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.

We are open for 2012!

You may have seen the telltale big tent on Exit 93- yes, we are open for the 2012 season! Currently, our hours are 11am to 6pm, open every day except Tuesday and Wednesday. Our hours will extend as the season (and weather!) progresses.

What do we have in stock, you may ask?

Fresh, local asparagus!

A wide variety of crisp local apples and sweet pears, direct from the source (not carted all over the country like what you can find right now at grocery stores).

A new selection of local wines, salsas, honey, jams and jellies, hand picked and taste tested by the Wise family.

Handmade pottery made by Momma Wise (fruitstand co-owner by day, artist extraordinaire by night)

And much, much more! Please come by and visit us, and support your local small farmers!

End of July. What’s in Season?

With August just ahead of us, peach season is in full swing. We now will be having new varieties of peaches coming in every few days or week, depending on what is the most tasty peach available. We currently have Brittney Lane peaches ripe for the plucking, and they are big, beautiful, juicy and of course locally grown. Here is a list of some of the items you can expect to find right now at Red Sky Orchards!

• Peaches! Right now Brittney Lane, but subject to change. Call ahead to find out what variety we have in stock before your trip to the fruit stand, if you like!
• Transparent Apples. Unfortunately, they’re not really invisible, but that would be neat. These are the first 2012 crop apples available for the year, and are great for baking or eating.
• Cherries. We still have great Bing and Rainier cherries! Get them before the season ends!
• Blueberries. Locally grown, tasty, addicting!
• Raspberries. Also locally grown, tasty, and addicting.
• Yakima Valley Bi-Color Corn. Don’t settle for the California corn available at the grocery stores! We have fresh, mouth watering corn grown right here in Eastern Washington. Bi-Color corn has both yellow and white kernels on the cob, and it is my favorite (it looks so festive and tastes so good!)
• Tons more! We have so much more fruits and veggies available… you’ll have to come visit us to see it all!

I leave you with a photo of our corn selection, and a snazzy Red Sky Orchards artist’s rendering of the Bi-Color corn.

Bi-Color corn always wears Converse All Stars!

A look at our Sugartime peaches!

Here’s a shot of our Sugartime peaches, just off the trees and available now at Red Sky Orchards. They are TASTY!

As an added bonus, here’s a drawing of a peach (eating fruit?) by our talented fruit stand staff I like the little shoes.

Sugartime peaches are some of the best peaches of the year, and sell out fast, so don’t delay if you want to try them out!

Sugartime peaches are in the building! Or should I say, tent.

We’ve all been waiting for it. We knew it was coming, but didn’t know when. Well it’s here. We know have Sugartime peaches at Red Sky Orchards!!! Locally grown using sustainable farming techniques, the Sugartime peaches are a very rare peach that you are very unlikely to find at any other grocery store or fruit stand in the state. They are extremely sweet, juicy, and flavorful, and ripen weeks before all of the other peach varieties that you may be familiar with. So be the first of all your friends to bite into a Washington peach this year- you certainly won’t regret it when you taste this beauty of a peach. Can you tell I am excited?

We also have some other exciting additions to the lineup at Red Sky. Our favorite onions are in- sweet Walla Walla onions (from Walla Walla of course). By the bag or by the pound, the superb onions can be found at Red Sky.

We also have a variety of local fruits and veggies for your perusal, including:

• English and Snap peas
• Green beans
• Patty Pan Squash (if you’ve never had these, they’re amazing, try them)
• Yellow Zucchini
• Apricots
• Cherries galore (Bing and Rainier)

Hope to see you soon!

Apricots! Cherries! Strawberries, oh my!

Summer is in full swing at Red Sky Orchards, and we’ve got some awesome fruit and produce to offer. Fresh local apricots and bing and rainier cherries are taking the spotlight, as we’ve waited throughout a cold and rainy spring for them to get here. However, we think the extra time on the tree has helped the fruit become even sweeter and juicier than normal (or maybe we just really missed it!). If you need some greens, local asparagus is still in full swing. We can also offer our fresh homegrown lettuce and radishes raised by yours truly just down the road. We also have local vegetables including cucumbers, zucchini, sugar snap peas, and salad onions.

These are making my mouth water!

And here’s a glimpse of our fresh and local asparagus selection:

In addition, we will soon be able to offer local blueberries and strawberries- if we don’t eat them all first!

Pick up some cherries this weekend!

