Come down to the farm and choose more than a tree- start a family tradition. There is nothing that compares to walking through the field with your family and finding that perfect tree for you to enjoy throughout the holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Our harvest season for 2011 is coming to a close. Our final day being open with Christmas trees will be Tues. Dec. 20th. We wanted to take a  moment to share our gratitude to all of the customers from May through December that support our family farm. We enjoy growing and selling flowers, produce, pumpkins and farm experiences, as well as Christmas trees. We love meeting all of the old and new faces that come to the farm, hearing where different folks are from, and learning what our customers like and dislike. Please feel free to send us an email through our contact us page. We appreciate any feedback our customers might want to share and take their thoughts and opinions into consideration during our winter planning months for the next year.

Thanks again for you support, and hope the New Year brings your family peace and joy! See you in the Spring.

The Schilter Family

Schilter Family Farm                                                                                               

141 Nisqually Cutoff RD SE

Olympia, WA 98513  (360)459-4023                                                                                       September 21, 2011

FOR RELEASE CONTACT:

Jeff Schilter (360)791-6000 or Stephanie Schilter (360)791-5800

Score at Schilter Family Farm’s

 “AMAZING Kasey Keller and Sounders FC” Corn Maze

            The Schilter Family Farm will open its’ Harvest Festival and five acre corn field featuring a maze of the local retiring soccer hero, Kasey Keller and the Sounders FC. The “Amazing Kasey Keller and Sounders FC” corn maze is a fun filled way for the entire family to spend a fall day together at the farm. The paths of the maze twist and turn while the object of the maze is not only to navigate through it, but to also hunt for the signs throughout the maze to answer the trivia questions about Kasey Keller’s outstanding soccer career. Keller , who grew up in Olympia,  has had an unbelievable soccer career, and learning more about this incredible Sounders FC athlete throughout the maze is a great way to honor a hometown soccer hero during his last year playing professional soccer.   

            The Schilter Family Farm, located in the Nisqually Valley, in Olympia, WA will celebrate the opening of its’ Harvest Festival and “Amazing Kasey Keller and Sounders FC” corn maze on Saturday, October 1^st and will remain open through October 31^st  from 10-6 daily. Last entrance to the corn maze, which takes approximately an hour to navigate through, is at 5:00pm daily. The first 5 separate groups to make it through the “Amazing Kasey Keller and Sounders FC” corn maze with all of the correct trivia answers about Keller’s soccer career will receive 4 complimentary Sounders FC tickets to Keller’s last home soccer game on October 15,2011 at Centurylink Field, courtesy of Sounders FC. All other travelers of the maze who play the game will be entered into drawings for free gifts throughout the month at Schilter Family Farm’s Harvest Festival.

            Admission for an activity bracelet to the Schilter Family Farm Harvest Festival and ”Amazing Kasey Keller and Sounders FC” corn maze is $5.00 per person Monday –Friday, and $10.00 per person on Saturday or Sunday, children 2 and under are free. Family passes are also available. The activity bracelet will allow families to enjoy the corn maze, petting farm, hayrides, corn and pumpkin cannon, “round up railway” cow train, hay maze and hay jump in the 140 year old barn and many other activities for one great price. To celebrate the opening weekend, on Oct. 1^st and  2^nd only,  customers who arrive at the farm in Sounders FC attire will receive a discount of $1.00 off the activity bracelet price.

“Our farm enjoys creating family fun experiences for our customers,” says Jeff Schilter, owner of Schilter Family Farm. “Honoring a local Olympia soccer hero, Kasey Keller, in this year’s corn maze seemed like a perfect way to say good job to an incredible goal keeper during his last month of professional soccer and at the same time offer our customers a fun and unique way to spend the day together with family and friends  enjoying all of the activities at the farm.”

The Schilter Family Farm Harvest Festival and “Amazing Kasey Keller and Sounders FC” corn maze will remain open through October 31^st. To Find Schilter Family Farm take I-5 to exit #114 onto Nisqually Cutoff Road or check out schilterfamilyfarm.com for more information.             

We got our first look at our corn maze from the air on Wednesday and it looks great. We are excited to open it on October 1st along with all of our fun farm activities. You won’t want to miss this year at the farm. We have made a lot of improvements and we know your family will love them. Come on down on the 1st and navigate your way through this fun and challenging maze.

