Reviews for: Maple Valley Farm - Maple City, Michigan Leelanau County

A wonderful experience! Learning about and sampling sourdough at Maple Valley Farm, taught by Cindy Young. The atmosphere is unique, the hospitality is genuine and the course was delicious. Not only did we learn but we enjoyed a simple farm lunch prepared on the wood cook stove along with coffee flavored with real cream, and had fresh butter with our bread!

Highly recommended

It was a wonderful time. Angelia was the perfect hostess with a great lunch. Cindy Young was the teacher and did a super job. I can't wait to get started making some soap. Thank-you Angelia and Cindy for the great Day

Back in February, I purchased a "lavish stay" at the off-grid farm for my lovely bride's 40th birthday as well as our anniversary. We usually try to go to Mackinac Island for our anniversary, but through much badgering, I was convinced that this change of venue would not disappoint. I was soooo right.

We arrived to the farm and Angie told us to head to the cottage and settle-in while we made ourselves comfy. The cottage was much bigger than I realized! Renee and I sat at the little table and broke out a deck of cards...any idea how long it had been since we played cards together? While in the midst of getting spanked at a game of Peanuts, Angie came back with a gigantic bowl of hummice and chips as a snack. We love hummice, it was as if she read our minds!

Shortly after, Matt brought the team of horses pulling a wagon for a ride down the country roads. We chatted about home school, faith, and his new job, occassionally pulling over to enjoy asparagus and hunt for mushrooms. On our return, a feast awaited! My wife and I ate, chatted and went for a walk. Peace surrounded us, a peace we would realize we so needed.

You see, we all get busy. I believe that God has us on a mission to be busy for His early kingdom. But he also tells us to stop and rest. Look up the word rest on a Bible search engine and you will be blown away on the amount of times it comes up. (508 times on my search) And so, that's what Renee and I did.

On Sunday, we woke up and had a gigantic breakfast with the family. Renee and I overstayed our welcome, (according to us only!) chatting with Angie, Matt and their wonderful family. God is at work at this place, I'm convinced of it. I will be staying here again and I will be giving back to them in some way, to be the same blessing they were to me. My batteries are recharged, (but being drained again quickly) and I HIGHLY recommend a stay on the farm. You won't be disappointed.

The cottage was absolutely fabulous. To wake up in a serene environment surrounded by nature and beauty. Neat and tidy with everything we needed. The food was fresh, healthy, and tasty. So much better than staying at a hotel and eating out. The family is wonderful, and we always feel friendship and peace at Maple Valley Farms. Our children had a lot of fun and gained memories to cherish their whole life. It was nice to see them loving life. We hope this wasn't a once in a lifetime experience, and look forward to doing it again.

I would highly recommend taking a class at Maple Valley Farms (MVF). As the other reviewers have stated, we felt very welcome from the minute we arrived, by Angela and the entire family. The class was informative and informal enough for the most novice soap maker (me), to feel comfortable asking questions. We toured the farm in a horse drawn 'hayride', which was fascinating and informative, too. For lunch, we had the best egg salad ever, among other things - delicious!

I'm a 'city slicker', wanting to learn more about the organic/green revolution. I was a little apprehensive when I realized that others in the class were really into the organic movement and not beginners like me. My fears were quickly put to rest by the very welcoming atmosphere at the farm and others in the class. I grew up watching "Little House on the Prairie"; I felt like I had been transported back to that simpler time (with the added benefit of Angie being so tech saavy & emailing the recipes).

It's been a week since I attended, and I have such a positive feeling of my afternoon there. I look forward to going back and bringing some friends. You won't be disappointed, not matter what your level of interest in farming or organics! This would make a great day trip for a family, too.

What a wonderful experience my cheesemaking day was at Maple Valley Farms! I came away feeling that not only was I taught something, but I was given something as well...the gift of a day that truly represented both the joys and hard work that a family farm is!

Generous in knowledge, spirit and family ~ I look forward to attending more events at beautiful Maple Valley Farms. I highly recommend it to anyone!

Matt and Angela Kuncaitis and their 6 beautiful children are so wonderfully gifted and knowledgeable as well as committed to making a difference not only in their lives but anyone seeking a nourishing lifestyle. The joy they possess is also reflected in their happy animals. This close knit and hard working family is very willing to share any and all knowledge they have with regard to their organic farming practices, Nourishing Traditions of Weston A Price, animal husbandry, raw milk, cheesemaking, soapmaking, canning and more, much more. Highly recommend their grass fed chickens, eggs, beef and pork, as well as CSA and all classes offered at Maple Valley Farms.

Another wonderful experience at Maple Valley farms for us. My daughter especially enjoyed the pony and milking the cow. The food we purchased from there was fresh and of the best quality. The pricing was more than fare. We look forward to going back again soon. The Matt's are the best. Maple Valley Farms is a wonderful experience for the whole family.

I spent the day at Maple Valley Farm with truly dedicated people who believe that the simple life - no electricity, no running water, and no processed foods, will improve your life.

Angie and Matt are very happy people, I was very impressed with the hard work, and walked away feeling kind of inept. But overall, the food was great, the recipes were inspiring and I made a personal commitment to make some changes.

The family espouses the virtues of raw milk, which I am somewhat resistant to, but they did reiterate the importance of having the milk tested for pathogens, and making sure you are able to see the cow and see the care it is getting - which I agree with. If you are making the choice to take risks, at least be educated about the consequences - and all 25 women in the audience got that education.

