Dried Fruit is Candy!

October 7, 2016 Katrina McAlexander

I love eating dried fruit and I love drying fruit. There is nothing like the smell of dried cinnamon apples in your home that makes it smell like LOVE. A dehydrator is an easy and cheap way to preserve summer/autumns local harvests for the colder months to come(if you don't eat them all in the first week!) Thats the real challenge I we have around here. I have a friend of our farm that preserves plums, peaches, pears and apples and he reports his teenagers eat all the dried fruit in a night if he doesn't hide it.

We use a large Cabelo food dehydrator and let them dry all night at 160 degrees(roughly 12 hours for apples/peaches/plums and 24 hours for pears). But I know many people use their ovens or a smaller dehydrator and that also works out great. The smaller you slice the fruit the faster it is going to dry. We use the apple, peeler/corer to make the apple rings and then place them in dehydrator(for the cinnamon apples I coat in cinnamon and sugar) I do not use any chemicals, additives or preservatives. All the dried fruit you buy in the store are covered in sulfites. If you want to stop the amount of additives you are eating consider drying your own fruit.

My favorite fruits to dry are italian prune plums, peaches, cherries, apples and pears. Come by the stand for a free sample of our fried fruit or to discuss drying fruit with myself or my mom. When we I was a kid my mom used to also make homemade fruit leather. That was such a treat growing up. So many fond memories eating dehydrated fruit as a kiddo on the farm. Dried fruit is Candy! You are welcome to dry with the peelings on as well for more fiber but most children prefer no peeling.

October is the perfect season to turn your ovens on or food dehydrators. Your home will smell absolutely amazing and will be so warm and cozy. Our farm stand is open till the end of the month and then open for self serve. I invite you to come by and pick up some local fruit that you can enjoy all year long. xoxo your grateful farmer, Trina

Confessions of a Grateful Farmer September 2016

September 23, 2016 Katrina McAlexander

Harvesting pears: Photo by Ben Mitchell/Hood River News

1. I am over the moon to be serving our Golden Row Cider at our Event Space and Farm Stand. Come by for a free sample and pick up a growler to take home this weekend. Or let us know if you are interested in having a pony keg at your restaurant or brewery.

2. We thankfully finished picking our winter pears this season. It was a smaller crop than we are used too and we struggled to have enough people to help us harvest but in the 11th hour we had some bonus pickers show up and save the day. Thankful for answered prayers.

3. Our Farm Stand is OPEN 7 days a week and the apples are absolutely beautiful, tasty and huge this year for pick your own. Did you know the keeper apples store all winter long(Fugi, Grannies, Pippens, Braebruns, Rome, Spitzenburgs). Grateful for our loyal customers that come out each week to buy farm direct and for those of you who are putting up the harvest in apple butter and sauce. Here is my recipe for Pear Butter.

4. We are honored to be partnering with a favorite non profit Gorge Grown this year for their annual fundraiser a farm to table Harvest Dinner on October 2nd from 4-7pm. Tickets our selling out fast for this once a year event featuring Ben Stenn from Celilo Restauant and local farmers so pick yours tickets today. Excited they are serving our Golden Row Cider and fresh fruit at this lovely dinner.

5. We had a fantastic first year hosting weddings at our Wedding and Event Space right in the heart of our orchard and if you would like to learn more about having your special day here on our farm it would be our pleasure to host you. We also host other events as well so reach out and check on available dates.

6. We have bumper crop of Italian Prune plums and they are looking for good homes. Please come by this weekend because they taste amazing fresh, dried, in jam or pie and are on SALE.

7. Speaking of Dried Fruit we have some of the best dried fruit in town according to our customersCome by today for a sample and get inspired to dry some of this years harvest for your household for colder months, or stock on the dried fruit we have lovely prepared for you.

8. Yes we have fresh pressed unpateurized Cider as well for the next 6 weeks. This weeks variety was made with Gravensteins, Jonagolds and Goldens. Its perfection! It freezes well too.

9. The best farmer on the farm (my dear mother) right smack dab in the middle of harvest had her gall bladder removed. We barely made it without her harvesting pears but we are grateful she made it out ok.

10. We got some great news this past month from our 2015 pear crop. We thankfully had the numbers of bins and payout in a way that I got my first pay out check as a farmer. This is the first pay check I have received from the packing house since I started in 2014(2 years later). It was a loooong wait and I am so grateful for this surprise. Financial breakthrough keeps farmers going strong year after year and Ill take it. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my continued success.

11. Our All fruit CSA is in its last weeks and we have had a very successful season. So many people want to back up local small family farms they just don't have the time to come out each week to shop. Consider joining our 2017 All Fruit CSA and let me drop off a box each week in your neighborhood, friends.

12. Yes, we are having our Swiss Edelweiss day on October 22nd from Noon-4pm this year. Plan on joining us for this day of Swiss music, dancing and yodeling, Swiss Sausage, Apple Strudel and Hard Cider. Also Harvest Festival weekend is a fun weekend to join as well Oct 14-16th.

13. Consider following along on our Facebook and instagram accounts for photos, recipes, weddings, cider and farm love. xox your grateful farmer, Trina McAlexander

Photo of Ben Mitchell/Hood River News (Golden Row Cider made by your truly)

Harvest season is my favorite. Photo by Ben Mitchell/Hood River News

Cheers to September

September 2, 2016 Katrina McAlexander

September has always been my favorite month in Oregon. We begin harvesting our winter pears and all 70+ varieties of our apples. We are still picking peaches for days but we coming into more pluots and plums. We press fresh cider and start baking pies. The farm smells absolutely amazing and the fall colors are starting to pop up all over in every direction. The air is crisp in the morning and warm in the afternoons. Its perfect time for apple picking and apple sauce making. So I personally invite you all up to the farm for a farm day.

Visiting our farm stand gives people the chance to experience the big picture of our small family farm and see the variety of plants we tend and the wild forest setting important to our bees and honey production. I like building long-term relationships with customers, and the more relaxed situation gives everybody time to connect when you come and

Farming is about thriving. When the soil thrives, my family and my community thrive. My hope is that the lives after ours will thrive. It's simple, but, to quote Wendell Berry, "This is no paradisal dream. Its hardship is its possibility."

Things to not miss when you visit our farm

1. Pick your own peaches, apples, plums or pears

2. Visit the barnyard and say, "Hello," to Carlos, Wilber, Billy and Waldo.

3. Pack a picnic and enjoy a meal in the heart of our orchard.

4. Play on our 2 different play structures

5. Enjoy our Fresh Pressed Cider or Hard Cider

6. Visit our Event Space or learn more about our wedding venue

7. Try our homemade jams, local honey or dried fruit.

. Pick some dahlias in our fresh flower garden.

9. Visit our Pumpkin patch with breathtaking views of Mt. Hood

10. Meet the farmers who grow fruit with you in mind.