Columbia Farms U-Pick

Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce

2011-08-19T12:15:00.001-07:00

I found myself with some tomatoes on my counter this morning and I thought I should make some roasted tomato sauce for my freezer. Such a simple task; the house smelled like heaven. And all of this by 7 am.

There is no measuring to this recipe, I am just using what I had in the house. First, preheat your oven to 375°- 400°. Next, spray a pan that has a rim with cooking spray. I am using the bottom of my broiler pan. Then I rough cut tomatoes. No need to peel the little buggers. Cut into pieces about the size of an egg. Add some onion and garlic. And no need to peel the garlic either! I also added a half a red pepper that was about to go bad. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss with your hands. Place into the preheated oven and let them roast away. I like to stir them after 45 minutes or so. And I roast them until the tomatoes are melted away and the edges start to brown. Or in this case 'black.' This may take up to an hour and a half. The mixture will be thick and gooey. Allow to cool. If your garlic still has its papery skin, pop it out. Place everything into a blender and puree. Sometimes I add a little water to make a looser sauce.
To freeze the mixture, I like to put it into an ice cube tray and tap the tray in the counter to get the mixture to settle evenly. Place into the freezer for a couple of hours. When it is frozen solid, pop them out and store in a Ziploc bag. Each cube is about 1/4 cup. (I use an ice cream scoop to fill the ice cube tray)
And now I have Roasted Tomato Sauce in my freezer. Some times, when I have zucchini or mushrooms, I add them to the party. But don't tell my husband... he does not like zucchini or mushrooms. This recipe is very versatile. Feel free to season with herbs, salt and pepper, or leave out the onion/ garlic. Make the sauce the way you want.

We have plenty of tomatoes for u-pick. The cost is 90¢ a pound. We have red and yellow brandywine, old German, early girl, big boy beef steak, roma and patio varieties. And we have peppers too... bell, sweet Romanian, jalapeno and anaheim for 25¢ each.

And our Fall blueberries are ready! They are so sweet and yummy. The price is $1.85 a pound for u-pick.

Have a good weekend.

Diane

Closing early this Saturday (August 13, 2011) and the tomatoes are ready

2011-08-10T14:20:00.001-07:00

We are hosting a private event Saturday afternoon... so we will be closing at noon. We will be open for regular hours on Friday and Sunday.

And look at what I picked in the hoop house today! 28 pounds of tomatoes! These are going to our local school, Sauvie Island Academy, for their back-to-school BBQ. The school will be opening as a charter school this Fall and the community is excited to bring some stability to our neighborhood school.

We have plenty of tomatoes for you to pick this weekend. The price is 90¢ a pound. We have early girl, red and yellow brandywine and romas ready to go. And we still have a few boysenberries for u-pick. We are finished for the year with raspberries, marionberries, currants and blackberries.

Diane

PS That big tomato in the first photo weighed in at 1 1/2 pounds! It is the largest yellow brandywine to date.

Muffins

2011-08-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

I recently defrosted my freezer, hoping I could take a berry inventory while I cleaned. I found an over abundance of blueberries so I thought I should make blueberry muffins...and help reduce the number of bags of blueberries I was hoarding. I found my most favorite muffin recipe, the one from my Aunt Verna. And I made miniature muffins because they are so cute! Just adjust the baking time down to 12 to 15 minutes. I watched them like a hawk while they baked. Partly because they smell so good but mostly because I am not patient. Half of my muffins had three blueberries on top and the other half had a cherry. Yummy!

Now... let's get to that recipe.

Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tea. baking powder
1/2 tea. salt
1/4 tea. baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup blueberries, marionberries, cherries or a combination
sugar and cinnamon mixture

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the orange juice and the oatmeal; stir well and sit aside. In another bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl, mix the oil and the egg. Add the flour mixture into the OJ/ oat mixture. This will be very dry. Stir in the oil/ egg mixture and stir just until mixed. Add fruit of choice and fill 12 regular lined or sprayed muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before eating. (That's the hard part!)

