Farmhouse Kitchen, March 2022
Welcome back to another delicious edition of Farmhouse Kitchen! This month, we’re shining the light on the 900-plus peanut farmers throughout our great state. With our country alone consuming about 700 million pounds of peanut butter annually, Alabama’s peanut farmers play a vital role in our lives. As a peanut butter lover, I was more than happy to offer up a couple of my favorite recipes, which are sure to please the peanut lover in all of us.
The kid in me will always love the combination of peanut butter and jelly. It’s a classic for good reason! While it’s great on sandwiches, my Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies are yet another way to indulge that childhood craving with the added benefit of being a perfectly acceptable take-along dish for parties and get-togethers.
Thinking beyond the PB&J, who doesn’t love driving around the state and stopping at roadside boiled peanut stands? Whenever someone comes in from out of state and asks about these stands, my car pulls over immediately. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve explained why they give you a plastic bag along with the big Styrofoam cup of peanuts. I often make my own boiled peanuts for game days and reunions. While boiled peanuts are nothing new in the South, folks are pleasantly surprised to find them simmering in my slow cooker.
I enjoy sharing a past recipe from a beloved Alabama Farmers Federation cook in each issue. This month, Lyn McDaniel’s Peanut Butter Cream Pound Cake is the perfect finishing touch. Lyn and her husband, Timmy, live in Dale County, and I’m sure her family agrees that whenever Lyn goes into the kitchen, the best place to be is at her table! This recipe was originally shared in the February 1992 Neighbors.
I hope you’ll find a couple of new family favorites among these recipes during National Peanut Month. We are so thankful for what farmers do to provide for our families. Their hard work helps bring families closer every day in our state and around the world.