDIENTS
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • Zest from 1 lemon
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (divided)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 cups fresh, ripe blueberries
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar for sprinkling
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Lightly grease and flour an 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Remove two tablespoons of the flour and set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, lemon zest and ¾ cup of sugar. Beat for several minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until light and fluffy.
  5. Beat in the egg and vanilla just until incorporated.
  6. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. Beat on low until incorporated. Add ⅓ of the buttermilk and blend until smooth. Repeat adding ⅓ of the flour then ⅓ of the buttermilk until both are incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
  7. Toss the blueberries with the reserved 2 tablespoons of flour. Gently fold the blueberries and any extra flour into the batter using a rubber spatula. Take care not to rupture the blueberries.
  8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar and bake in a 325 preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

Labels: , , , , , ,

Thursday, May 25, 2017

May 2017 News & Updates




What a wet spring we have been having!

Oregon is home to rain but some sun every once in a while would be nice too! With a little luck the fields will start drying out and we can get on with preparing for the coming harvest. The rain has caused us some disruptions, but the berries have been doing well with all the wet weather and our blueberries are starting to bloom. 
WE HAVE NEW PRODUCTS!
What a great reception we have received from our powders! We are so happy to hear that so many of you enjoy them! For those who missed last months newsletter, we have new berry powders up in the shop.  You can now purchase:
Our berry powders are a supercharged way of getting your daily fruits into your diet. You can mix our powders into baking, oatmeal, smoothies, milk, ice cream, and more! Just like our dried berries, there are no additives or preservatives, so we're keeping the product as natural and nutritious as possible! 
*Note: Our powders are not soluble*
We've also added a new size to our powders. Now you can purchase all of our powder varieties in 2 lbs. quantities for $110.00.  
We would also like to mention that our free shipping amount has increased to $235.00 after coupons are applied. Our spreads and frozen do not qualify for free shipping. 
Follow us on Social Media!
Changes Are Coming:
Most of you are aware that last summer we were crazy busy during harvest. In the summer of 2016 we harvested about 2 million pounds of fruit, this year we are projecting at least 3 million. With that much fruit to be harvested we have had to make some hard choices in where to cut back so a balance can be achieved. This has resulted in our decision to not have a U-Pick this summer. We are sad that we can not continue, but our harvest is our first priority. 
We will still be offering already picked & washed blueberries in 30 pound boxes and 5 pound bags. For these you pull around to our office and we help you there. The price for those this year will be the same as in the past at $100 (30 pound box). 
We would like to thank everyone who has come out and supported us over the years. We hope you will continue to enjoy our berries. 
We will have a blog post late May/early June about all the changes we are making why we are making them. 
And did you see our delicious post this month? No-Bake, Nutrient Dense Energy Bites! YUM! 

Our normal office hours are:
Monday - Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST  

Cold Weather Shipping 

Cold Weather Shipping is still going! Since spring is here, if the temperature gets above 75 degrees where you are please call us and we will discuss if it's safe to ground ship berries to you. May is the last month we will be able to ship, and it might not even be available the whole month. It just depends on what the temperature decides to do. 
Thank you to everyone who has taken advantage of our Cold Weather Shipping! 
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 us at 541-752-0460 Monday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm Pacific Standard Time.
**PLEASE NOTE: We are not responsible for shipping delays due to weather conditions**


LEMON BLUEBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE

Original Recipe from quartzandleisure.com
Ingredients:
BLUEBERRY FILLING INGREDIENTS:
  • 1.5 Cups fresh blueberries
  • 1 Cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 oz. water
CRUST INGREDIENTS:
  • 1.5 Cups Graham cracker crumbs (I used all 3 blocks from the package – we’ll reserve some of the leftover crumbs for topping)
  • 1/3 Cup melted butter
CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS:
  • 3 Packages cream cheese (8 oz. each)
  • 1 Cup sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1 Cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
Instructions:
BLUEBERRY FILLING DIRECTIONS:
  1. Pour blueberries & sugar into a pot over medium-high heat. Simmer for about 10 mins.
  2. Add the cornstarch to the water and mix well.  Pour this into the berries.
  3. Continue to stir until it thickens up.
  4. Remove from stove and allow to cool completely (approx 1 hour).
CRUST DIRECTIONS:
  1. Place graham crackers in a Ziploc bag and smash into crumbs.
  2. Measure 1.5 cups of crumbs and mix with the melted butter until evenly coated.
  3. Press into the bottom of a spring form pan and set aside.
CHEESECAKE DIRECTIONS:
  1. Mix cream cheese and sugar with a mixer until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix for 30 seconds before adding the next egg.
  3. Blend in the vanilla extract and the lemon zest.
  4. Add in the heavy cream and mix until competely smooth.
  5. Scrape down the bowl and give the batter one last mix at HIGH speed for 1 minute.
  6. Pour over the graham cracker crust.
  7. Make a foil “nest” that the pan will sit in while cooking.
  8. Cook the cheesecake for 65-80 minutes at 300° or until the surface no longer looks shiny.
  9. Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temp before moving it to the fridge to cool completely.
  10. Serve with fresh whipped cream and garnish with the remaining graham cracker crumbs.