Sauvie Island Fruit Company

2011-07-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is a local product that we are now selling in our market. They offer five flavors of jam; marionberry, raspberry, strawberry, black raspberry and triple berry. They are wonderfully,creammy and lucious on a freshly toasted Engish muffin.

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri Mix

2011-06-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

I found this easy recipe in the Oregonian years ago and we love to make these long after the strawberries are gone.

2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lime juice (2 limes)
1/4 cup water
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

Combine the sugar, lime juice and water in a bowl. Stir to mix and let set until the sugar is dissolved. In an blender or food processor, combine the sugar mixture with the strawberries. Blend until smooth. Pack into a freezer container and freeze. (use an ice cream scoop for mixing drinks)

For each daiquiri: In a blender, combine 3 Tab. rum, 1/4 cup frozen daiquiri mix and about 7-8 ice cubes. Blend until smooth. (most blenders hold up to four servings)

For a virgin daiquiri: substitute lemon-lime soda for rum

Spinach and strawberry salad

2011-06-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of summer 2011. To celebrate, just imagine these ingredients combined together for a refreshing summer salad. Spinach, basil and strawberries.

For the dressing:
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tea. sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tea. black pepper

In a small food processor or blender, combine the garlic, basil, vinegar and sugar. With the blade running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until emulsified. Season with pepper. Store in the refrigerator in a glass jar.

For candied nuts:
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3 Tab. butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tea. black pepper
1/4 tea. salt

In a skillet, cook and stir nuts in butter until toasted; about 5 minutes. Remove from heat , stir in sugar, pepper and salt. Pour onto a plate and allow to cool. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

For one serving,
about 2 cups of washed spinach
1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 Tab. candied nuts
a drizzle of basil dressing

Enjoy today!

Berries and Cream

2011-06-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is a quick and easy dessert recipe. We spoon this onto any type of berry...strawberries, blueberries, mixed berries, even fresh peaches. I will be serving this at our Fathers Day get together.

Berries and Cream
1 cup cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tea. vanilla
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 to 4 cups berries

Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl. Place berries into individual serving bowls and top with the cream mixture. Serves 6-8.

Here is a little secret... my oldest daughter likes to fill the hollow core of a raspberry with the cream mixture and pop it into her mouth. That is just too much work for me. I like mine in a bowl.

Raspberries and blueberries will be late this year. We are looking at early July before the fields are ready for picking. And of course the marionberries and boysenberries will be late too. Our tomatoes in the hoop house are setting fruit so... red, ripe tomatoes are not too far off.

Diane

The strawberries are ready!

2011-06-09T21:24:00.001-07:00

We will open our strawberry field for picking on June 10th. We have honeoye strawberries available this week. Our hood and puget reliance varieties will be ready for picking around the 15th of June. U-pick is $1.35 a pound and ready picked is $2.10 a pound.

The weather has been nice the last couple of days and we have planted a new field of strawberries for 2012, and we have all of our pumpkins planted too. Our tomatoes in the hoop house are blooming and setting fruit. We also planted basil, cucumbers, peppers and flowers in the hoop house. A bountiful harvest is fast approaching!

High water and it is almost time for strawberries

2011-05-31T17:21:00.000-07:00

We went for a drive on the island yesterday to look at the high water. The Columbia River is running at 17 feet. Meaning 17 feet above sea level. Which is not very high... unless you live on Sauvie Island... where some parts of the Island are below sea level. This first photo was taken at the entrance path to the clothing optional beach. As you can see, the water is covering the base of the sign and lapping at the gravel road. Another foot or so in the river levels and the road will be covered.

We traveled to a friends farm where the cows are enjoying water front property. They look so relaxed even though the water has covered the top of the fence.(Today, the water has gone over this road we were standing on and has flooded the wheat field on the other side.)
This last photo shows some cows standing on an island surrounded by flood water. The farmer has been feverishly trying to move all of his cows to high ground. The water in this field is only about a foot deep but the cows don't want to stand around in water.

