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Picnic Treat

We always called it camping cake and for as long as I can remember, it was a part of Sunday fishing trips.

Not sure whose recipe it was, but this date rich cake, topped with walnuts and chocolate chips, is the perfect sheet cake for summer outings.

The start of summer seemed like a good time to pull out the recipe along with the green cookie bowl … nostalgia for Schommer kids. In case you’re one of the unlucky few who don’t have the recipe, it’s included at the end of the post.

The recipe uses dates to sweeten the cake. This also means the cake stays moist for much longer. When you include the ‘frosting,’ nuts and chocolate chips. this is really the perfect summer picnic treat.

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Camping Cake

Sheet cake that is perfect for picnic baskets

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped dates
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ¾ cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • 10 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup walnuts coarsely chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 cake pan.
  • Mix together dates, boiling water and soda, set aside.
  • Cream shortening with sugar and then add eggs.
  • Sift together flour and cocoa, blend all ingredients together and spread evenly in cake pan.
  • Top with walnuts and chocolate chips.
  • Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool, then cut into 2 inch squares. Cake keeps well in closed container for 4 or 5 days, but also freezes well.
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Cascade Loop

Blazed by early explorers like John Fremont, a mostly two-lane road winds south out of Bend onto the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains. This nearly 100 mile stretch started out as a dirt trail linking the city to a southern route over those rugged peaks. It’s those peaks that draw most of the traffic these days.

We regularly access the upper Deschutes River and Davis Lake along a stretch of FS 47, Cascade Lakes Scenic Highway. Though at least once a year we make the loop from the southern edge of Bend to it’s junction at Highway 58 because it’s a really beautiful drive.

South from Bend you climb to the base of Mt Bachelor. A major section of the highway is closed until late May but by mid-June it’s lined with wildflowers and snow capped peaks. There are many places to pull off and explore but we never just pass the meadow on the western edge of Sparks Lake.

Soda Creek Campground caught our attention this trip. Only ten sites but all with views across the meadow.

We will very likely be back for an overnight, to hopefully catch some wild life that venture onto the grassy flats that the creek meanders through.

From June to September the lakes and their resort beaches are filled with swimmers, kayaks, even powerboats … places we mostly avoid in the summer. We do however frequent a couple of turnoffs between Lava Lake and Crane Prairie Reservoir. A crystal clear stream, headwaters of the Deschutes River cuts a channel through the pines and offers great picnic sites.

 

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Almond Cake with berries

Just in time for summer berry season, this recipe has everything I love about cake. It is light, fluffy and moist,  making it a wonderful canvas for fresh, seasonal fruit. Better yet, it is relatively guilt-free. Having only 140 calories and 15 grams of carbohydrates per slice.

I was excited to try out my new Charlotte baking pan, which features a ladyfinger-style rim. And sure enough, the center indentation holds the fruit beautifully.

The addition of a baked in dusting of sugar in the center, gives this cake a light, crispy topping that is delicious. Love it!

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Almond Cake with berries

Tender, fluffy cake topped with fresh fruit. Gluten free and low carbohydrates.
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided into 1/4 cups
  • 2 tbsps sugar, for dustiing bottom of baking pan
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups almond flour
  • 1 tbsp coconut flour You can replace coconut flour with 1/4 cup almond flour.
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2-2 cups berries, for topping

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 inch round pan with butter or coconut oil. Make sure to cover up the sides. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar into the bottom of the pan.
  • Beat together eggs yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and the vanilla, until smooth.
  • Using a stand mixer, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Slowly beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside.
  • Whisk together the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder and salt), and add to the egg yolks. Stir to form a thick dough.
  • Fold in the egg whites, 1/2 cup at a time, incorporating them fully between each addition. The final addition should result in a smooth, fluffy batter.
  • Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake on the center rack for 30 to 35 minutes, until it's golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a serving plate.
  • Allow cake to cool before topping with sliced berries, or fruit of your choice.
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Tiny Macro World

You take a picture to capture the moment and share it. The images hold a story, or at least you hope they do. We’ve recently begun attaching lenses to our smart phones and have discovered a passion for the macro lens and the tiny world it reveals.

You start with broad strokes or in film parlance, establishing shots. These set the stage to which you add detail with close up shots.

Macro photos give the viewer a very different prospective on the subject matter and require a different approach to taking pictures.

This tiny macro world shifts attention to parts of a scene that were always there,  just tucked in small nooks and crannies. 

It starts with a shift in approach to a subject. When you twist on that macro lens you are now going to spend some time crawling around on your hands and knees.  We always shoot a variety of different images and then edit for the blog page.  The addition of these extreme close shots offer punctuation to the story our establishing shots are trying to tell.

A whole new world lies below our feet. There have been some surprises along the way, i.e. the ferocious, gruesome world of insects AND a desperate need to beef up our flexibility exercises.  But that said. we love the dynamic perspective this lens gives our photos.

Coming up in July a collection of macro photos will be featured in the photo essay.

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Banana Sushi

We’ve been working with almond flour in muffins and cookies as a means of reducing carbohydrates. JQ landed on this recipe … OK, this might not be the “healthiest” snack… but not the worst either.

You can use any nut butter. We chose peanut butter as the underlayer. We microwaved chocolate chips to make melting the chocolate easier. Slowly heating the chocolate while stirring puts it into temper, giving it a shiny appearance. We used milk chocolate, but I think that a quality semi-sweet would be really good.

Frozen bites of chocolate enrobed banana pieces are a treat on a summer day and hopefully, a bit of a healthy one at that.

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Banana Sushi

A fun, healthy snack which is quick and easy to make.
Course: Snack
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas
  • 4 tbsp peanut butter or nut butter of your choice
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 handful wooden skewers
  • 3 tbsp topping of your choice (chopped nuts, toasted coconut, crushed cereal, seeds)

Instructions

  • Peel bananas. For easier handling, cut bananas into smaller chunks and thread with wooden skewers.
  • Coat with nut butter and chill in freezer for a couple of minutes.
  • Heat chocolate chips in microwave at 50% for 2 1/2 minutes. Check and stir every :30 seconds until melted.
  • Spread melted chocolate over the top of nut butter coating.
  • Sprinkle or roll coated bananas on all sides with topping of choice (i.e. toasted coconut, seeds, crushed granola, nuts. In this case we used pistacios.
  • Slice and enjoy.
  • This snack can be stored in the refrigerator or we love it frozen. Freeze for a quick, frozen snack.