Colorado’s Best Pumpkin Patches!
With Halloween just around the corner, it is time to pick pumpkins! We love to head out on a 
crisp fall day to one of our local Colorado pumpkin patches each year to pick a few pumpkins for our front porch. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite pumpkin patches in Colorado for you to explore and enjoy with the whole family. And of course, we highly recommend you visit us for breakfast in Denver at the Original Pancake House before you head out to the fields, you’ll need a fully belly to help you on your pumpkin search!
Anderson Farms
Location: 6728 County Rd 3 1/4, Erie, CO 80516
Dates: September 21st through October 31st, 2016
This pumpkin patch has something for every age group! With 70 varieties of pumpkins to pick, hayrides, barrel cart rides, petting zoo, zombie paint ball for the older kids, an enormous corn maze, and delicious food offerings, you could spend all day (and night!) at this family-friendly pumpkin patch. Look for the giant pumpkin a top their grain silo as you approach.
Mueller’s Little Farm
Location: 6190 W Bowles Ave, Littleton, CO 80123
Dates: October 15th & 16th, October 22nd & 23rd, October 29th & 30th, 2016
Mueller’s Little Farm hosts their pumpkin patch during the last three weekends of October. This patch features free entry for the whole family, several pumpkin varieties including “jumbo crazy big pumpkins,” home-baked goods, hot coffee and cider, a magic show, toys, slides, a hay bale pyramid, and chickens to feed.
Rock Creek Farms
Location: 2005 S 112th St, Broomfield, CO 80020
Dates: September 24th through October 31st, 2016
Rock Creek Farm features over 100 acres of U-Pick-Em pumpkin fields to explore. In addition they have a hay bale maze and over six miles of corn mazes. Tots will love to check out their pigs, goats, ponies, donkeys, chickens and other farm animals and fall festive treats including caramel apples and baked goods. Moms and Dads will enjoy perusing the selection of fall decorations such as gourds, Indian corn, straw bales and more.
Mile High Farm
Location: 11 Cavanaugh Rd, Bennett, CO 80102
Dates: Saturday & Sunday from October 1st through October 30th, 2016
Mile High Farms features an antique tractor hay ride to and from the pumpkin patch, big and little kid sized corn mazes, bouncy castles, wagon and tractor tire corn pits, Grover’s Garden farm animals, unlimited barrel cart rides, and a farmer’s playground.
Flat Acre Farm
Location: 11321 Dransfeldt Rd, Parker, CO 80134
Dates: September 24th through October 31st, 2016
Douglas County’s newest locally owned and operated family farm, Flat Acres Farm includes a pumpkin patch, a giant bale maze and haunted maze, and a petting zoo. Kids of all ages will enjoy activities including giant jenga, cornhole, duck races, bouncy houses, and a giant swing set.
Happy fall and happy pumpkin picking Denver!
Pumpkins and Spice and Everything Nice
Halloween is here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner! At The Original Pancake House we’ve been eating Sara’s Pumpkin Pancakes almost every morning, they are so good and we just can’t get enough pumpkin! If you are like us and have pumpkin on the brain, you’ll love these ideas to incorporate this favorite fall ingredient (plus the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg!) into as many meals as possible. Read on for some pumpkin-filled food ideas!
Pumpkin Chili Bowls:
Scoop out a mini pumpkin as use it as a “bowl” for your favorite chili recipe. You can even add a bit of pumpkin to the chili itself to add that special sweet flavor of fall!
Pumpkin Casserole Bake:
Choose miniature pumpkins like 'Small Sugar', 'Little Boo', or 'Jack Be Little' to act as individual casserole dishes in which to bake your favorite casserole recipe. One of our favorites is a mix of fresh pumpkin, Israeli couscous, sausage, apples, onion, and cranberries.
Spiced Pumpkin Waffles or Pancakes:
Simply add ½ cup of pumpkin puree to the wet ingredients in your favorite waffle or pancake recipe to make a wonderful pumpkin breakfast at home. We like to add a bit of cinnamon and ginger to the dry ingredients as well to really bring out the pumpkin flavor!
And don’t forget, we’ll be open on Halloween, so bring your family over for a sweet breakfast out in Denver this Saturday! We’ll be there to say BOO!
Spooktacular Healthy Breakfast Treats!