The food was amazing, the people were friendly and I would be happy to visit again. Although there is no charge for the mini-conference, I would encourage anyone who visits to buy garden seeds from their store, and think seriously about the honey - OMG it is fabulous!

Thanks again for the experience - you guys are the salt of the earth. Bridget

Attended the NT mini Conference on Wednesday and had a great time. Loved the store. The food served was fantastic. I can't wait to begin to eat in a healthy way. Loved everything about it. It was a sunny day as well. Will go again. Kim

The food from Nourishing Traditions that Maple Valley Farms served was fantastic. The saurkraut is simply awesome! The meeting was a good introduction to Nourishing Traditions with a LOT of things covered in the amount of time we had. I love their new NT store. Be sure to check it out when you visit.

I ordered a few homemade soaps and some osage oranges (hedge apples) from Maple Valley Farms. When the box arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Angela had also included a couple of different scented soaps along with samples of the licorice scented laundry detergent and bittersweet.

I was a bit skeptical about candy scented laundry detergent, but it was laundry day, so I decided to try it. It worked wonderfully and the clothes came out very clean and they smell great!

I plan to use the soaps for gift baskets and was pleased to see that they are very appealing to the eye and were decorated in raffia and rose hips...Perfect for the holiday season!

The items were very well-packed in brown paper and did not seem to shift much at all in the box during transit.

During the course of selecting my order items, Angela answered emails promptly, provided additional information and sent an update to indicate when the shipment had been mailed. I would highly recommend this farm for their superior products and service. I will definitely shop with them again!

I was priveleged enough to attend Maple Valley Off Grid Farm's SoapMaking class on November 11, 2009. All I can say is, wow. What fun I had learning about soap making, but more than that just watching a large family work together and enjoy it!! This family makes you feel right at home as if you've known them forever. The food was so good and it was nice to just sit around a table with other ladies and chat. I'm so thankful that I happened across this website in time to get to this class. I recommend this farm, this family and Angies classes to everyone.

A HUGE Thank You to Maple Valley Farm for a wonderful soap making class. We had a wonderful time learning to make fragrant soap. Our farm lunch was superb and the farm tour was fun and interesting. I would recommend a visit to this family run farm. You won't be disappointed.

Here is a neat review on the Cheese Making Class

http://russ-stickacres.com/blog/2009/11/01/homemaker-ang-farming-off-grid/

We had four homeschool families tour the farm yesterday with Matt and Angie and it was lots of fun. Even better (from an educational standpoint) we all learned a lot. Matt and Angie were very open with answering questions. I think we adults learned as much as the kids did!

I really enjoyed the cheesemaking class yesterday. It was nice to see how it is done, step by step.

The lunch served afterward was fabulous! My favorite was the thick sliced tomato grown right on the farm of course, topped with the homemade pesto and soft goat cheese with herbs and olive oil. Delicious!

Highly recommend if you can make one of these classes, don't hesitate to do it. They are well worth it.

I took Angie's basic cheesemaking class this morning along with 8 others, and had a wonderful time. She was clear and concise with her demonstrations and had finished products for tasting.

Along with the class, we had a hay ride tour of their 40 acre farm and a huge lunch, prepared by Angie and I am sure, her girls! (nearly everything served at lunch was produced on their farm!)

Fabulous egg salad on homemade, crusty bread. Tossed salad, fresh tomatoes with homemade pesto, muffins, apple cider, pumpkin cake, and of course, the star of the meal....CHEESE! YUMMO!

Also, fresh, free range eggs for sale, honey, maple syrup, and whatever produce was still available from their gardens.

I went home with 3 dozen eggs and 3 Cuckoo Maran hens to round out my own small flock!

I would encourage anyone looking for true, farm fresh produce, and a wealth of knowledge, to take any or all of the classes offered at Maple Valley Farms. You're sure to go home having made some new friends!

I spent the day last Friday at Maple Valley Farms with my daughter and friends. I would highly recommend it to everyone! They have such a great deal with their CSA, so if you are looking for fresh local food, this is the place to go. We learned so much from Angela and her whole family. The fresh food they served us what fantastic. I am looking forward to the classes they are offering too.

I also spent the day at the farm on Saturday. We had a wonderful day to work and had a wonderful time of fellowship and some good hard work. My teenagers loved the day a lot and want to spend another day on the farm (please, Angie and Matt could we?) They are an amazing family with lots of good things to share. I'm sure there is a huge list of things yet to do as we only just touched a few things so if you have the time, I'm sure they would love some more help! Food was awesome as was milking the cow and goat. AD

Today my family and I went to Matt and Angela's Maple Valley Farm Work Day and we enjoyed ourselves very much. Matt and Angela made us feel at home and taught us many wonderful farm skills. The scenery was gorgous with the two ponds, garden, farm house, barns, animals, cottage, and plainly dressed people. My favorite part was milking the cow. Although, being around their draft horses is a close second...Amazingly well behaved! I must also state how wonderful the food tasted...Freshly made hand cranked ice cream was outstanding and the process a joy. I urge anyone to come to Maple Valley Farm's scheduled events or their produce stand. It was totally worth the six hour round trip of us.

Today my family spent the day at Maple Valley Farm. We truely enjoyed ourselves and learned a ton. Angela and Matt are great people. I would recommend anyone to do business with them. If you are looking for good produce, not only that they provide you with other wonderful products. I spent most of the day learning so much from Angela.

I would highly recommend this farm for there CSA needs and to take classes.