Grilling takes low carb pound cake to a whole new level. Add some lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries and it’s the perfect summer treat. And Oregon is the perfect place to enjoy it!
Have you ever been to the great state of Oregon? I am quickly becoming convinced that it’s the best out of all 50 states. Mind you, I haven’t been to every single one, but I’ve now lived in 4 of them and visited many another and I’ve never been quite so enamoured of any as I am of this one. I’ve only just begun to explore it and I know I’ve barely scratched the surface, but I think I can be happy here for a long time. Maybe for the rest of my life. Everything about it seems to suit me, from the wonderful city of Portland to the great outdoors I’ve just barely experienced so far. I have a feeling I am going to be talking about it a lot from now on. I hope you will join me on my travels and see it through my eyes. I can’t wait to share it with you.
“Oregon makes me feel like anything is possible.”
I said this to a friend the other day as I was attending Indulge, a new food blogger conference in downtown Portland. I don’t even quite know what I meant by it, except that it captured the feeling I have when I learn about this state. There’s such a feeling of community here, and of creativity and entrepreneurship, and a deep love for the land and everything that comes from it. And the food, oh the food! People really care about where their food comes from, and even hole in the wall restaurants that look like total dives are serving organic farm-t0-table. I feel like this place is growing up right before my eyes and I get a sense of giddy excitement just being a small part of it.
Hiking in the temperate rainforest of Mt. Hood.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we decided to have a little getaway up to Mt. Hood. We booked a few nights at the Resort At The Mountain, not really knowing what to expect. The resort itself was lovely, with plenty of activities, nearby hiking, and an outdoor heated pool, which the kids promptly jumped into about 3 seconds after we arrived. It took less than an hour to get there from Portland, but it still felt far removed from the city. We took the kids on a bit of a soggy, chilly hike along the Salmon River and then ended up at a BBQ joint in Zigzag, Oregon called the Skyway Bar & Grill. This place is fantastic and if you’re ever in the area, you must go. A cozy, eclectically furnished restaurant with wonderful food and creative cocktails, and where kids are welcome, not just tolerated. The fireplace, an enormous old iron cavern with huge doors, would be the best seat in the house after some skiing or snowboarding.
The weather was a little on the dreary side on our second day so we decided to head over the mountain to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and to the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort and Water Park. The water park was great fun for the kids, but it was the drive to get there that captured my fancy. I have never in my life seen a more dramatic shift in landscape as I did coming down from Mt. Hood on the eastern side. You’re driving along in dense forest and it’s cloudy and drizzling, with patches of fog. And then quite suddenly, the sun is shining and you’re in the high desert, with the temperature rising a degree every few miles as you drop further down out of the hills. There is no gradual change between these two diverse environments, it’s almost instantaneous. The trees drop away and there you are in the scrubby, arid plains where the fire hazard is always high. I felt like I’d been plucked out of the Pacific Northwest and dropped back into Arizona, among the red sandstone canyons, the mesas and the tumbleweed. I was kicking myself the whole time that I’d left my good camera back at the hotel and only had my phone camera to capture the view.
Can you believe these are all the same state? And within an hour of each other?
All of this only a few short hours away from Portland. It’s so close, you could even make a day trip out of it. It’s just amazing and if you can’t sense my delight in having found myself living here, then you need to go back and read this post again.
And now for a little of the amazing Oregon food. Because the food, oh the food! Berry season is in full swing and you can hardly believe the variety that is available. Last week I came home from the farmer’s market with the typical strawberries and raspberries, but I also had boysenberries and loganberries. I’d also procured a pint of fresh raw cream from Deck Family Farms, as part of their herdshare program (I buy into the herd and each week I get some lovely cream or yogurt). I wanted a simple recipe that allowed these wonderful fresh foods to shine through. Grilled low carb pound cake seemed about right to me – an elegant summer dessert.
- 1 Almond Crusted Butter Cake (you can leave off the almonds if desired. It can also be flavoured with vanilla extract instead of almond extract.)
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tbsp confectioner's Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, you name it. I highly recommend boysenberries if you can find them!)
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Preheat grill to medium low. Cut pound cake into 12 even slices and brush both sides with butter. Grill 1 to 2 minutes per side, until lightly browned and has grill marks.
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Whip cream with sweetener and vanilla extract until it holds stiff peaks. Sprinkle with berries and serve warm.
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*This recipe is easy to adjust for few portions. Simply wrap any unused, un-grilled pound cake in tin foil. It makes a great slice for breakfast!
Serves 12. Each serving has 10.43 g of carbs and 4.56 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5.87 g.
Food energy: 375kcal
Total fat: 33.08g
Calories from fat: 297
Cholesterol: 105mg
Carbohydrate: 10.43g
Total dietary fiber: 4.56g
Protein: 10.35g
