Strawberries – The Deliciously Sweet Sign of Spring! At Bella Viva, the intense, sweet, aroma of freshly picked strawberries fills the air. We are currently drying them so you can enjoy the wonderful, in-season, taste any time. Harvest has begun at the strawberry patch in Waterford, California, and the berries are dried within 24 hours just down the road at our facility in Denair. Our natural proprietary drying method ensures the fresh ripe taste is locked into each and every strawberry slice. After tasting them you may be surprised to learn that no sweeteners or preservatives are added. Absolutely nothing! So stick your nose
Oranges – The Sweet Taste of California Citrus! Greetings from Hughson, California! We are currently harvesting and drying our Natural and Organic Dried Orange Slices at our facility in Denair, CA. Due to customer demand, the fruit from our trees is not enough to keep these tasty treats on our shelves! To acquire more fresh oranges, we have partnered with a local grower in Porterville who shares our values and passion for sustainable farming. Order online or come by our store and enjoy the good life. Have you ever tried a dried orange slice? At Bella Viva we love them! The beauty of it is you
Planting Bare Root Trees – Your Backyard Orchard The bounty of the harvest all begins with the preparation and planting of our orchards. Although our Bella Viva orchards are filled with hundreds of trees, consisting of many different varieties, it doesn’t take a lot of space to create your own “Backyard Orchard.” The best time of the year to plant your bare root fruit trees is during the winter months when they are dormant; before their buds swell and the rainy season saturates the ground. First, you will need to find an area in your yard that receives six or more hours of full
Water Outlook for California 2015 This past growing season, May through September, was the most challenging I have ever experienced in my 33 years as a fruit grower. The issue was the meager amount of water we were allotted by the irrigation district during the summer to irrigate our orchard. Severe and unprecedented rationing due to the drought has been going on for several years now. If our reservoir system is full we have enough water to last for years. But the problem has been that we have not had much rain or snow for consecutive seasons. If it weren’t for major conservation efforts over the past several
Ingredients: ½ cup Bella Viva Prunes ½ cup Bella Viva Dried Peaches ½ cup Bella Viva Dried Apricots Orange peel/Orange Juice to taste 1 Tsp Cinnamon Lemon Juice Pinch/Lemon Peel Instructions Simmer 10 minutes in shallow water, after bringing to boil. Can be served, chilled or warm; add raw honey for sweetener if needed.
Description Thanks to Teresa F. of Iowa for share this tasty snack. It is great on toast with cream cheese. You could even try it over ice cream or frozen yogurt! Ingredients: 1 cup of water ½ cup sugar 2 chai teabags 1-2 small pieces of peeled raw ginger 6 Bella Viva dried peaches, Yellow or White Several drops of pure vanilla extract Instructions In a small saucepan, boil the water, sugar, chai teabags (Celestial Seasonings, Bigalow or store brand), and ginger together for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the peach slices and a few drops of vanilla. Let sit until peaches
Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 tsp. vanilla (or 1 TBS) 4 medium eggs, beaten 1 cup finely ground hazelnuts 3 cups all-purpose flour (ex: King Arthur) 1 ½ tsp baking powder 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped dried pears Instructions Preheat oven to 350° F In a large bowl, mix cream, sugar and butter; add vanilla, eggs and ground hazelnuts. In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder and add to ground hazelnut mixture. Stir in chopped hazelnuts and pears. Divide dough in halves or thirds. On a well-floured surface (really, really well
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup dark brown sugar 1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped ½ cup whole almonds, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped ½ cup dried Moyer prunes, pitted and halved ½ cup dried apricot halves ½ cup dried Bing cherries 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions Preheat the oven to 325° F. Prepare a 8×8-inch square pan with nonstick spray or line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the brown sugar,
Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter 1 heaping cup dried pears, in 1/3 inch chunks 1 cup sugar 1 egg 2 T honey 1/2 tsp almond extract 1 cup plus 2 T flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 cup baby oats 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat and add each of the remaining ingredients, stirring well. Spoon heaping tablespoons of dough onto a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until golden brown, less time for chewy, more for crisp.
Description This recipe was adapted by Katie G. from a recipe originally found on Epicurious. She recommends stuffing and wrapping the roast at least 24 hours in advance. Instructions: Stuffing: ¼ pound Bella Viva Dried Apricots, cut into ½-inch pieces ¼ pound Bella Viva Dried Zante Currants 2/3 cup ruby port 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 small shallot, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic ¾ stick unsalted butter 1 tart apple such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces Roast: 1 6 pound bone-in pork loin roast (10 ribs), frenched, at room temperature 1 hour 9 or 10 bacon slices Port
