Yup, it’s Sunday again. Which means you get to read a lovely post from me!

So, you want to know what we’ve been doing at the orchard since it’s not apple season – probably resting and watching lots of TV, right? Nope, the guys have been trudging through the crazy amounts of snow in the orchard working on getting the trees pruned and ready for spring. It has not been a fun year for pruning. One Sunday I didn’t feel like driving all the way to the gym so instead I took a “walk” around the orchard…man was that a workout! In some spots, the snow went higher than my knees! And, to make it even worse, there would be places were you could walk on top of the snow but then all of a sudden you would sink. Now, imagine having to do that hauling a chain saw and pruning shears around! But, it has to get done.

Diane, Frank and Jared have also been slaving away in our commercial kitchen processing our apples into various yummy canned goods. In the upcoming weeks there is strong possibility that we will be offering these for sale online. I’ll keep you posted.

Jared has also continued to renovate the shed to convert it into our ‘store’. Every time I go in there I’m amazed at what he’s accomplished so far. I can’t wait for everyone to come and see it!

I have been busy enjoying time with my girls and stocking up on more craft items. I recently agreed to be a seller at a new boutique in Milwaukee, Project M, so I’ve been franticly making enough jewelry to send down there. I also have a few different shows coming up this Spring, the ‘Valentine’s Craftacular’ and ‘Cupcakes and Crafts’. Keep an eye on my ‘crafty’ blog to see what’s happening: www.kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com

And now, as promised…something about apples!

We’re going with a fun apple fact today!

Apples are one of the few fruits that you can find fresh any time of the year, all over the country.

(found on the WAGA website)

Hi everyone!  So I will no longer post a recipe every Sunday from one of our Cookbooks:  Apple-tizing Recipes or Farm Fresh Recipes from Lapacek’s Orchard.  You’ll have to look back at previous Sunday’s or get your own book from now on!  BUT I will be posting random apple info each Sunday – that may be facts, trivia, or even a recipe!  Today I am actually posting a recipe I recently posted on my One Beer Mom Blog.  I really enjoy it so I wanted to share it with more readers – and it’s healthy!

I am currently in the process of trying out different recipes to see what I like and will make again.  I do have a problem actually ‘following’ a recipe so I’ll be sure to share my little tweaks with you all.  Here’s one I made the other day and have continued to make pretty much every morning for breakfast since… (it’s from Hungry Girl 200 under 200):

Creamy Hot Apple Breakfast with Pecan Crunch

POINTS® Value:    3
Servings:  1
Course: light meals

Ingredients

1 small apple(s), peeled and chunked (any sweet, not tat, variety)   

1 bar(s) Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar Pecan Crunch Granola Bar  (recipe called for Maple Brown Sugar)

2 tsps  SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener

1 1/2 tsp. sugar-free fat-free cheesecake instant pudding mix (recipe calls for Vanilla)

1 1/2 tsp clear gel (recipe called for cornstarch but I don’t have that…just clear gel)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon   

1/3 cup(s) water, cold   

Instructions

In a micro-wave safe bowl, place pudding mix, sweetener, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Add water and stir until blended.
Add apple chunks to the bowl and toss them in the liquid mixture. Cover bowl and microwave for 2 1/2 min. Allow the mixture to thicken and cool for a few minutes before removing from the microwave.
Meanwhile, place the granola bar in a sealable plastic bag. Place on flat surface, ad use a rolling pin or a can to crush the bar through the bag until you have small crumbly pieces (super easy!).
Once bowl containing apple mixture is cool enough to handle, stir in granola pieces. (If you want crunchy, make sure you add the granola pieces AFTER it is cool enough for you to eat…otherwise they get a bit soggy…)

We woke up Sunday morning to the beautiful site of the orchard covered in snow crystals.  I went trekking through the ridiculously deep snow and snapped a few shots…         the back of our house       Our hoop house…      Even the chickens wanted to see the beautiful orchard!

This is my fifty-second recipe post…I have posted a new recipe every Sunday for the past year.  I will not be posting anymore recipes from our cookbooks (at least not on any sort of regular basis) but if you have a great recipe you would like me to share on here please email me at lapaceksorchard@gmail.com.  Thanks so much and I hope you’ve enjoyed ‘Recipe Sunday’.

Apple Ice Cream Roll

by Kathryn Lapacek

3 large eggs

1 c. sugar

2 c. applesauce (very good quality, not too thin…best if it’s Lapacek’s Applesauce)

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

powdered sugar

1 qt. vanilla ice cream (slightly softened)

Line a greased 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan with waxed paper; grease paper.  Place eggs in a mixing bowl; beat on high speed for 5 minutes.  Gradually beat in sugar and 1/2 cup of applesauce.  Sift flour, baking powder, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.  Blend flour mixture into egg mixture, using low speed.  Spread batter in pan.  Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 15 minutes or until cake is lightly brown and springs back when pressed gently.  Sprinkle kitchen towel with powdered sugar; immediately invert cake onto towel.  Remove waxed paper, roll cake and towel together from narrow end.  Let cake completely cool.  Unroll cake, trimming edges if desired.  Remove from the towel and spread with the softened ice cream; re-roll.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil and freeze.  Blend remaining 1-1/2 cups applesauce and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.  Chill.  When ready to serve cut roll into slices and top each slice with chilled applesauce.  Serve with whipped cream if desired.

