Red Sky Orchards now closed for 2012

It’s that time of year again. Harvest is completed, frost is on the ground, and Red Sky Orchards has closed for the remainder of the year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our wonderful customers, for supporting our small business and for supporting local farmers. We appreciate each and every one of you, and can’t wait to see you again when we open back up in May 2013!

 

 

If you have any great recipes, canning successes, or any other stories about how Red Sky Orchards produce made an impact on your summer, we would love to hear it. Extra points for pictures! If your story is featured on our blog, we would love to offer you a free treat come next year.

I hope everyone has a fantastic winter time and a great holiday season.

Red Sky Orchards seasonal map

Have you ever seen the Seasonal Map on redskyorchards.com? We get so many questions about what types of fruit and produce is available when, so our creative whiz Derric put together this map to help our customers navigate the season. Of course, fruit and produce availability varies greatly depending on weather, supply and demand, and other factors, but this map can give you a general idea of when to expect your favorite items at Red Sky.

Hope this helps you! You can always give us a call at (509) 899-0062 to ask more specific questions, or leave us a message on Facebook.

-Your Red Sky Orchards staff

September: What’s in Season

August has passed us by, and we find ourselves in September! Now is a fantastic time to come visit us at Red Sky Orchards- we’re right in the middle of peach season, we’re just beginning apple season, and we have all kinds of fresh produce in stock. Here is a list of some of my favorite items currently available at the stand. If it doesn’t say where it’s from, that means its from Yakima!

DELICIOUS peaches!

• Elegant Lady
• Angeles
• #2 Sierra Rich peaches (only $8.89/box!)

Sweet bicolor corn

Tuscan Cantaloupe

Seedless Watermelon

Washington Supreme Nectarines

Dapple Dandy Pluots

Italian Prunes (try them- they’re great!)

Bartlett Pears

Bing Cherries (Flathead Lake, Montana)

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Green Beans

Gala Apples

Honeycrisp Apples- coming any day!!!

It’s almost August! What’s in season?

I can’t believe July has come and (almost) gone! Now that August approaches, there is more and more local fruit and produce available at Red Sky Orchards every day. Here is a list of some of our favorite offerings right now. All of the fruit and produce listed below is locally grown, new crop, and delicious!

Brittany Lane and Princess Time peaches

Nectarines

Earli Gold Apples (yes, they are this year’s!)

Hermiston Cantaloupe and Watermelons

Walla Walla Sweet Onions

Mountain picked Huckleberries (try to find these somewhere else!)

Blueberries

Raspberries

Green Beans

Pickling Cucumbers (hurry, the season for these will be over soon!)

We are expecting semi-freestone peaches to be picked any day now. Feel free to call our fruit stand at any time if you want to see what we’ve got in store for you on any given day.

As always, thank you for supporting local farmers.

“Summer in a Jar”- a fun way to preserve this year’s fresh cherries!

A friend brought to my attention that The Oregonian posted simple instructions on how to capture the fresh, plump sweetness of the local cherry crop in a way that allows you to enjoy them for months to come. She has done this with our local cherries for years, and highly recommended the process to those who feel that the cherry season just isn’t long enough!

When preserving, choose unblemished fruit. You can choose whether or not to pit the cherries. The method is to poach the cherries in a liquid, which keeps them firm and releases just a little of their juice. You can steep the cherries by by pouring hot liquid over the stemmed fruits and letting them cool to mingle the flavors. The steeping process takes only as long as the liquid needs to come to a boil and simmer briefly. The type of liquid you choose is up to you- since the writer in the Oregonian envisioned pouring the cherries over vanilla ice cream and pound cake or cheesecake, she recommended liquids such as amaretto, dark chocolate, or rose wine.

The Oregonian reported that by storing these fresh preserves in the fridge, you can enjoy the cherries as dessert all the way into fall.

June: What’s in season?

June is here, and new fresh and local produce is appearing at Red Sky Orchards every day! Here is a sample of some of the local fruit and produce you can expect to see at RSO right now:

Cherries

Strawberry Rainiers: A New variety, they are speckled like a strawberry but taste just like a Rainier cherry.

Tieton Cherries: Similar to a Bing cherry.

Asparagus

Sugar Snap and English Peas

Salad Onions

Radishes

Coming soon:

Local Sugartime Peaches (we will be the ONLY fruit stand around where you can find peaches this early. Expecting these in the last week of June)

We also have some AMAZING giant apricots. These are as big as a baseball!The apricots are still coming from CA, but we’re expecting the Washington Apricots to be ready any day.

Walla Walla onions should be available within the next ten days.

We hope to see you at Red Sky Orchards soon!

Easy Creamy Fruit Dip

When I was in college, I would bring home quite a bit of delicious fruit from Red Sky Orchards. My lovely roommate at the time enjoyed this almost as much as I did, and she shared an easy  and delicious fruit dip recipe with me that her mother made frequently during the summer.

I had almost forgotten about this creamy dip until today, when I was browsing Pinterest and saw a pin for the “Best Fruit Dip EVER.” I clicked on it and guess what? It’s the same recipe my roommate taught me.

 

Here is the recipe- dip away!

Ingredients

• 1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 7oz jar Marshmallow Cream
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients until combined.