Where has another month almost gone? I know for us this one has flown by with all of the activity we have had going on here lately with all of our projects.
But…good news on the bakery front. We passed all of our inspections this week and as I write this, the bakers are trying out and testing the equipment. So a hearty thank you to everyone who has helped us to get to this first stage: our contractors, suppliers, employees and our loyal customers.
However, we are still not ready to officially open the bakery as we have some finishing touches, equipment still to arrive and equipment testing. For this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the baked goods are being made in the new bakery and will be available for sale as usual on the market.
We will open the bakery as soon as we can and ask for your patience a little while longer. Next week we will be in a better position to announce the opening date and hours the bakery will be open each day. From the smell coming out of the bakery today–it will be worth the wait.
Michaela and Patti in the new bakery trying out all the equipment
Baked goods available this weekend will include the normal varieties of cookies, pies and breads. This weekend we will have white bread in addition to wheat and cinnamon. And…since blueberries are in season we will have two kinds of fresh blueberry pie….a traditional baked two-crust blueberry pie and a cold blueberry glaze pie.
Vegetables: Yes, we have sweet corn! We are picking a variety called “Sweet Ice” right now. It is a very sweet, bi-color corn and available by the bushel or dozen.
Gathering our corn–the first thing we do each morning
Other vegetables we have are: green beans, swiss chard, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow summer squash, cabbage, peppers, peas, broccoli, brussel sprouts, new potatoes, eggplant and radishes. These are picked daily, for best selection and availability–shop early. We have fresh herbs available to pick, just bring your recipe and snip what you need from the U-Pick herb garden located by the pine tree.
New this year, baby eggplant to throw in a stir-fry or grill
Tomatoes: This week we picked all of our greenhouse tomatoes and pulled the plants out for the year. Our field tomatoes are starting to come in and we have several varieties of small tomatoes coming in: cherry, grape, yellow pear, tomatoberry and lady fingers. These are great for salads or just to snack on. So far the field tomatoes are looking good, but it will be a few more weeks until we have larger quantities or U-Pick field tomatoes.
Cut flowers, sunflowers and gladiolus are ready now, we cut them for sale on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Bring your vase or arrange a bouquet and take home in a plastic bag or cup.
Picked Blueberries: Still available in the market for $3.00 pint and $5.00 quart. Larger quantities (5 and 10 pound boxes) are available most of the time. But, call ahead to make sure we have them or call and order them in advance just to be sure. (269-244-5690). Blueberries area really easy to freeze: Just throw them in a freezer bag unwashed and wash them when you take them out of the freezer to use!
U-Pick Blueberries: Both varieties of our blueberries are ready now so we have extended the picking hours from 8 until 6 each day while there is picking available. Pricing is $2.00 a pound to pick, if you pick over 10 pounds it is $1.50 a pound. We expect them to last about ten more days. Given the cool nights we have been having, the blueberries are not ripening very well, so picking will not be good until we get some hotter weather. Feel free to call before you come out to see what the picking conditions are or check our website for the latest picking information. 269-244-5690.
Everyone is anxious for peaches, melons and our August fruit crops like pears and early apples. While the peaches are turning color on the trees, they are still about another week away. Melons are maybe a week to 10 days. We have a good pear crop, which should be ready toward the end of August. So far our grapes and fall apple crop looks good. But everything is running about 3 weeks later than last year.
The brandy house will be open on Saturday from 1 – 4, you must try our new strawberry brandy and talk with Bruce on some good drink ideas he has.
So you may be wondering about the next project we have started right behind the market area. We just finished demolishing an older building so we can use that space to build another cold storage. We gave up the cold storage for the bakery—the pressure is on as it must be complete before we start our apple harvest! So expect another flurry of activity as we complete our last project for this year (thankfully!)
Construction going on directly behind the market for a new apple cold storage
So from everyone at Corey Lake Orchards, we thank you for buying local and hope to see you soon. Beth