June 2017 News & Updates

June Is Here!

Finally the rain is letting up and the beautiful sun is shining through! We had a pretty wet spring and because of that we are currently about 2 weeks behind with the growing season. If we get some really hot weather that can change really quick. It just depends on Mother Nature now.  

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:

• Red Raspberry Powder
• Blackberry Powder
• Aronia Berry Powder
• Black Raspberry Powder
• Blueberry Powder

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. 

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 about all the changes we are making why we are making them. 

This Month On The Blog:

Our blog is becoming more active! We will be having a variety of topics, you can expect these posts over the next month:

• Blackberry Crostini
• Spring Superfood Bowl with Blueberry Ginger Dressing
• Blueberry Broccoli Spinach Salad
• Raspberry Chia Seed Jam
• Super Berry Bars
• U-Pick Update

And did you see our delicious post this month? Oatmeal Aronia Berry Cookies. A surprisingly soft, delicious treat!

Have you seen this awesome spotlight video on our farm? It's just a little over 2 minutes so take a look!

Our Normal Office Hours: Monday - Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST  These will also be the hours during harvest this summer. Please note: Do not respond to this email, it does not reach us.  Cold Weather Shipping  Cold Weather shipping is now over until fall. Thanks to everyone who called an placed an order, we are so glad we can provide a cheaper method of shipping so more people have the chance to enjoy our nutrient dense berries. When we get to September we will start looking at temperatures again to see if we can offer this method again sooner rather than later. Typically it won’t be available until mid-October though. If you have questions about frozen and shipping please call us at 541-752-0460 Monday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST. We will be having a First Day of Summer flash sale. Details will be posted on our Facebook page on June 20, the sale will take place on June 21st. No-Bake Nutrient Dense Raspberry Energy Bites Original Recipe from sunsetvalleyorganics.com Ingredients: 1 TBSP Coconut Oil 1/3 C Almond Butter (or nut butter of your choice) 1/4 C Honey* (or maple syrup) 1/2 C Old Fashioned Oats 2 TBSP Chia Seeds 2 TBSP Raspberry Powder Directions: Prepare baking sheet lined with parchment, set aside. Melt coconut oil in a large bowl. Stir in the nut butter*, honey (or maple syrup) until smooth. Add the oats, chia seeds, and mix ins of your choice. Roll into 1 tablespoon balls and place on prepared baking sheet, and place in freezer for up to an hour. Remove from freezer and transfer balls into plastic bag. Store in the fridge for up to one week or the freezer for up to 3 months. *If your nut butter is really hard you can try warming it up in the microwave, it makes it a lot easier to stir in!

U-Pick Updates For the Summer of 2017

What is happening this Summer?

As most of you are aware, 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. The biggest change is that we will no longer have a farm stand in the summer, nor will we have the U-Pick for blueberries.This also includes any pre-orders for Raspberries, blackberries, and black raspberries. We hope our loyal customers can understand our decision. 

Please know this was not an easy decision for us to make. We spent the better part of the winter and spring trying to work out how we could make a it work. And finally, we just had to face the truth, that we've reached a point that we have to make some cuts. Last year we had to cut back our U-Pick and farm stand to being open only for 2 weeks, and during that time we felt strained in making sure everything was getting the attention it needed. We take customer service very seriously, and we just felt like we were not meeting our expectations during those two weeks. Additionally, finding workers is becoming harder and harder, and this too has played a part in our choice of closing the farm stand and u-pick. 

We will still be offering already picked & washed blueberries in 30 pound boxes and 5 pound bags. Like in past years, for these you will pull around to our office and our office staff can help you there. The price for those this year will be the same as in the past at $100 (30-pound box) and 5 pound bags for $24.00. We will post here, on facebook, instagram, and twitter when these are ready to be picked up. You can also call us and place a pre-order if you are wanting to pick up two or more boxes at a time. Our office phone number is 541-752-0460. The hours for pick up will be Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm, our normal office hours. 

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. 

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:

• Red Raspberry Powder
• Blackberry Powder
• Aronia Berry Powder
• Black Raspberry Powder
• Blueberry Powder

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!

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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:

Red Raspberry Powder

Black Raspberry Powder

Aronia Berry Powder 

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

News for March & April From Sunset Valley Organics

Happy Spring! Is anyone else ready for Spring? We sure are! We've been busy finishing up our pruning on our blueberries. We've gotten a bit of snow and freezing rain so we are looking forward to warmer weather. WE HAVE NEW PRODUCTS! Finally! We have new berry powders up in the shop. Which is why the newsletter was delayed in going out in March. We wanted to be able to announce that you can now purchase: Red Raspberry Powder Blackberry Powder Aronia Berry Powder Black Raspberry Powder Blueberry Powder 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! Like our dried berries there are no additives or preservatives in the powders so we're keeping the product as natural as possible.  *Note: None of our powders dissolve in water* 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.   Our normal office hours are: Monday - Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST  Please note: Do not respond to this email, it does not reach us.

 

 

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.  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** We are also going to have a secret Instagram sale some time this month, so be sure to be following us so you don't miss out!

 

 

No-Bake Blueberry Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup creamy almond butter (or cashew butter)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup Crispy Brown Rice Cereal
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds (or chia seeds)
• 1/3 cup dried blueberries

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the almond butter and maple syrup then stir together. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir until evenly coated. If the mixture seems to wet, sprinkle in a few more oats. If it seems to dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time until moist it’s enough. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
2. Using a scooper, scoop out roughly 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time and roll into balls. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.