And... strawberries! We will open on June 9 or 10 with Honeoye Strawberries. The Hoods and Puget Reliance berries will start around June 15.

A nice spring day!

2011-05-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today is beautiful! I would like to share a few photos from around the farm. The first photo is the outside of our HUGE hoop house. Next is the inside... can you see all those tomato plants?
And my daughter watering in our greenhouse.
And what is that HUGE tent in our parking area... Columbia Farms is hosting a dinner, dance and auction for the new charter school, Sauvie Island Academy this Saturday. What fun! I hope you can join us for a very worthy cause.

Diane

A little snow and a little sunshine

2011-02-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

The new year is off to a rolling start. Last nights snow is beautiful and serene; snow seems to change the pace if life on the farm to a more deliberate walk. Changes are happening on the farm as I write. We are installing a hoop house to grow our tomatoes. I hope this eliminates the amount of fungicide I have to apply, as the plants will be guarded from Oregon's summer rain. I also hope we have tomatoes much earlier then mid- September; maybe as early as the first part of August. If you have a favorite variety of tomato you would like me to grow, post a comment and I will see about planting your request. Until next time, enjoy this day.

Diane

The pumpkins are ready

2010-10-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Finally, Fall is here! This is my favorite season, hands down. My crew and I decorated around the market today, including setting up the mountain of hay. I can't wait to climb to the top. I hope you all have an opportunity to visit us this season and take home a pumpkin or two. We still have you-pick blueberries and raspberries, flowers to cut and honey to enjoy.

New to our market, we are selling Sauvie Island Fruit Company's Fruit Preserves. We have strawberry, marionberry, raspberry, black raspberry and an all-fruit triple berry. This is a local company, just staring out, with a quality product.

Opening Friday September 3

2010-08-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

We will open our fields for picking on Friday, September 3. We have Fall raspberries, Fall blueberries and flowers. We did not plant tomatoes this year... too wet and cold. And we removed our thornless blackberries after last Falls harvest.

The blueberries are the 'Elliot' variety. A mid-size berry with a wonderful blueberry flavor. The raspberries are 'Caroline' and they are very sweet and fragrant. The price for you-pick is $1.95 a pound for both berries. We also have a field of flowers. They include 4 types of zinnias, 4 types of sunflowers, cosmos, statice, snapdragons, cleome and a couple other varieties that escape my mind. The price is 25 cents a stem. Feel free to bring a bucket from home that can be filled with water to keep your flowers fresh on the way home.

Diane

This is my 'other' life

2010-07-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

While the market is closed, I still have farm responsibilities. This includes fixing dinner every night for our combining crew. I prepare a meal, load it into my truck, drive it out to the field, set up a table and chairs.

I enjoy seeing my husband and
listening to the stories
about how the crews day is
going. On this evening I
brought out BBQ ribs, coleslaw,
watermelon, bread and homemade
Heath Bar crunch ice cream.

And I do it all again the next day.

Marionberry Barbecue Sauce

2010-07-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday, July 25, will be our last day for summer berries. We will be closed until our fall raspberries and blueberries are ready for picking; usually early September. In the meantime, let's play with our food!
I am frequently on the look-out for new recipes using Oregon's original berry, the marionberry. I came across an excellent recipe in Sunset magazine and then I tweaked it to fit our family's palate. This sauce is good on chicken, pork and turkey. Give it a try. (I love the color of marionberries after they are blended.)

Marionberry Barbecue Sauce

1 1/2 cups marionberries
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tea. ground ginger
1/2 tea. ground black pepper
1 tea. Tabasco Sauce
1 tab. Frank's Redhot Original Sauce

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Pour into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Marion and boysenberries are starting soon!

2010-07-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

We will open up our marionberry and boysenberry fields for picking on Saturday, July 10th. The price will be $1.75 a pound for you-pick and $2.75 a pound for ready-picked fruit. The best picking for these berries is the first 7 to 10 days; the size and quality will decrease as the season goes on. And our marionberries are certified by the State of Oregon as official marionberries. Don't be fooled by other farms who advertise 'marionberries' but really sell blackberries.

