RECENTLY, THE Chattanooga Area Food Bank was asked to help with the food crisis in Texas caused by Hurricane Ike, and many of you responded by donating food to the cause. But don’t forget, that food went to Texas. The Food Bank continues to need your support, particularly in these troubling economic times.

Food Bank development director Gary Paul fears the upcoming holiday season, combined with the poor economy, will put a stress on food supplies at the facility.

“The holidays are a time when family budgets are stressed, and the need for food is more urgent,” Mr. Paul said.

But he’s pleased with the contributions sent to Texas from the Chattanooga facility. Among the items sent were a generous supply of Little Debbie snack cakes and other treats donated by McKee Bakery, a shipment of Boost meal supplement from Nestle and a large collection of food obtained from the recent community food drive, which prevented the Food Bank from dipping into its reserve stock of food, Mr. Paul said.

For more information on making donations to the Food Bank, 2009 Curtain Pole Road off Amnicola Highway, call 622-1800.

NEW ON THE MARKET: Yoplait has three new light yogurts on the market that sound wonderful: raspberry cheesecake, pineapple upside-down cake and strawberry shortcake. They are all good, but I detected no tastes similar to cheesecake or pineapple upside-down cake.

If you’ve tried them, do you agree? The upside-down cake has a pineapple-coconut flavor that tastes more like a pina colada.

LAND O’LAKES HAS come out with its annual five-pack of holiday recipes, and they’re all of the sweet variety. There’s Peppermint Candy Spritz, Soft Almond Cookies, Chunky Caramel Popcorn, Red Velvet Mini Muffin Cakes and this recipe for Festive Cranberry Upside-Down Cake that I plan to try with cherries in place of the cranberries. For more recipes, go to www.landolakes.com.

Festive Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Topping:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1⁄2 cup sugar

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

Cake:

11⁄3 cups all-purpose flour

11⁄2 teaspoons baking powder

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

3⁄4 cup sugar

1⁄2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

2⁄3 cup milk

Chantilly Cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1⁄4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 350 F.

Topping: Butter a 9-inch round baking pan with 2 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle with sugar; shake pan to coat. Place cranberries in pan; spread out evenly. Set aside.

Cake: Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; set aside. Combine sugar and butter in medium bowl; beat at medium speed until well mixed. Add egg, vanilla and lemon peel; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture and milk; mix well.

Spread batter evenly over cranberries in prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean and top is golden brown. Place pan onto wire rack; let stand 10 minutes. Run knife around inside of pan to loosen cake; invert onto cake plate.

Chantilly cream: Place whipping cream into medium bowl; beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Add sour cream, powdered sugar and lemon peel; continue beating until mixture is thick. Dollop each serving of cake with Chantilly Cream mixture. Garnish as desired.

Comments