Do You Make Great Apple Pie?

Greetings!

Do you like to bake? If so, you could win money for your apple pie. Paulus Orchards is once again sponsoring the Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Contest for the Dillsburg Farmer's Fair. First place wins $125 and a chance to win more at the Farm Show in January. There is a cash prize for second and third place as well. The contest is open to anyone who lives in PA. You need to pick up the information and the pre-registration form at the farm stand. But you need to hurry... your form needs to be completed and mailed no later than October 11th.

Fun on the Farm Family Weekends

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Fall Weekends - what a great time of year to play outside with your family. This weekend will be the best weather we've had in over a month. September started too hot, ended too wet, but October seems to be starting just right.

Come out and search for the "Great Pumpkin." (I love Charlie Brown.) The pumpkin patch is open every Saturday and Sunday this month. Grab a wagon and see if you can find the best one out there. Your children will have so much more fun picking pumpkins off the vine than from a display.

There will be three different varieties of u-pick apples to choose from this weekend. Empire, Golden Delicious, and Stayman will all be available. Golden Delicious are sweet and can be used for anything. A very versatile apple. Stayman are tarter and make an excellent apple for dumplings or pies. Empire are middle of the road, a combination of Red Delicious and McIntosh.

Bring your family out this weekend and get lost in the maze. The corn maze is great for every age. It's hard to find something that your entire family will enjoy, but I think the maze is one of those few things. Stay together or split up and make it a challenge. I got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago from a lady who is meeting her extended family at the farm for a fun time in the maze. Would you believe that she asked me to e-mail her a map so that she could make sure the women beat the men! You'll be happy to know that I didn't do it. :) Although I did tell her that most of my corn cops are "starving college students" and could probably be bribed fairly easily. O.K., that was a joke - don't try to bribe the corn cops!

There will also be free wagon rides this weekend. You can jump on and off as many times as you like. It will make stops at the large corn maze, the small corn maze, and the pumpkin patch. It's the perfect weekend.

Recipe of the Week

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This week's recipe is Chicken and Potato soup. It comes from one of our employees, Lucy Micsky, who loves to make soup. She tells me that she has a soup party at her house every year. What a great idea - doesn't that sound like fun? Skip the cookies - let's have soup!

This recipe calls for butternut squash which is in season right now.

Share your favorite recipe with us. I always need new ideas. For some reason I open my freezer and always see the basic ingredients. I never open it up and see the potential for lasagna or steak diane or chicken and potato soup! But once you hand me the recipe, I'm good to go! So if you have a favorite, I'd love to hear from you.