After working three years to compile the third cookbook from Lapacek’s Orchard…it’s finally here! We’ve been gathering recipes from friends, families and customer’s ever since the previous cookbook, Apple-tizing recipes first arrive and then typing them onto our cookbook provider’s site. Diane spent many, many, many nights combing through the recipes to find my typo’s or other things that just didn’t seem to make any sense. We had to decide on a cover art, cookbook style, even the binding to come up with this fabulous book. When that was all said and done, we sent it in and waited…

They FINALLY arrived on the UPS truck late this morning and I couldn’t help but jump up and down a bit (Diane and Tom can attest to this…). It was like Christmas…Diane and I quickly ripped open the boxes while Tom (our tour guide this year) anxiously watched to see what it was that we were so excited about. I think he was slightly disappointed to see it was just a cookbook…but Diane and I definitely were not disappointed at all. We just love how it turned out and we hope you do too!

The cover art was done by Sharon Christensen, an artist from south central Wisconsin, whose favorite subject to paint is the rolling agricultural landscape of the state. The scene she painted was inspired by a photo we took of the barn at Lapacek’s Orchard, W7729 Bohling Road, Poynette, WI.

37 people contributed to this cookbook which is broken down in the Index of Contributors on page 123. The recipes are well organized to help finding what you want to make easier in the ‘Index of Recipes.’ on pgs 125 through 127.

The Table of Content’s of Farm Fresh Recipe’s includes Appetizers & Beverages, Soups & Salads, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Breads & Rolls, Desserts, Cookies & Candy, and finally, This & That. All the recipes include at least one ingredient from something we grow or make at the orchard: apples, applesauce, cider, peaches, plums, pears, blueberries, raspberries, pumpkins, squash, and zucchini.

What else can you find in the cookbook?
The answer to the best apple for baking, a helpful guide to determining how many apples one may need for making sauce, pies, dried apples, etc, and a fun section filled with pantry basics, cooking tips, herbs & spices, rules for baking breads and desserts, tips on fruits and vegetables, napkin folding how-to guide, measurement and substitution table, equivalency chart, food quantities for large servings, quick fixes, a calorie counter, and cooking terms dictionary.

This cookbook is dedicated to Mercedi Rose and Capri Grace Lapacek. They are the third generation at Lapacek’s Orchard and they are the very best reason for everything we do. I took the photo on the back cover of the cookbook of my daughters, Mercedi and Capri, in the blossoms this past spring in Lapacek’s Orchard at N1959 Kroncke Road, Poynette, WI, with our dog, Tank.