By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD

The Northwest is blessed with the right amount of sun and rain to grow the world’s most wonderful berries! I walked around my garden today and found strawberries peeking out from under big three-part leaves. Raspberries are hanging on the vines, but I am going to leave them one more day to turn a deep red before I pluck them, and the blueberries are green, but getting big.

Extraordinary berries make great, simple desserts. The naturally sweet flavor of fresh, ripe, local berries is hard to beat. You don’t need much to dress them up. With the assortment of local berries available at farmers’ markets and roadside stands, you need only a few good recipes. Berries are good sources of vitamin C, natural sugars and fibers, and they offer plenty of flavor and color. You can always serve plain berries for dessert. A European treat, I like to add a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of brown sugar so the berries melt in your mouth.

For a dessert very low in salt, try this Pavlova. Named after a ballerina, it is so light it floats on air. If you are cooking for one or two, you can make individual meringues ahead and keep them in an air-tight container for a few days. Once the meringue is filled it should be eaten the same day.

Spring Berries Pavlova

Meringues:

4 egg whites

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Whipped cream:

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups fresh berries (slice if using strawberries)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover large baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer, on high, until stiff peaks form. Slowly add ¾ cup sugar and beat for 4-5 minutes or until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Sprinkle vinegar, vanilla and cornstarch over the egg white and beat until well blended. Spread egg mixture on the baking sheet to form an 8-inch circle, making the outside edges higher than the middle, like a shallow bowl. You can also make up to 8 smaller bowls for individual servings. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 200 degrees. Bake for one hour. Turn off the heat and leave the baked meringue to cool for at least one hour in the oven with the door slightly open. Place meringue on a serving plate.

Combine ingredients for whipped cream and beat until stiff peaks form. Fill cooled meringue with whipped cream and top with fruit.

Nutritional information:
Calories: 211, Carbohydrates: 26 grams; Protein: 3 grams; Sodium: 39 milligrams

The recipes in this column are meant for people who want to keep their kidneys healthy and blood pressure down by following a low-sodium diet. In most cases, except for dialysis patients, a diet high in potassium is thought to help lower high blood pressure. These recipes are not intended for people on dialysis without the supervision of a registered dietitian.

Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. She has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. See more of her recipes at www.nwkidney.org.

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