Our Featured Products in the online Shop:




We are almost to full bloom in our blueberries. The bees have been hard at work despite the rain we've been having.

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

It's Finally Summer! Fresh Berries + News from Sunset Valley Organics


Happy Start of Summer!


We are so happy it’s finally SUMMER! Anybody else feeling the heat we have gotten over the last few days? All this heat really helps our berries ripen, and it helps make them sweeter! Yum! As we have announced we do not have fresh strawberries (frozen is still available) this year. However we will have raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. 

News From Around The Farm

We have finished trellising the black raspberries, and what a boat load of work that was! After we got it all trellised we put in drip irrigation to the field so we could easily make sure everything was getting the water it needed and that took a good part of our May. 
Every week now we are feeding our plants and soils so they stay nice and healthy during the harvest. Just as we work hard and need food to continue so do our plants. 
In May we also got to try Bearded Brother’s Blueberry Vanilla Energy Bars they were so good you guys! The reason we wanted to try them is because these specific bars are made with our dried blueberries. 
We have also been voted the best U-Pick Berry Farm of 2015 by the readers of Willamette Living Magazine. We would like to thank everyone who voted, and even if you didn’t, you are the whole reason we do this, with out you guys we wouldn’t be in business. So THANK YOU! 

Social Media Updates

This month on our blog we are posting about National Men’s Health Month, and some delicious recipes to go along with it. We will also have a Father’s Day inspiration gift guide. This is also going to be a great place to check for updates about our harvest this summer. 
We are also going to be starting an Instagram account so if you wanna see some awesome shots of our farm and what harvest looks like for us then be sure to watch Facebook for that announcement! 
Our Pinterest board theme is Schools Out! It’s time to be outside and relax! This board celebrates the start of summer with delicious recipes and great ideas for spending some quality time with your kids! 

Specials + Coupons

So we have a couple of ways to help you save this month:
First of all, if you come out to our farm stand and show us you have liked us on Facebook, or Follow us on Twitter then you can save 10% off your total order! This offer will be available as long as our farm stand is open. 
Finally We are sending out post cards with a special offer, but if you don’t get those post cards all you have to do is find our ad in Oregon Family Magazine and tell us about it and get a great saving! Each of these is a one time only, and will be valid during our 2015 Fresh harvest, only valid at our farm stand. 

Recipes

This month we are trying to beat the heat with some delicious, healthy smoothies. We hope you enjoy the selections we have chosen. 

Raspberry Coconut Smoothie

Dairy-Free, Vegan Friendly
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 0 mins
Ready in: 5 mins
Yield: 1 smoothie
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut milk 
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 banana peeled, chopped into pieces
optional: sweetener of choice, if needed. 
Directions:
Blend all of the ingredients into blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender.
Optional: Add sweetener to taste.
If the smoothie is too thick for you, add milk until it’s your desired consistency.

Raspberry Mango Tango Smoothie

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 0 mins
Ready in: 5 mins
Yield: 1 large smoothie, or 2 small smoothies
Ingredients: 
1/2 of a large banana, peeled, sliced and frozen. 
1/2 cup favorite brand of Mango yogurt
1 cup fresh or frozen mango
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
optional: milk for desired thickness.
Directions:
Add all of the ingredients into the blender
Blend on high for about 3 minutes, or until smooth.
Serve + enjoy! 

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Health Awareness Berry Good Smoothie

Berries, It's Kinda What We Do

Berries, it's our power house. Not only do we love berries, but we are committed to growing the most nutrient dense berries we possibly can. We stand vigilant in our fields over seeing the soils, the leafs, the growth, the quality of our plants. All so we can continue to improve our already great berries. (We might be a bit of perfectionists!) 

Each of our berries have their own set of health benefits, but they all work harmoniously as well. If you want to learn more about the berries we currently sell check out our website!

Berry Good Smoothie
Ingredients: 
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup fresh or frozen SVO strawberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen SVO blackberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen SVO blueberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen SVO raspberries
2-4 cups fresh kale, stems removed
1-2 tablespoons flaxseed
1 cup ice

Directions:
1. Blend well in high-powdered blender until you see vortex in the middle
2. Serve, sip, & enjoy! 

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,