It’s the time of year when ghosts and goblins pop up everywhere, pumpkins abound, and everyone is excited for Halloween! To get in the mood, we like to make all sorts of fun Halloween breakfasts treats at home. Here are a few healthy ideas to add a little BOO to your breakfast!
Candy Corn Fruit Parfaits
- 1 can (11 ounce) mandarin oranges
- 1 can (20 ounce) pineapple chunks
- 2 6-ounce containers of low-fat vanilla yogurt
- candy corn pieces - for garnish
This is a fun and festive breakfast idea for the fall season - especially around Halloween. It’s ultra-fast to prepare and a healthy way to start the day. Fresh fruit could definitely be used in place of the canned fruit. Depending on the size of your glasses, this recipe makes 2 to 4 parfaits. Layer 1/3 of each glass with pineapple pieces, followed by an equal layer of mandarin oranges. Top each serving with a generous dollop of vanilla yogurt and a decorative piece of candy corn.
Terrifying Toast:
Trim a slice of toast to resemble a hand, foot or finger and then dollop strawberry or raspberry jam so it looks severed and bleeding. You can do the same thing with waffles and pancakes. For a quick, edible ghost, rip a small hole in a piece of toast to act as a mouth and then use chocolate chips or berries to make eyes.
Apple Monster Mouth!
These apple treats make a great Halloween-themed breakfast or snack – and they are healthy! To prepare, cut 
an apple into quarters and then take a slice out of each quarter. Next, poke in almond slivers for the teeth. Alternatively you can spread peanut butter in the inside of the “mouth” and use marshmallows as the teeth.
Every year at The Original Pancake House we like to dress up for the holiday, so if you join us for breakfast in Denver on the 31st, don’t forget to wear your costume! Have a safe and happy Halloween, Denver!
Spooktacular Halloween Food and Traditions
With Halloween just around the corner, we wanted to share some spooktacular Halloween food traditions and customs associated with the frightful holiday.
Bobbing for Apples -
The tradition of bobbing for apples has been associated with Halloween for a long time. The Celts believed in the goddess Pomona and the apple was representative of her entity because when sliced open, the seeds formed a pentagram shape. Thus, the apple became an integral tool to determine marriages that occurred in the fall. Young, unmarried couples would bob for apples and the first to bite into one and retrieve it from the floating water or hanging from a string would be deemed the next to marry. Today, bobbing for apples carries a much different meaning and is often played at Halloween parties and other social gatherings. If you’re not up for a game of bobbing for apples, simply stop by one of our two Denver restaurants and experience our delicious Apple Pancake made with oven baked granny smith apples and cinnamon glaze. All the deliciousness without the work!
Pumpkin Carving—
We use pumpkin in our popular Sara’s Pumpkin Pancakes but the yummy, round, orange squash wasn’t always used in cooking and certainly not for carving and Halloween decor. Historically, the Jack-O’-Lantern has an interesting past…and it all starts with a man named Jack. Legend has it, Jack tricked the Devil to win money to live a rich and pleasurable life. However, the Devil sought revenge on Jack for tricking him and after Jack’s death, the Devil sentenced him to walk the Earth forever armed with only a lantern made from a carved turnip. The practice of carving root vegetables eventually found its way to carving pumpkins and the snaggle-toothed Halloween Jack-O’-Lantern was born.
Trick-Or-Treat—
A Halloween highlight for the young and young-at-heart is trick-or-treating - what could be better than dressing up and going door-to-door to receive sweet treats?! However, the practice of trick-or-treating didn’t always have a happy ending. The custom is actually two-fold. The act of dressing up originates from the Celtic tradition that celebrates the end of the year, where it was thought the dead and living would overlap on Halloween. Dressing up like evil entities was thought to defend individuals against the ghosts that would roam the earth on Halloween night. According to the Smithsonian magazine, the act of requesting food door-to-door is recorded as far back as the November 4, 1927 issue of the Backie, Alberta Canda Herald. The practice stemmed from children who were poor who would go door-to-door begging for food, money, or other items and if the residents refused to give them anything, they would find themselves victim to a prank from the begging children—hence the phrase “trick-or-treat.” If you’re looking for a treat without the tricks, we would love to invite you in for a great Denver breakfast. Treat yourself to a delicious Dutch Baby Pancake or Bacon Belgian Waffle in honor of National Pork Month!
What Halloween trick-or-treats does your family participate in? Let us know your family fun Halloween activities and food offerings on Twitter @OPHDenver. Happy Halloween!