From the Farm: Weather is unsettled

As I write this, I am listening to the rumble of thunder and rain pelting the windows. Last week, the wind was so strong, I thought our house was going to tumble down the hill. The weather is unsettled as we move into spring. I just hope we don’t experience any tornadoes or other violent weather.
Daylight Savings Time will begin in less than two weeks. It won’t be long before everything begins to turn green again. I noticed daffodils and daylilies coming up in the flower beds. Unfortunately, I lost my largest rosemary plant during the winter. It weathered the last few years outside just fine. Don’t know if last summer’s drought had anything to do with it or it just decided to quit. Hopefully, some of the smaller ones will be OK.
We have been enjoying garden goodies from the freezer as well as more sweet potatoes and winter squash from the basement. I used some of my frozen casseroles this week.
One, in particular, was quite a surprise. I had stuffed peppers with ground turkey, rice and onion, then covered them in a tomato-based sauce. Once baked, I added cheese and returned them to the oven until it melted. The casserole smelled so good baking and made a beautiful entrée.
The first bite was a little spicy. The second bite was hot! I thought the peppers I had used were some of our milder ones. Obviously, I didn’t taste these before I froze them.
Barrie liked them and went back for seconds. I enjoyed the filling, cheese and a lot of milk. I’m glad that I only made one of these.
I am still working on the Farmers’ Market cookbook. It will be sent to the publisher sometime in April, if all goes well. It takes several weeks to get the finished books, so we should have them available at the beginning of summer. Hopefully, that will be just in time to try out some our recipes with fresh veggies and fruits. Watch this column for the announcement.
As I have been looking through my recipe boxes for old favorites to share, I pulled this pound cake recipe out to make again. It is a moist, rich cake when served as-is, but we love it with the caramel glaze. This cake freezes well, too.

Banana Pound Cake
2 sticks butter, softened
1⁄2 cup shortening
2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cups milk
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon banana flavoring
Caramel Glaze (see below)
Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugars, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
Stir in banana, pecans, vanilla extract and banana flavoring. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Drizzle with Caramel Glaze.

Caramel Glaze
1⁄4 cup butter, softened
1⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Bring butter, sugars and whipping cream to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring often; boil,without stirring for one minute.
Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
Cool until slightly thickened. Drizzle over cake.
The Boyle County Farmers’ Market will be located at the Boyle County Fairgrounds. The market manager is Gary Taylor of Knobview Farms. Applications currently are being accepted to join the 2011 market; call Taylor at (859) 332-2539 for more information.