NOTE: This dessert is sure to yield compliments, yet is easy to prepare with ingredients that are uncomplicated.  Make it ahead of time and store in freezer.

To get your very own copy of this amazing recipe and more you can buy your very own copy of  Farm Fresh Recipe’s From Lapacek’s Orchard or if you are just interested in 101 APPLE recipes purchase a copy of Apple-tizing Recipes from Lapacek’s Orchard.

I was looking back through the last year’s recipe and noticed that I only have two more recipes to post to fulfill my ‘One recipe every Sunday for a Year’ promise.  I hope you enjoy these last couple. 

For the future if you all would like to submit recipes to me to post on Sunday I would do that since I know people reading this blog enjoy it.  Email me at lapaceksorchard@gmail.com with your recipes containing either:

• Apples, Blueberries, Raspberries, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Pumpkins, Squash, and Zucchini (and anything else we grow on Lapacek’s Orchard that I may be forgetting). OR
• A new type of recipe we will also be collecting are those recipes made ‘from Scratch’.  I feel that the art of cooking has been lost with my generation and I would like to help revive it. 

Here’s today’s recipe:

Peach Cobbler

from Gwen Washnieski

Cobbler

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 T. cornstarch

4 c. sliced peaches

1 c. lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 375-degrees.  Blend sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.  Stir in peaches and lemon juice.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil and stir 1 minute.  Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole.  Keep fruit mixture hot in oven while preparing biscuit topping.

Biscuit Topping

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt, if desired

3 T. margarine

1/2 c. 1% milk

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl.  Add margarine and milk.  Cut through shortening 6 times:  mix until dough forms a ball.  Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot fruit.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until biscuit topping is golden brown. 

To get your very own copy of this amazing recipe and more you can buy your very own copy of  Farm Fresh Recipe’s From Lapacek’s Orchard or if you are just interested in 101 APPLE recipes purchase a copy of Apple-tizing Recipes from Lapacek’s Orchard. 

Every year we attend the Wisconsin Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Conference to learn more and try to improve the way we grow apples, minimize the amount of spray we use and learn new, fun things to do to entertain our visitors. This year, Frank and Jared tended to go to the apple and berry sessions of the conference while Diane and I typically attended the Agritourism sessions.  We had good speakers, we had informative sessions and sessions that were just a repeat of themselves.  But as always, it’s those great sessions you attend or that friend you make in the long line to the potato bar that gives you that perfect idea for the next season. I also find that this conference tends to re-energize me.  Apple season is fun, but it's a lot of work and not a lot of sleep.  These conferences get me excited again fro the next season and I have a list of things I want to implement next year. There is also a trade show that runs during the show.  You can visit during the breaks or if there is a block of sessions that just don’t interest you.  One of the most interesting vendors I met this year was Waters Blueberry Farm.  They were a couple of passionate brothers who really seemed to now what they were talking about when it came to blueberries.  After our initial disappointing blueberry fiasco, it made me want to maybe try out a few of their bushes…we’ll have to see…   This year Frank’s brother Dave and his son Shaun joined us at the conference.  They have recently decided to follow a dream and are starting a winery and attended the grape session portion of the conference.  You can follow along with their stories at:  www.RocknWoolAcres.blogspot.com.  It should be interesting!

Here’s a picture of us all enjoying a glass of Weggy Wine during the wine and cheese tasting portion of Monday evening (yes, my favorite part).  I would like to than my parents for watching the girls so we could attend the conference!  It’s really nice to not have to worry about them while we’re away.

So, I hope your are looking forward to the upcoming season when we are able to show off a few of the  new things we’ve implemented as a result of this conference.  I’ll try to keep you posted a bit as they happen…

I thought this would be a good recipe to get everyone started out with in 2010!

Fresh Salad with A Twist

Kim Lapacek

1 pkg. salad

1/2 c. slivered almonds, choose the flavor that suits you

1/2 c. feta cheese, crumbled

1 c. apple, cored, sliced, and cubed

1/4 c. craisins

1/4 c. sunflower seeds

1 can mandarin oranges

croutons

shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

Mix the salad, almonds, cheese, apples, craisins, sunflower seeds and mandarin oranges in a salad bowl. Toss to blend.  Put desired amount into bowl, top with croutons and shredded cheddar cheese.  Top with your favorite salad dressing.

NOTE:  Vinaigrettes taste amazing with this salad, but I also enjoy a good ranch dressing.  Be sure to add the croutons as needed…if they sit in the salad for too long they tend to get soggy.

For this recipe and more great recipe’s get your very own Farm Fresh Recipe’s from Lapacek’s Orchard from Kim’s Crafty Apple or at the apple store when it’s open in the fall.

I just wanted to write a brief note to everyone wishing them a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year!

This is going to be a big year for Lapacek’s Orchard.  This is the year we are making the move.  The store is moving from my in-law’s house out to our place at N1959 Kroncke Road, Poynette, WI.  We have all been working hard to make this happen and be a great experience for all.  I’ll be keeping you all posted on the things we accomplish before the 2010 apple season starts on August 15th.

Cheers to the New Year!