Kuipers Family Farm Blog

Santa, who is a long time friend of the farm, will take time out of his busy, busy schedule again this season to stop by the farm to check the progress of all the future Christmas trees in the field and, of course,  visit with the children from 11-1 Saturday, December 3rd.

As you might guess Santa is a great supporter of the Real Tree industry.  While he obviously loves the tradition of families coming to the farm each year in search of the perfect tree, Santa has always been Eco- conscious and very ‘green’ long before it became fashionable.  

So each season we team-up with Santa to try to clear-up the confusion about whether cutting a tree from the field each year is making Eco-friendly choice vs. purchasing a fake plastic or aluminum tree.  You can feel good about making the choice to buy a real tree for so many reasons:

While they’re growing, Real Christmas Trees support life by absorbing carbon dioxide and other gases and emitting fresh oxygen.

The farms that grow Christmas Trees stabilize soil, protect water supplies and provide refuge for wildlife while creating scenic green belts. Often, Christmas Trees are grown on soil that doesn’t support other crops.

Real Christmas Trees are grown on farms just like any other crop. To ensure a constant supply, Christmas Tree growers plant one to three new seedlings for every tree they harvest.

On the other hand, artificial trees are a petroleum-based product manufactured primarily in Chinese factories. The average family uses an artificial tree for only six to nine years before throwing it away, where it will remain in a landfill for centuries after disposal.

Real Christmas Trees are biodegradable, which means they can be easily reused or recycled for mulch and other purposes.

We hope you make plans this season to “go green’ by choosing a real tree and perhaps spend a few minutes with the man in red!  Santa will also stop by on December 10th and December 18th from 11-1 so mark your calenders!

Tree information provided by the National Christmas Tree Association

THE SECOND ANNUAL APPLE COOKING CONTEST

Thanks to the many skillful cooks that entered our second annual event!  The First Place award for Best Taste & Use of Apples in a Recipe went to Yariela Joy for her Caramel Apple Cheesecake entry (recipe available upon request).  The Showmanship award was presented to Gwen Fox who also took home the second and third place awards for her two delicious entries!   

 NOW THRU SATURDAY EACH DAY AT 2PM…..

Bring you favorite hat and teacup and join our Mad Hatter Tea Party at the Orchard Shop.  Sit, relax and sample delicious teas, scones, breads and muffin mixes available to purchase for your upcoming holiday entertaining.  Browse unique decor provided by Cracker Box in Dekalb and tea sets provided by Amazing Grace in Elburn.  Our Store Manager, Cheryl will be on hand to provide entertaining and gift ideas for the holidays.  Hope to see you here!

ORDER A FRESH-FROM-THE-FARM FRUIT PIE FOR THANKSGIVING

Wow your guests this holiday with a delicious Kuipers Home Baked Fruit Pie for dessert!   Just call the Orchard Bakery at (815)827-5200 ext. 106 to place your order now and you can pick up your pie either Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  What could be easier? 

$10.99   Pumpkin

$11.99   Apple and Apple Brown Betty

$12.99   Cherry and Fruit Medley

$14.99   Gourmet Apple and Pecan

$16.99   Blueberry

A 2010 creative presentation

Saturday November 5th at the Orchard

Register now for our Annual Apple Cooking Contest at the farm.  Entries can be any prepared dish containing apples as one of the ingredients so bring in your favorite appetizer, main dish or dessert.

Our panel of experts will judge entries based on creative use of apples, showmanship and of course, taste.  Fabulous prizes will be awarded!   

This weekend is shaping up to be just glorious after quite a gloomy, windy week so make plans to enjoy one of the last great fall weekends before it’s gone!  We are one of the only orchards left with apples to pick too!  Ida Reds will be plentiful and a limited supply of Gold Rush.  Apples available to purchase in the Orchard Shop are Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Mutzu, Sun Crisp, Coral, Fuji, Ida Red and a limited amount of Honey Crisp.