Our sweet corn is finally ripe. After a very cool Spring and early Summer, our corn is ready to be picked. The best sweet corn in Thurston County will be available starting Tuesday Sept. 6th. You won’t want to miss out on these sweet tender ears of corn.

Looking for a peach cobbler that is a little different! This one is our family favorite. It has a little almond extract in it which adds just enough flavor to make this a very special and delicious dessert. Come pick up some or our sweet, ripe peaches and make this for your family or friends. You won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients:

4 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches
1 ½ cups sugar divided
½ tsp. almond extract
½ cup melted butter(can substitute with margarine, but on the farm we only use real butter)
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
¾ cup milk
Vanilla ice cream, optional

In a bowl, gently toss peaches, 1 cup of sugar and almond extract; set aside. Pour butter into a 2 quart baking dish. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining sugar. Stir in milk and mix well. Pour evenly over melted butter in baking dish- DO NOT STIR. Top with peach mixture. DO NOT STIR.

Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold with ice cream if desired. We double this recipe so we have plenty for our large family!

Our daughter attends Northwest Christian High School and for the first time runs on their Cross Country team. The girls cross country team has won the state 2B championship 5 years in a row! This just doesn’t happen by accident. We can’t tell you how amazed we are by the dedication and perseverance these young athletes and their volunteer unpaid coaches demonstrate. The team practices 6 days a week- even on holidays. As a team they give up all junk food and soda for the running season, and most importantly they support each other in their faith journey and encourage each other to reach their God given potential as runners. We are very proud of this team and hope you can make it out to watch them race or check them out on their team website: http://www.northwestchristianlacey.com/.

Ingredients:

For this recipe you will need 4 pint jars, lids, and rings. You can double, triple or enlarge this recipe to make more as long as you keep the proportions the same.

2 lbs. small tender Schilter Family Farm green beans- stem end trimmed off
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 cloves fresh peeled cloves of garlic
4 large heads of fresh dill
2 cups of water
1/4 cup of salt
2 cups of cider vinegar 5% acidity- (you can use white vinegar as well for brighter color, but a little less flavor)

Directions:

Clean and sterilize your canning jars and lids. This can be done in a dish washer of place the jars upside down in a hot water bath in a pan. Pull out and place on your work space.

Rinse and stem your green beans.

Pack uniformly in hot, sterilized jars. Pack them in as tight as you can.

To each pint, add 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 clove whole fresh peeled garlic, and 1 head of fresh dill.

Heat together water, salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil; Pour over beans.

Put lids and rings on jars and place jars in a pot of hot water. Bring to a slight boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer 10 minutes.

All finished! Label the tops of your jars with the date so you know later when you made them.

Makes 4 pints

Allow the beans to sit in jars for at least 6 weeks to absorb flavor before eating. Enjoy!

We have started cutting out our 5 acre corn maze for this year’s Harvest Festival, and it is going to be A-Mazing. Thank you to the Seattle Sounders FC and their awesome goal keeper,Kasey Keller, for allowing us to showcase their team in our corn maze this year.  Our maze will be filled with great trivia about the Sounders and Kasey Keller’s soccer career. Keller grew up here in Lacey, Washington and is a local hero to many a young soccer players.

We are going to have a lot of fun with this one, so keep checking our site for an aerial photo in September, and more information about our
 A-Mazing Sounders FC and Kasey Keller Corn Maze!

Want a delicious side dish that will liven up your meal. Try making fresh green beans with sauteed bacon and onions.

Ingredients:

1 pound green beans, washed, trimmed and cut into 1-2″ pieces
4 slices of bacon chopped into small pieces
1/2 of an onion chopped- We use Walla Walla Sweets or whatever sweet onion is available.
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook bacon and onion together in a large saute pan over medium heat until bacon is tender, crisp and onions are tender.
Drain off bacon grease and remove onions and bacon to a separate bowl.
Place green beans in same hot pan and add water to almost cover bean. Cook over medium heat until beans are tender crisp, but not mushy.
Drain off water and pour bacon and onions over the top of beans. Toss and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into serving dish and enjoy.