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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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Wally Hazen and Hazen’s Riverisde Blueberries Featured in Coos Bay’s “The World” News

Jul13

We’re pleased as blueberry punch to report that our own Wally Hazen and Hazen’s Riverside Blueberries U-Pick Farm was featured in an article in this morning’s edition of “The World” newspaper out of Coos Bay.

Here’s a re-post of the article:

 

FAIRVIEW — Beneath the glaring mid-day sun Wednesday afternoon, Wally Hazen watched as dozens of pickers wandered through rows of blueberries on his Coquille Valley farm.

“We’re running about 7,200 plants between both fields,” he said. Two nearby women dumped freshly-picked berries into already overflowing buckets.

The pickers at Hazen’s farm Wednesday weren’t employees. They’re his best customers. Eleven years ago, Hazen and his wife reinvented the farm as a retail business in the U-pick model, where customers are responsible for picking and transporting their own berries.

Hazen, who has operated grocery stores on the South Coast for years, said the idea began when the couple were looking for country property. They settled on a berry farm, located seven miles east of Coquille, near Fairview.

“The previous people weren’t marketing the berries,” Hazen said. “They were taking them to a processor in Salem.”

While the lower field is reserved for commercial sale production, U-pick customers are free to roam the upper fields and fill their buckets with all the berries they can use.

The damage? A mere $1.65 a pound.

Mary Tschetter, one of the pickers at the farm Wednesday, said the she looks forward to the season as a way to stock up on fruit.

“I picked more than 100 pounds last year,” she said. “I freeze enough so I have enough for the whole year.”

Hazen said he and his wife have primarily selected blueberry varieties that make good eating and U-pick berries, rather than thick-skinned varieties often found on grocery store shelves.

Many of the their current plants have been on the property for years. “For the most part, berries are 28 to 30 years old — the bushes are,” he said. “My wife and I prune them each winter.”

While western Oregon is renowned for its Pinot noir grapes, the seasoned grocer said they aren’t the only fruit in the region gaining international acclaim

“We’ve got nine farms [in the region] now selling to South Korea,” he said.

Despite the distribution opportunities, the couple continues to concentrate on their U-pick business, which draws between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors each season.

“Some times I toy with the idea of making a bigger operation,” Hazen said. “Then I think, ‘Gah! I’m getting too old for this!’”

Reporter Thomas Moriarty can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 240, or by email at thomas.moriarty@theworldlink.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ThomasDMoriarty

Recipe: Delicious Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake

May21

Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe

Wendy said she tried this one recently and everybody loved it, so here it is. It sounds yummy. Nutritional info at the bottom of the recipe if you want it. I included a regular blueberry pound cake recipe too.

Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake

  • Prep: 25 min. Bake: 55 min. + cooling
  • Yield: 12 Servings

Ingredients:

Directions:

  • Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until blended. Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon peel and vanilla.
  • Toss blueberries with 2 tablespoons flour. In another bowl, mix the remaining flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with yogurt, beating after each addition just until combined. Fold in blueberry mixture.
  • Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to wire rack; cool for 15 minutes.
  • In a small bowl, mix confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Gradually brush onto warm cake, about one-third at a time, allowing glaze to soak into cake before adding more. Cool completely. Yield: 12 servings.Editor’s Note: For easier removal of cake, use solid shortening when greasing a fluted or plain tube pan.

Nutritional Facts 1 slice equals 434 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 78 mg cholesterol, 281 mg sodium, 80 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Originally published as Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake in Taste of Home February/March 2013

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If you would prefer just a blueberry pound cake without the lemon zing, here’s the recipe for that one:

Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe

Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe

  • Prep: 20 min. Bake: 1 hour + cooling
  • Yield: 32 Servings

Ingredients:

Directions:

  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extracts. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in blueberries.
  • Spoon into two greased and waxed paper-lined 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
  • In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and cranberry juice concentrate until smooth. Add blueberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve warm or cold with pound cake. Yield: 2 loaf cakes.