Combine 1/4 cup broth and saffron threads in a bowl and set aside. Bring 6 3/4 cups broth to boil in a saucepan.  Reduce heat to low. Cover and keep warm.

Melt 3 TB butter with olive oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add rice, and stir 2 minutes. Add wine and simmer until almost no liquid remains, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Mix in pumpkin.

Add 1 cup hot broth to the rice mixture; simmer uncovered until absorbed, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Continue adding broth, 1 cup at a time, until rice is tender but still firm to bite and mixture is creamy, stirring often and allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. This should take about 30 minutes. Mix in saffron broth, 3 TB butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese.

*Arborio, an Italian short grain rice, is available at Italian markets as well as many grocery store specialty sections.

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We received so many wonderful photos of families having fun on our farm this year!  It took the farmers quite a while to pick finalists … and from those, the winners.

First Place:  Sharon Walker  - Man, boy, llama

Second Place:  Amy Williams – twin girls sitting on pumpkins

Third Place:  Daniel Franchetti  -  girl in the hay tent

 Please enjoy this slideshow of our ten finalists.

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Jennifer, Jeff & Jake

Jennifer, Jim, and their 2 year old daughter, Gabby, live only minutes away from the Dalton farm.  Jennifer has been part of Roba Family Farms since day one.  She helped plant some of the first Christmas trees on the farm, and one of her favorite farm memories is the harvest and sale of those trees.  Jennifer is a busy person; she is a full time server at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, runs Jake’s Chuck Wagon at the farm on fall weekdays, and makes all of the farm’s Christmas wreaths.  She enjoys crafts, shopping, and gardening in her free time.  Just like her Dad, she loves to plant things and watch them grow.  Though she can do almost anything on the farm, her favorite work is “mowing – in my own little world, peaceful.”

Jeff has just graduated from Abington Heights High School, and will be entering his freshman year at Bucknell University in September to study Mechanical Engineering and Management.  Jeff enjoys working with his hands, and loves baseball.  After he graduates from college and settles down, he hopes to coach baseball.  He too can work anywhere on the farm, but his favorite chore is driving tractor.  His farm memories are many, but one of his favorites is “when I was eight years old standing over my father’s shoulder watching him design the corn maze at the drafting table, then working with him in the cornfield laying out the maze.”

Jake’s interests are music and the great outdoors.  One of his early farm memories is being outside one summer day and getting lost in the corn maze with his cousin.  His outdoor and hiking skills have greatly improved; Jake has hiked the Adirondacks, the rain forest of Panama and Costa Rica, and the  Rocky Mountains in New Mexico and Utah with the Boy Scouts.  Jake is a junior at Abington Heights where he is a member of the band, and the volleyball team.  He also plays saxophone at Marywood University with the Wind Ensemble.  For Jake, music is both a fun and a serious interest, and he has aspirations of studying music in college.  When he is working at the farm, you will almost always find him working in his favorite venue, the kitchen of The Old Barn Cafe and Bakery.

Jennifer, Jeff, and Jake all have future plans for the farm, and they all see it as a farm.  Jake wants to continue to grow each year with new and exciting attractions and events, and Jennifer and Jeff both see an expansion to include an apple orchard where customers can add to their fall fun by picking their own apples at Roba Family Farms.

By the way, Mom and Dad are really proud of all three children, and include them in most of the major business decisions of the farm.

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Ingredients:

Directions:

Mix pudding and 1 cup milk according to package directions.  Set aside.  Combine cream cheese, 2 TB milk, and sugar.  Beat until smooth with electric mixer.  Spread cream cheese mixture on bottom of crust.  Add berries evenly.  Fold topping into pudding, and carefully spread over berries.  Refrigerate.  Garnish with berries to serve.

Mom Postupack’s LESSON: The first few times I made this, it became watery.  I thought I was doing everything my Mom did in preparing this pie.  NOT TRUE.  I was washing the berries, then immediately halving them and adding them according to the recipe.  My mom told me to wash the berries before cutting, and be sure they are very well drained so they are dry.  My favorite method is to dampen a paper towel and lightly wipe the berries clean.

We thank our own Patti Borger for this recipe.

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