Ronald McDonald House

This week we had the pleasure of donating three Christmas trees to the brand new Ronald McDonald House. We also donated $1000 to the Ronald McDonald House because we want to give back to the Austin community that has supported us for so many years.

The new 30-room facility is located next to the Dell Children's Hospital. After the ceremony, Kent Burress, the executive director of the Ronald McDonald House, gave us a tour of the new facility. He said that it is fast becoming a model for other facilities being built around the world. It utilizes energy-saving devices, family-oriented spaces and healthy building materials. This will be a great place for families to stay while their children are in the hospital.

We are so grateful that we were able to donate to an organization that takes care of families in their time of need.

Fox 7 News was out there for the ceremony. CLICK HERE to watch the news story.


Here are some photos from our visit to the Ronald McDonald House, which officially opens December 17.

Mike spoke about the importance of real Christmas trees during the ceremony, as Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples watched.

Mike looks out at the Dell Children's Hospital from one of the rooms at the new Ronald McDonald House. The facility was built so that each room has a view of the hospital . This way families can still look over their ill or injured children, even when they aren't at the hospital.

Evergreen Farms Pumpkin Facts and Recipes

Another big week-end at the farm. We had record crowds this week-end and as far as we know everyone had a great time despite the train delay. So many pumpkins have been going out the gate, Evergreen Farms would like to share some facts and recipes with all of you.

Pumpkin Nutritional Facts (based on one cup of pumpkin puree)
Calories: 80; Carbohydrates: 19 grams;Cholesterol: 0;Fat: less than 1 gram; Potassium: 588 milligrams; Protein: 2.4 grams; Vitamin A: 310% of RDA; Vitamin B: 20% of RDA
Cooking Pumpkin
Use firm, bright colored pumpkins
Cut in half, scrape out the seeds and brush the inside with melted butter and a little salt
Cover with foil and bake at 350F for about 50 minutes or until tender
Scoop out pulp from the skin. Mash or beat until smooth
A 3lb Pumpkin yields 4-5 cups
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp oil
1-2 tsp of salt
Separate seeds from pumpkin pulp. Do not wash. Coat the seeds with oil and salt. Bake on a baking sheet at 250F until seeds are dry. About 1 hour.
Pumpkin Casserole
Combine pumpkin puree with rice and minced grreen pepper in a thick white cheese sauce.
Bake 350F until warm.
Pumpkin West Indian Soup( serves 100)
3 lbs quartered onions
2lbs. Leeks
2oz. garlic
2oz. Olive Oil
7 lbs. pumpkin puree
31/2 gallons chicken stock
2 quarts Half and Half
1 quart of heavy cream
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
Heat oven to 300F. Place onions, leeks and garlic in shallow roasting pan; drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes. Puree the vegetables.
Roast pumpkin puree at 300F for 20 to 25 minutes. In large stockpot combine the pumpkin puree, pureed begetables and chicken stock. Bring to boil. Simmer 1 hour.
Add Half and Half and cream. simmer 5 minutes. season with salt and pepper.
Pumpkin Pie Dip
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
15 ounces of pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add pumpkin, cinnamon and ginger beating well. Cover and chill for 8 hours. Serve with gingersnaps, apple or pear slices.

Thousands enjoyed the fun this past week-end at the Pumpkin Hunt

This past week-end was a fun-filled event at Evergreen Farms. Thousands hunted and painted pumpkins and enjoyed all of the games on the farm. Next week-end will be even better as the forecast for the weather is a lot cooler. The new model train is a big hit despite the removal of the Caboose because of the high winds. Of course the real train ride is a a huge success since the ride is longer and has all kinds of trivia to learn along the way. See you this week-end. don't be left out. Next week we will try and have pictures posted---the camera needed recharging.

Pumpkin Hunt

What's Happening at Evergreen Farms?

We are busy getting ready for the Great Pumpkin Hunt. This year, there will be familiar activities from last year – the pumpkin launcher, the maze, the pumpkin slide – and of course, pumpkin hunting – as well as some new games, including the “No Name Game” and “Pumpkin Golf.” Also this year, the maze will be bigger and better and the train rides will be longer.

This has been a good year for our pumpkin patch. The pumpkins continue to grow, and our customers will have a great selection of pumpkins to choose from.

If you’ve been to the Great Pumpkin Hunt in the past, you know that we provide free pumpkin recipes. We’ve spent the past several months searching for new recipes and are excited about sharing them with you.

We’ve been receiving a number of calls from customers asking about birthday parties. If your child is interested in having their birthday party at the farm during the Great Pumpkin Hunt, we are happy to accommodate you. If you’d like a private party after our regular hours, you can reserve your time by calling and you’ll be charged a fee of $200.00. Partygoers will be able to participate in a variety of the pumpkin hunt activities, and you can set up and serve refreshments under our pavilion.

We’ll spend the next few weeks finishing our preparations for the Great Pumpkin Hunt. We hope you’ll join us for all the fun and festivities during the last three weeks of October.

See you soon!
The Walterscheidts