Be prepared – this is beyond delicious.  You may not want to read any farther…You’ve been warned.

Bake up a box of your favorite Brownie mix per box instructions.  I actually doubled the batch because Uncle Bob was here for lunch and I know he loves desserts. 

Poke holes in the top of the brownies…I used a knife.  A fork would work too.Take a jar of Lapacek’s Orchard’s ‘Chocolate Raspberry Spread.Pour it over the brownies.  If you do a single batch, half the jar would work fine…I used the entire thing since I doubled the batch.

Let the brownies cool and sauce seep into them.

Cut and serve with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Enjoy!

My parents came for a visit yesterday and of course, we put them to work! We managed to get the frame work all up for the hoop house over our raspberries with their help and Frank and Diane's help. Jared just has to finish spacing and tightening on one of the upper lines of the house and it will be ready to have the plastic put on next year!

I always jokingly brag that I am the best salesperson in the family. I may have prooved that true the other day when I litterally sold the sweatshirt that I was wearing. A fairly regular customer came in and was checking out all the hand-dye hooded sweatshirts we have for sale. She kept commenting on how much she liked the one I was wearing, then would look at the others, comment again. Finally, I told her that the one that I was wearing was for sale...I had just gotten cold the other day, had no sweatshirt, and had taken it down and put it on. Like that, a sale was made! When you come into our store make sure to look up when entering the back room. We have quite a selection of hand-dyed hooded sweatshirts hanging near the cieling.

I grudgingly got out of my warm bed early this morning to get suited up for the Sun Prairie Farmer's Market. I put on many layers...including my long underwear and had Jared heat me up some hot cider for the thermos. It was quite chilly when I left. Once I got to the market and started to set up I warmed up quickly. I was able to strip off a few layers to cool off a bit. I have a hard time keeping track of the time at the market in the morning, but it wasn't too long before it really became nice and I was just down to a long sleeve tee under a regular t-shirt. It really changed into a beautiful day quickly. I picked up some delicious shrimp for my in-laws from the seafood guy, Wally, and I picked up some scallops for myself. I am going to try one more time to cook them properly. I absolutely LOVE scallops when I get them at restaurants but have been unable to replicate them in my own kitchen....we'll see what happens...

Another beautiful day at the orchard. I wasn't there this morning (I was at the Sun Prairie Farmer's Market) but I heard that lots of people decided today was the day to visit the orchard. Surprisingly, the frost did not damage our raspberry crop too badly. There were still pickers out that found some beautiful, tasty berries. Our pumpkin patch also recieved some visitors. We really need to get some better signs up showing how to get there (side note for myself) so don't be afraid to ask us if you want to pick-your-0wn pumpkin. Squash have also been flowing out of the store smoothly. If you are worried that there is too much squash in what you pick out I must tell you, it freezes wonderfully! We will freeze enough (hopefully) that my girls will be able to eat it until we have squash again next year.

Limited Edition 'Mixed Nut' caramel apples have thus far been a hit. We are currently making the second batch of them. I hope you decide to try one out when you stop because they won't be around long!

Take care!

As some of you have noticed I have a box on the counter at the orchard to collect recipes containing; apples, squash, cider, pumpkins, blueberries, raspberries, zucchini, peaches, pears, and plums (anything we grow at the orchard), for our next cookbook. Each month I am holding a drawing. This month's winner is: Roger Dorman, with his recipe for Dried Apple, Apple Pie. He will recieve a gift certificate to $5 off any bag of apples. Be sure to drop your recipe off or email it to me at lapaceksorchard@gmail.com to be entered in next months drawing!

Thanks!

Yes! We are opening up our patch for pick your own pumpkins starting today/this weekend! My inlaws planted a beautiful patch! It's in a new location this year so be sure to stop in the store to ask how to find it. There's a bit of walking involved so if you planned to get a lot of pumpkin try to bring a wagon or carrying device. We have a few wagons, but if things get busy they will be limited!

Also, the raspberries are still going strong. We had multiple people over yesterday to pick and they were having a wonderful time! We had a lady come in that never picked raspberries before, was a little hesitant to even try, but when she came in with her brimming full quart of raspberries had a huge smile on her face.

See you at the orchard soon!

From Blog

The people have spoken: the raspberry picking has been AMAZING and FUN! We should have some raspberries for pick-your-own until the first frost. (this is our first year for this...we're learning as we go :) ) Word is that there are TONS on the bushes. I hope you stop by soon to try it out for yourselves!

From Blog

It was an amazing weekend at the orchard! We had the most beautiful weather and lots of fun people and families visiting us. On Saturday morning I attended the Sun Prairie Farmer's Market. It was my first week there with cider and I'm pretty sure people were happy about that. If you ever decide to head over there on a Saturday morning be sure to not only get some apples from me, but try out the scones from Market Street Bakery...they are AMAZING (there apple pies and cheese bread are wonderful too)!

I spent the afternoon at the orchard helping out customers. Kelsey watched the girls for us, thank goodness. We're just so busy it's hard to keep an eye on both of them. Frank helped an old friend of his and got him hooked on mac's. As a treat, he sent him home with a sample Honeycrisp. I would say about 20 to 30 minutes later the gentleman was back...we had him hooked. I believe his exact words were, "It is better than steak!".

I can't remember if it was Saturday or Sunday, but we also had a mom and a daughter (I believe) that made me laugh...they had printed out our webpage and had done research before they came on the apples they wanted to try! I love a prepared person. It is so much like something that I would do! Thanks for stopping if you're reading this...it was fun!

Frank also picked the girls pumpkins on Saturday night. It was so adorable! He was so proud of them. He had to carry them both in and make sure to set them up for there pictures. So cute! Earlier, when the pumpkins were still green they had carved the girls' names into the pumpkins. As they grew that names turned scar-like. They're super neat. Be sure to look at them when you come into the store (window sill to your left as you walk in).

People went crazy with the raspberry picking this weekend! The berries were plentiful and everyone had a good time. Stop by tomorrow or later this week to pick your own fresh raspberries!

Cedi's awake, have to end my blogging for this morning. Have a good week everyone!

From Blog

From Blog

I can't believe I forgot to mention that we have opened up our Raspberry patch for pick your own! They are producing LOTS and LOTS of beautiful, gorgeous, large berries! Bring your family, grab a pint, and head out to our bushes!