The blood oranges have been picked! Phew! We were mighty busy over the last week. 40,000 pounds of organic blood oranges were taken by semi to our juice processor. Before the juice is even produced, half of it is already sold.

Hundreds of blood oranges in the dappled sun under a tree.

Gone to be Juiced

Twenty tons of organic blood oranges have gone to our processing plant to be juiced. We package only freshly squeezed 100% juice, nothing is ever added, and we never use concentrates, just fresh oranges from our grove. Here are some images of the picking process that you might enjoy.

Yummy, sweet juicy blood oranges

A proud grove employee

Bins and bins of oranges

To pick, we use ladders and also actually climb up
into the tree to reach all the fruit.

The finished product!

Time to Make the Doughnuts, or in Our Case, Pick the Oranges

We're excited! Blood Oranges are in full season. We had a lot of rain in Southern California this year, which we are mightily grateful for, but because of it, the crop is a little later. The trucks arrive tomorrow with all the bins, and we will load up 40,000 pounds, (no, I didn't make a mistake with zeroes), that's 20 TONS of organic, biodynamically grown fruit to be squeezed into our famous Blood Orange Juice. We'll be out picking, packing, and loading for about a week.

It's a busy time at Beck Grove, but also a very rewarding time, because we can literally see the "fruits" of our labor. I'll post some pictures of the whole process so you can see what a typical harvest looks like, so stay tuned.

The juice is fabulous served on its own, but it's also a great base or addition to other beverages. In an earlier post I offered a recipe for a Banana Blood Orange Smoothie.

Here's another recipe for Blood Orange Mimosas. I promise they'll be a big hit at your next brunch.
 

                Blood Orange Mimosas

Rim the champagne flute with sugar. To do this just moisten the top of the glass by dipping it in a saucer filled with water. Set up another saucer with sugar. We used natural raw sugar, but you can use white sugar or color it if you like.

Fill the flute one third full of chilled LaVigne Blood Orange Juice and top it with chilled champagne. Garnish with a blood orange slice or a sprig of mint or fresh thyme. Cheers!

All photos by Carl Kravats

Smoothies

 Photo by Carl Kravats

Here in Southern California smoothies are de rigueur. We love all kinds of smoothies. Nearly every casual restaurant will offer at least several smoothies on their menu, and smoothie bars abound at the beach. Just the thought of a smoothie conjures up thoughts of sunshine, surfers, boardwalks, and beach volleyball.

The best part of smoothies is that they can be good-for-you drinks that are absolutely delicious, especially on a hot summer day. We have our favorites at the Grove and with our plentiful citrus crops, we are actually quite spoiled. If you have never tried blood orange juice, you absolutely must. Nothing can compare to the vibrant natural red color or the refreshing sweet and tart flavor. I hope you enjoy one of our favorite smoothie recipes.

Blood Orange Banana Smoothie
Serves 2

Ingredients:

12 oz. La Vigne Organics Blood Orange Juice

1 frozen very ripe banana

1 cup ice

4 oz. low-fat vanilla yogurt (optional)

Directions:

Thoroughly blend juice and banana together in blender. Add ice and blend to desired consistency. If you are using yogurt, blend in with ice. Pour smoothie into two serving glasses, and garnish with a slice of blood orange.

Photo by Carl Kravats

 

Blood Orange Tart

Here's a "you just got to try it"!!!  This handy dandy, quick as pie recipe for a blood orange tart with marscapone cheese.

It' not only tasty but it is beautiful, a treat for the ones you love. The joy is in the discovery of the use of La Vigne Organic Blood Orange juice as an ingredient and a new flavor treat with color.

   
Blood Orange Tart

This is a pass along recipe from a friend;original source unknown to me. 
Serves 10

Ingredients: 

Crust:

2 tsp. butter, softened

2 cups flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp blood orange zest or lemon zest

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

12 TBSP cold butter, cut into pieces

1 egg

1 tsp orange flavored Grand Marnier liqueur

Filling:

¾ cup La Vigne Organics Blood Orange Juice

1 blood orange, zested finely

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1/3-cup mascarpone cheese

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

1 TBSP orange flavored Grand Marnier liqueur

Confectioners sugar and blood orange wedges for garnish

Directions:

Crust:

Butter an 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom with 2 tsp butter and set aside. Make pastry by combining flour, salt, zest and confectioners sugar in a bowl. Add butter and cut in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles.  Combine the egg and liqueur in a small bowl and add to the flour mixture.  Using a fork, stir until the mixture comes together. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is formed.  Shape into a flattened disk, wrap in plastic and transfer dough to the freezer for 15 minutes.

Place the dough on a floured surface and roll into a 13 inch round. Transfer the dough to the prepared tart pan and ease dough into the edges and up the side of the pan. Trim excess dough and transfer to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove the tart shell from the fridge and prick it all over with a fork.  Line the pastry with foil and fill with weights or beans.  Bake the crust till the edges run golden, approximately 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Remove the weights and foil. Bake 10 more minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Filling:

Make the filling by combining the orange juice, zest, brown sugar and mascarpone in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the liqueur and beat until smooth. Pour filling into the tart shell. Bake until the filling is lightly browned and in spots the crust is golden (approximately 25 minutes). 

Garnish with blood orange segments and confectioners sugar.