I love marionberries for their sweet taste and ease of picking. But my favorite berry is the boysenberry. Have you ever had a boysenberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream? That is summer to me.

Diane

Jam recipe taste test

2010-07-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

Last week our family and friends had a blind jam tasting. I made three batches of strawberry jam, using three different recipes calling for three very different amounts of sugar. I made all the jam using Puget Reliance strawberries. I was very surprised by the results.

Recipe 1) typical freezer jam recipe; 4 cups of fruit, 6 cups of sugar and 1 cup corn syrup.

Recipe 2) lower sugar recipe; 4 cups of fruit and 3 cups of sugar.

Recipe 3) lowest sugar recipe; 4 cups of fruit and 1 1/2 cups sugar.

I set out the bowls marked A, B and C. I served the jam with fresh, homemade bread. I also served salty crackers and pickles to counteract the sweetness of the jam. We all were very surprised at the overwhelming favorite.

We all thought Recipe 3 had the best 'fresh' strawberry flavor. Recipe 2 was good too. Recipe 1 was by far the least liked by all. I am changing the way I make freezer jam from now on... no more 'loaded with sugar' for our family.

And if you are curious, the pectin I used for recipe 3 is 'Instant Pectin' made by Ball. I liked the ease of the recipe and the taste so much, I am selling it in our market.

I challenge you to do your own taste test and let me know what your family and friends prefer.

Diane

wedding ring

2010-07-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

To the person who lost their wedding ring at Columbia Farms, please call us again. The phone number you left is no longer in service.

Diane

What a little sunshine can do...

2010-06-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

The raspberries and blueberries have ripened! This last week of warmth has ripened the berries beautifully. The Meeker raspberries are delicious, sweet and juicy. The Duke blueberries are ready for pancakes and muffins. The price for u-pick on both berries is $1.75 per pound. We also have ready picked berries for $2.75 per pound.

The strawberries are still producing quality fruit and should continue through the July 4Th weekend. The price for u-pick strawberries is $1.30 per pound and $2.00 per pound for ready picked.

Diane

The strawberries are slowly ripening.

2010-06-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

I wish the sun would spend a little more time shining instead of hiding behind clouds. The berries are slowly turning red...which is good. We have been picking Honeoyes for a week and we just started picking Puget Reliance today. The Hoods still need a little warm sunshine. We will start picking them on Tuesday, June 15.

Diane

Doesn't a strawberry yogurt parfait sound good?

2010-06-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

I have been making my own granola for years and I have come up with a pretty good recipe for a low fat version. To make a parfait: layer sliced strawberries, vanilla yogurt and granola. Simple!

Healthy Granola

4 1/2 cups regular oats
1 tea. ground cinnamon
1/4 tea. salt
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup water
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine oats, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
Combine honey, molasses and water in a microwave bowl. Heat on high in microwave until hot, 1- 1 1/2 minutes. Stir well and pour over oat mixture. Stir well to evenly coat.
Spray jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Spoon mixture onto pan, spreading evenly.
Bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: 4 1/2 cups

Enjoy!
Diane

The strawberries are ready!

2010-06-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

Look at what we picked this morning. These are Honeoye strawberries, which is a variety we have never grown before. They are large, have a pleasant strawberry flavor and very fragrant. The field is VERY MUDDY so wear boots. We have set up a berry washing table so you can rinse off your berries before we weigh them. We will start picking Puget Reliance berries sometime around June 9-10; and Hoods around June 11-12.

The strawberries are blooming!

2010-05-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

This is what our strawberry field looks like today. The plants are blooming with an abundance of flowers. We will open for the 2010 summer season on Friday, June 4th. This is a new field of berries that we planted last summer. The first year harvest is usually heavy with fruit. The varieties we planted are Hood, Puget Reliance, Honeye and Tillamook.

We are looking forward to June 4th and strawberry season.

Diane