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We Often Get the Nicest Letters!

Dec31

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“Dear Hazens,

I must say your emails are such a great joy. All the photos are beautiful. I love seeing the photos of the little ones with their little buckets. My greatest joy on your farm was when my daughter, son-in-law and I were finished picking berries and leaving the field and there was a tiny little guy with his bucket. He was so adorable but yet unsure what he was suppose to do. But I do know that special little bucket made him feel so important and a part of things. What a great touch providing the smaller buckets for the smaller clientele. Brings me back to the days when my three girls were tiny. I also love the photo of the lady in the hat looking through the plants. Whoever your camera person is has a great eye for a wonderful picture. The exchange student photos were so sweet. I bet they all had a wonderful time on your farm. All the photos are such a joy.
These emails and personal touches you put on them really gives your farm a community family feel. Keep up the great work. I feel there is no reason to ever think about another blueberry farm as yours is so personable and the people we met working all all so kind. Also, there’s the fact that your blueberries are bountiful and tasty and your farm beautiful. You should all be so very proud of your accomplishments. Thank you for providing such great berries and such a lovely setting with wonderful people.

Denise M.”

Sent from my iPad

Blueberry Crumb Bars Recipe

Jun27

Wendy Hazen made these blueberry bars as a dessert over Father’s Day weekend and they were a huge hit. Yummy stuff. This is our second week of U-Pick and the berries look fantastic. I don’t know what kind of winter pruning magic Wendy and Wally have done this time, but the berries are larger, more abundant and scrumptious than I have yet seen. You gotta get out here and pick some of these berries. It’s quick and easy to fill several buckets and the berries are huge! Come on out! We also have pre-picked fresh raspberries in flats ready to take home and have fun with in the kitchen!

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Prep time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

1 lemon

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup [ 2 sticks ] butter, cut up and cold

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups fresh picked Hazen’s blueberries [ of course! ]

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9 x 13″ baking pan with foil; grease the foil. From your lemon grate 1tsp of zest; squeeze 2 tbsp of lemon juice

2: In food processor, pulse flour, the granulated sugar, cinnamon, zest, and salt until combined.  ADD butter and vanilla. Pulse again until dough just resembles crumbs. Transfer 1/2 of the prepared dough to prepared pan. Place remaining dough in the fridge. Firmly press dough in your pan into a nice even layer.

3: In large bowl: toss your fresh blueberries, brown sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Spread berry mixture over crust in pan. Firmly squeeze chilled dough into small clumps and scatter over all the berries.

4: Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until topping is golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Makes about 18-24 bars, depending on size.

Calories: 235 calories per bar: 2 grams protein, 34 grams carbs, 11 grams fat, 1 gram fiber, 140 mg of sodium.

 

“Road Scholar Program” Pays a Special Visit to Hazen’s Riverside Blueberry Farm

Jul12

The “Road Scholar” program is best described as “an adventure in lifelong learning.”  People of all ages, from K-12 aged school kids to parents and senior citizens  – join the program from all over the world and make “road scholar expeditions” all around America, learning as they go. One month your find the Road Scholars digging on an archeological site, the next month they might be learning to forage for wild mushrooms or picking blueberries on a farm. Jeremy Jones is the director / coordinator for the group in our region through http://socc.edu

“Explore the World With Road Scholar

Educational Travel Since 1975

Road Scholar, the not-for-profit leader in educational travel since 1975, offers 5,500 educational tours in all 50 states and 150 countries. Alongside local and renowned experts, experience in-depth and behind-the-scenes learning opportunities, from cultural tours and study cruises to walking, biking and more.”

This week the Road Scholars paid a special visit to Hazen’s Riverside Blueberry Farm, where they were treated to an informal talk given by owner Wally Hazen about the history of the farm, including some interesting trivia on the roots of blueberry agriculture in southern Oregon in general, then they shared a picnic lunch and headed out to the berry fields to do some U-picking.

Our family mascot Cooper greeted the group, and all the kids fell in love with him right away. Cooper’s job is to “meet and greet” all of the visitors to the blueberry farm, and to be sure to show off his favorite tennis ball as well. He’s an important member of farm team, and arguably our most popular attraction, other than the great farm fresh berries. The group planned to take their fresh picked blueberries out to the kitchens of the well known Oregon Coast Culinary Institute in Coos Bay to make pies and jam, the perfect ending to a perfect day. We were pleased to have the Road Scholars as our guests today and look forward to many more fun visits from their “traveling learning consortium” in the future!

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Exchange Students from South Korea Bring International Flair to the Hazen Farm on Guided Tour

Jul11

People come to enjoy Hazen’s Riverside Blueberry Farm from all around the world. This summer we were treated to a special visit by a large group of college aged foreign exchange students from South Korea who are sponsored by international exchange program at Southwestern Community College in Coos Bay. These vivacious young people were a delight to have around. Wally Hazen provided them a tour of the farm and explained the whole process of raising blueberries, from field to market. Here are some photos.

How to Make Homemade Blueberry Cobbler

Apr11

It goes without saying that we would [ of course! ] prefer that you use your delicious U-picked Hazen’s berries for any recipe which calls for blueberries, rather than the somewhat bland tasting “grocery store bought” berries.  I thought I ought to say this, as I noticed that Betty [ below ] in her video had used grocery store berries. She obviously hasn’t been out to the Hazen farm to U-Pick yet, has she?

Once you taste our huge delicious blueberries, you most likely will never want to buy “grocery store’ blueberries again! Here’s Betty’s cobbler how-to:

Tags: blueberries, cooking with blueberries, blueberry desserts, homemade blueberry cobbler, baking with blueberries