PICNIC FOOD IDEAS

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PICNIC FOOD IDEAS

**remember it is up to you what you take, these are just a few pointers and

ideas, use your own ideas to sub or add, do what is according to you and

your family's needs:

If you go down to the woods today you'd better take supplies!

For an everyday alfresco meal, picnic food is not complicated.

A substantial meal can usually be put together in a few minutes

from what you have in your fridge and/or larder. Even if you need

hot picnic recipes for a chilly day, it is not difficult to conjure up

something tasty.

You could easily have enough ingredients in the house to make

some kind of wrap or a good old fashioned sandwich such as the

very English cucumber sandwich or a tempting chicken salad

sandwich.

Rolls or filled bagels are another easy picnic food idea.

As supplies go, salads are great for the keep-it-simple philosophy

too. A salad or two, some quality bread and you have the basis of a

lovely outdoor meal. Fresh seasonal fruit baskets would be a good

nutritious way to round out the meal as well.

The best salads for traveling are those which can be mixed or

tossed before you leave home. This Italian salad is one of those

and so is Nigella's Greek salad - in fact, in my opinion, it is the

ultimate picnic salad.

There are plenty of other tasty salad recipes for picnics scattered

around this site, most of which can be used to make a simple meal,

while some are ideal as part of an outdoor feast.

You'll find salad recipes here with beetroot as the main ingredient.

Or there again, if you want red, perhaps you prefer to stick to nice

juicy tomatoes.

The picnic menu should not be too dainty or refined - unless you

are preparing a special gourmet picnic.

Apart from salads, you can include such palatable things as cold

sausage rolls or hot sausage turnover, some slices of picnic ham

(USA or UK version), finger-licking chicken, gorgeous homemade

scotch eggs, fat wedges of tortilla, or savoury pasties or pies.

Forget designer canapés and opt for small vegetables such as baby

carrots, mini courgettes (zuchinni), strips of red, yellow and green

pepper, asparagus tips, celery sticks, radishes and cherry tomatoes,

all of which add a bit of crunch and colour to the picnic food. You

can display them around a healthy dip or two.

However, if so many veggies are not your scene, serve the creamy

hummus or spicy tapenade with crunchy crostini or salty tortilla

chips.

As far as possible you want picnic food that you don't need cutlery

for - at least no more than a fork. And if you have to have meat

that requires a proper knife and fork (for some barbecue recipes for

example) then make sure you have proper picnic plates and not

flimsy paper ones which buckle up in your lap!

Then also in the hamper should be something sweet, such as coffee

cake with walnuts, some variety of picnic cake, pineapple fruit

cake, or oaty flapjacks to satisfy healthy outdoor appetites.

And don't forget the picnic drinks. Have lots of soft drinks and

water available as well as alcoholic tipples. Children especially

will need to be reminded to drink water often, as they can

dehydrate quickly when they're playing in the sunshine.

Remember too that as well as room enough for the main meal,

every basket needs a treat or two tucked inside, just in case you

need to have a nibble before the main picnic food itself - or after it!

In the summer you might fancy a little extra something when your

alfresco lunch has drifted into a siesta and it's still too sunny and

warm to return home to the chores. In the winter, an extra treat or

two will comfort you and keep you cozy!

A few sticks of beef or ostrich (low fat) biltong are great to chew

on while laying out the meal. Or open up your hamper and take out

some salted almonds, juicy stuffed olives or wasabi rice crackers.

Later on, when the sun is sinking, some sugar-coated almonds

might have the edge over salted ones, or, if it's chocolate you

crave, then surely it'd be a treat to find some crazy chocolate

cookies tucked up in the corner of the hamper?

Try them with a handful of fat, black cherries or a luscious ripe fig.

Then lay back and relax on your blanket and cushions for a few

more minutes!

as seen at www.the-picnic-site.com

'All that I have seen teaches me to trust God for all I have not seen.'

~Sugar