Hello world! After a quick vacation, I am back to blogging about our fruit stand. We have a few updates, the most exciting of which is fresh and local Bing and Rainier cherries! We also have pie cherries, which are a rare find here in the northwest, as most pie cherries are grown in the southern states. Pick up some deliciously crisp and juicy Pink Lady and Jazz apples, which are the best apple to eat this time of year. In addition, we are experimenting with growing our own produce onsite at Red Sky Orchards, and can now offer fresh herbs and lettuces grown in our own greenhouse. It doesn’t get much fresher than that.

As summer approaches, we also have extended hours. We are now open 7 days a week- Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 6pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 am to 7 pm. This will be further extended as the weather warms.

We hope to see you this Memorial Day weekend. Have a good one!

Red Sky Orchards is Open!

 

I am happy to announce that Red Sky Orchards is now open for the 2011 season! We have an exciting line up of produce for this early in the spring, including a few items that you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere.

Opal Apples! In an earlier blog post, I mentioned that Opal apples are DELICIOUS and my new favorite apple, but are a brand new variety and are still very difficult to find. Well, we found them, and earlier than expected. They are sweet, crunchy, and amazing, and currently on sale at Red Sky Orchards.

Local Asparagus! Our mild, rainy spring has not been kind to the asparagus crop, causing this year’s crop to be a bit behind schedule. Well, we found them anyway, and not just your run of the mill asparagus, but delicious and delicate stalks that will make anyone happy to be eating their daily serving of vegetables. Come get yours here at the fruit stand.

Lady Alice Apples. Never heard of them? Neither had I. These yellowish pink apples have a daintily sweet flavor, and are recommended as eating apples. The apples was discovered by chance as a seedling in a Washington orchard, so it’s parentage is unknown.

Other apples: We also have Pacific Rose, Jazz apples, (actually good) Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fujis, and Pink Ladies.

Red and Green D’Anjou Pears. Let it ripen and you’ll get an aromatic, sweet, juicy treat.

We also have a variety of other locally grown items for your perusal, including local potatoes, garlic, and more. Red Sky Orchards expanded its specialty foods selection this year, as well! Our favorites include a Cranberry & Orange bread and muffin mix, Spiced Pumpkin bread and muffin mix, Apple Cider Original spice blend and Caramel Apple Cider spice blend, and Anna’s natural comb honey. 

If you’re interested in our local wines, we have a couple of special finds this year. Mom’s favorite is an award winning late harvest Riesling from Washington Hills. There is a limited quantity of this wine, so get it while you can. We also have a delicious Gewürztraminer from Airfield Estate, and a fabulous Red Table Wine from Piety Flats (incidentally, Piety Flats winery is a stone’s throw away from the original Red Sky Orchards apple farm).

Our current hours are 10 am to 5 pm, and we will be closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We hope to see you soon!

Yakima Spring Barrel Tasting is coming right up!

2011 Spring Barrel Tasting- April 15-17, 10am to 5pm

It’s that time of year again: spring has sprung! Well, at least it has on the east side of the mountains. The 2011 Spring Barrel tasting event is coming right up, and you don’t want to miss it. I have had fun every time I’ve attended this event, and it seems like everyone else has a great time too. It’s a quick trip to Yakima, and we always seem to have great sunny weather every year. The deal is: for $45, you have a pass to taste upcoming vintages straight from the barrel from several wineries across the Valley. It gives you an opportunity to try the newest wines, and you can also usually find great deals on bottles or cases of last year’s vintages. Many wineries also offer live music, guest chefs, and other fun events. For more information you can visit the Spring Barrel Tasting event’s website.

Have fun and don’t forget to bring a designated driver!

Something to look forward to: Opal apples

Guess what guys. There is a new apple coming to town and her name is Opal. These apples are AWESOME. I like them more than Honey Crisps! What’s the catch?

a) They have just been introduced to the market, and are very difficult to find. I have scoured my city with no luck. The good news is: we have our ways at Red Sky Orchards. You should be seeing them for sale this fall.

b) They look awful. Really, they look like Golden Delicious apples that have seen better days. DO NOT BE FOOLED. Remember when your mother used to tell you not to judge a book by its cover? That applies to dear Opal. She has a plain exterior, but is pure sweetness on the inside.

I found Opals to taste sweet (but not boringly so) and crunchy. I also think they will make excellent apple pies- there is something about them that tastes old fashioned, like how apples were always supposed to be, even though it’s a brand new variety.

You can read the marketing on the apple here: http://thepacker.com/Opal-apple-unveiled-by-FirstFruits/Article.aspx?oid=1005291&fid=PACKER-CROPS-AND-MARKETS&aid=117