And what’s a fall day without a trip to the field to pick the perfect pumpkin?  Save some time to cross the country road to The Pumpkin Farm at Kuipers for pony rides, Haunted Forest,  The Maize Corn Maze, and all your favorite fall activities.  This weekend promises to offer the perfect weather backdrop to make those fall memories!

Photos courtesy of Audrey Spear Photography.

Daniel P. Figgins Memorial Foundation Chili Cookoff

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Hope you can join us for this second annual event to raise money to purchase Heart Scans for police officers.  Cooks will begin setting up around 8am for competition cooking over outdoor stoves using ‘from scratch’ ingredients.  Judging begins at 2pm followed by public tasting being offered for $5 to try all the entries, what a tasty deal!   It’s not too late to enter either!  Trophies will be awarded to entries based on aroma, consistency, color, taste and aftertaste. Come on out for a great show!

“Do you have Honey Crisp yet?’  “When will the Honey Crisp be ripe?’  “I’m waiting for the Honey Crisp!”

Since our opening weekend two weeks ago I have been inundated with questions from you all about the coveted Honey Crisp apples.  They are by far the favorite apple of  ‘those in the know.’  While waiting for Mother Nature to do her thing I suggested to many to give the Zestar apples a try – a very similar variety in taste with a somewhat softer texture.  While most folks loved the flavor they missed the SNAP you get when biting into a Honey Crisp.  And when it got so very hot a week ago we did harvest some of the Honey Crisp to keep them from baking on the tree…but it was a bit premature to pick them so they were a bit disappointing.

Well, the wait is over!  We have big, juicy, beautiful and flavorful Honey Crisp picked at the peak of freshness now in the Orchard Shop!!  And man are they good this year!  And to celebrate their arrival we are running a limited time special on them: buy a peck of regular apples ( Cortalnd, Golden Supreme, Gala or Jonathon) and receive 20% off a half-peck of Honey Crisp.  So buy your apples for pie or sauce and get Honey Crisp for the lunchbox too!

Have you noticed how quickly the fall colors started coming this past week?  Perhaps not the trees so much but if you drive some of the country roads you may have noticed the corn and beans have changed dramatically in the past week.  That golden yellow color is beginning to blanket the ground.  And out here there are bits of orange popping thru in our fields as the pumpkin harvest begins.  Opening Day of the Pumpkin Farm side of the farm is this Saturday http://www.kuipersfamilyfarm.com/pumpkin-farm.htm and if your planning to spend an afternoon enjoying a farm this weekend offers so many advantages.  Besides the great fall weather forecasted you can enjoy the farm at a more peaceful pace during these few weeks at the end of September before it gets crowded.  Plus you can be the first on your block to decorate your housefront with cornstalks, mums  and pumpkins. 

Hope to see you around the farm!

Kim Kuipers

Welcome to Kuipers Family Farm blog where you can find out all the latest information and see photos or even videos of our events.  Visit this blog often to see what’s coming up at Kuipers Family Farm and what you may have unfortunately missed.

At Kuipers Family Farm you can enjoy apple picking in the orchard begins with an old-fashioned hayride to the grove where you can select from over 20 varieties of apples during the harvest season. Then head up to The Orchard Shop & Bakery for some of our famous apple cider doughnuts. Take home a home-baked fruit pie, sample our cream & butter fudge made fresh on-site, watch caramel apples being hand-spun, and take home a gallon of our freshly pressed apple cider.

If you are coming in the fall, head west once you leave the Orchard across the country road to the Pumpkin Farm for more farm fun!  Besides pumpkin pickin’ you can introduce your kids to our farm animals, jump for joy on our Jumping Pillow, climb Tractor Tire Mountain,  find your way thru The MAiZE, and spend hours taking in the fresh country air while the kids experience old-fashioned, kid-powered fun.

And if you are planning to visit around the holidays, November and December at the farm is dedicated to the holidays with pies and specialty foods for entertaining, unique gifts for giving and of course, Christmas trees. Select from acres of trees ready for you to harvest yourself or choose a freshly harvested precut tree. Make Kuipers part of your families’ tradition each season!

Enjoy Kuipers Family Farm and make your own memories and traditions last generations.