HEALTHY LIVINGM O N DAY, J A N UA R Y 1 9 , 2 0 0 9 | D C

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COOKING with Kerry Dunnington

OUTBREAK

Hey, Obama: This chocolate cake can’t be ‘beet’
No one —including our soon-to-be
44th president — would have guessed
the secret ingredient on their own
By Kerry Dunnington
Special to The ExaminerP

resident-elect Barack Obama doesn’t like beets.
A recent article by The Associated Press quoted
him saying, “I always avoid eating them.”
But Obama might change his mind after trying
one of my unusual culinary accolades, in which I folded
shredded garnet-colored, tender, sweet beets into chocolate cake batter. After my husband taste-tested the cake,I asked whether he could guess the predominant ingredient. Apple sauce? Buttermilk? Yogurt?
Thrilled with my clever endeavor, I couldn’t wait toshare it with my nephew Travis, who announced before
arriving for a weeklong stay that he doesn’t eat beets.
After dinner I cut the three of us each a piece of cake.
After the first bite, Travis commented how delicious andmoist it was. A second piece was devoured, and thenanother, until Travis finished the cake. He couldn’t guessthe main ingredient either.
Whenever the opportunity arises to make dessert forfamily and friends, I prepare the chocolate beet cake. I’ve
fooled hundreds of taste-testers, and no one has everguessed the main ingredient.
Because I love to forage through the refrigerator andpantry (it rouses culinary creativity and allows me toinvent combinations using ingredients I have on hand),I’ve created some improbable creations with tasty
results. I’ve added parsnips (carrots’ cousins) to cakebatter. And the addition of zucchini and spaghetti squash
creates moist cakes with the benefit of added fiber, flavorand nutrients.
No matter his aversion to beets, I’m certain Obama
would think this chocolate cake really can’t be beat!

Chocolate Beet Cake
1 cup white flour2⁄3 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup unsweetenedcocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄8 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup low-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla1⁄4 cup reserved beet water
2 medium beets, cooked until tender,
peeled and shredded (about 1 cup)Icing
One 4-ounce package low-fat cream cheese,at room temperature
1⁄2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl,
combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda
and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk sour cream, oil, egg,
vanilla and reserved beet water until well combined.
Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture and stir
until well combined. Fold in shredded beets. Spoon
batter into a lightly oiled 8-inch round cake pan
and bake for 22 minutes or until toothpick
inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool before transferring toa platter. In a small bowl, whisk together
cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla.
Spread icing evenly over cake. Serves six.
Nutritional analysis: 342 calories, 13 grams total
fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 14 mgs
cholesterol, 141 mgs sodium, 56 grams total carbohydrate,
4 grams dietary fiber, 7 grams protein, 34 grams sugar

BEETS?

Who has to know? Let
beets be your little
secret ingredient.

Kerry Dunnington is a food columnist and author of “This BookCooks.” She can be reached at thisbookcooks@verizon.net.

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5#(+67 8#67+9 :, :.;'%+6(+ /41<=34>=0?@@A job in high demand during recession
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – When Katie Wylie
tells her grandchildren about her trials
and tribulations during the GreatRecession of ’09, they mightfall asleep.
After all, it’s unlikely Wylie
will go hungry, or even be forced
to cut back. She’ll have no tales of
wandering from state to state, looking for a job, any job.
In fact, it’s highly likely Wylie’s salarywill grow, along with her benefits andher position in life.
Why? Because Wylie is a registered nurse. And these days, nurses— like other health care professionals — are in such high demand that
hospitals are competing for them byoffering sign-on bonuses, scholarships
and career-advancement incentives in
return for work commitments.
The Fayetteville Observer reported
that while people in other professions
worry about losing their livelihoods
because of economic cutbacks, the Depart-

WANTED

16

These days, nurses are in such high demandthat hospitals are competing for them by offering sign-on bonuses, scholarships and career-advancement incentives in return for work commitments. Isn’t it nice to be needed?

ment of Labor estimated that nearly 1 million
additional nurses would be needed between 2006
and 2016.
With statistics like that, a good nurse shouldn’t
have any trouble finding a job with plenty of perks,
said Phyllis Malone, recruitment manager at Cape
Fear Valley Health System.
“This is a national problem,” Malone said.
“Nursing needs have changed. People live longer.
People are sicker than they used to be. There issuch a need.”
Wylie, whose husband is stationed at Fort Bragg,
recently left Duke University Medical Center for
Cape Fear Valley to be closer to home.
It’s been worth it, too, she said. Not only wasshe offered a $2,500 sign-on bonus and a $1,500
relocation allowance, the health system gave her
the opportunity to do what she really wanted to
do — work in the cardiovascular intensive careunit. In addition to the six to eight weeks of training Wylie will receive on her unit, she’ll also be
paid to attend a 12-week critical care school on
the hospital’s campus in preparation for her newposition.
The training and educational incentives havebecome a standard in the health care industry
as skilled professionals become harder to find,Malone said.
“We have to grow our own,” she said.
“Grow our own” is a phrase repeated often byrecruiters, who can only do so much to attract
nurses to their cities and facilities. – AP

Some Little Debbie
products joining
peanut butter recall
The company that sells Little
Debbie snacks announced a recall
Sunday of peanut butter crackers because of a potential link to adeadly salmonella outbreak.
The voluntary recall came one
day after the government advised
consumers to avoid eating cookies,
cakes, ice cream and other foods
with peanut butter until healthofficials learn more about the contamination.
The announcement by McKee
Foods Corp. of Collegedale, Tenn.,about two kinds of Little Debbie
products was the latest in a string ofvoluntary recalls following the mostrecent guidance by health officials.
McKee said it had not received
any complaints about illnesses
from people who ate any size peanut butter toasty sandwich crackers
or peanut butter cheese sandwich
crackers. The recall covers crackers
produced on or after July 1.
Officials are focusing on peanut
paste, as well as peanut butter,produced at a Blakely, Ga., facility
owned by Peanut Corp. of America.
Its peanut butter is not sold directly
to consumers but distributed toinstitutions and food companies.
But the peanut paste, made fromroasted peanuts, is an ingredient incookies, cakes and other productsthat people buy in the supermarket.
So far, more than 470 people havegotten sick in 43 states, and at least
90 had to be hospitalized. At leastsix deaths are being blamed on theoutbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria
and the most common source offood poisoning in the U.S., causing
diarrhea, cramping and fever.
Also Sunday, the maker of PeterPan peanut butter said none of its
products is associated with the outbreak. Peter Pan and other peanutbutter produced by ConAgra Foods
Inc. were linked in 2007 to a salmonella outbreak that sickened morethan 625 people in 47 states.
The company recalled all its peanut butter and eventually traced thecontamination to a leaky roof andfaulty sprinkler head at its Georgia
plant. In a statement, ConAgra said
it does not buy any ingredients fromPeanut Corp.
The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, hasrecalled 16 products. McKee said
Kellogg manufactured the Little
Debbie crackers covered by therecall.
The Kellogg products recalled
include Austin and Keebler branded
peanut butter sandwich crackers, and some snack-size packs ofFamous Amos peanut butter cookies
and Keebler Soft Batch Homestylepeanut butter cookies.
Most peanut butter sold in jars
at supermarkets appears to be safe,
the Food and Drug Administration
said Saturday. – AP

Surf the Web
FDA: tinyurl.com/8srctw