Today Is a beautiful day! So I am headed to one of my favorite places with my two favorite little friends! An outing to the lake with my boys sounds just about right! But what to bring for lunch??????

In my search to spice up the picnic basket I came across some really great articles & recipes that should help you have an amazing picnic of your own.

In my Basket

• Juice boxes for the kids
• Club sandwiches
• Pretzels
• Wheat Crackers
• Cream Cheese
• My sisters home made canned Bruichito
• Spring Water for me
• Grapes
• Napkins & Baby Wipes
• Blanky
• Portable radio
• Favorite Books
• Ball & Glove

Mix all these together with the ones you love and enjoy! I try to keep it simple and focus more energy on the time and the people than the meal. I found after many failed attempts to create the perfect picnic scene that the best days will unfold with little planning on your part. AS long as there is a little something for everyone and a fun activity help them work up their appetite you can ensure a wonderful picnic!

From Some Others Baskets

 

Courtesy of

Michael Smith

Chef at Home

On Next

Monday, July 26, 10:00AM/7:00AM et/pt

Asian Chicken Salad From The Food Network Canada

Ingredients

The Dressing

• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Dash hot sauce
• Dash sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

The Salad

• 1 small bundle of rice vermicelli noodles
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 1 cup snow peas, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1 bunch cilantro, leaves picked
• 4 large rice paper wrappers, soaked until soft

 

NY Times 101 Picnic Dishes

I copied a few for you but check the link for all the rest! There were tons

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/dining/02mini.html?_r=1

 

1 BEET SALAD Peel beets and grate them (a food processor will keep the juice contained). Add pistachios or hazelnuts; dress with orange zest and juice, and olive oil. Add bits of goat cheese and chopped parsley.

2 PESTO CHICKEN ROLLS Season and grill chicken cutlets. Brush lavash or any other wrap-type bread with pesto; layer with the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and arugula; roll up and cut on the bias.

3 CURRIED EGG SALAD Make egg salad with hard-cooked eggs, mayo, curry powder, Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice, salt, pepper, cilantro, red onion and, if you like, diced apple.

4 TOMATOES AND PEACHES Toss together sliced seeded tomatoes and peaches, along with thinly sliced red onion and chopped cilantro or rosemary. Dress at the last minute with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

5 ROAST BEEF AND BLUE Start with whole-grain rolls. Smear blue cheese on one side and prepared horseradish on the other. Add red onion and thin-sliced roast beef, pork or lamb. Pack! lettuce and tomato on the side. Potato chips are mandatory.

So whether you are headed to the high country or the beach I hope you have a wonderful day and you enjoy the people & your food as much as I do!

 Picnic Blessings

There are three kinds of people in the world. There are those who hate vegetables, those who aren’t crazy about vegetables but have learned to like them because they were forced to eat them as kids and those who love vegetables and have always loved vegetables.

My best girlfriend’s husband is the first kind of person. He hates vegetables and makes no apologies for it. The only time I’ve ever seen him eat a vegetable is when it’s been cut into bite sized pieces and covered in a thick layer of Caesar salad dressing, bacon bits and croutons.

If we go out to dinner and a vegetable finds its way on to his plate because the chef had the audacity to put a vegetable side dish next to his steak or chicken, the veggies will be pushed aside by his fork and someone at the table will usually steal them off his plate.  (Ok, usually it’s me)

His lack of vegetable love was the subject of a conversation that my girlfriend and I had this week. She really wants him to start eating vegetables and wanted to know if I could recommend some delicious vegetable dishes. I’m the second type of person so I can relate to his aversion to vegetables but I learned to like them because not eating them was never an option in my house. My mother would cook vegetables everyday in some form or another and eventually I really did learn to love them. Later in life I realized that my mother’s skills with vegetable preparation are part of the reason why I love them so much.

Vegetables need a lot of love and attention when they’re being cooked. Leave some green beans on the stove too long and they will not be appetizing at all. This is the key to preparing most vegetables. Their flavors need to be encouraged by perfect cooking time and the right seasoning. Vegetables are only boring if you prepare them that way.

Thanks to my Mom, I have a lot of tasty veggie dishes in my culinary arsenal and Mushrooms with Zucchini and Lemon is one of my favorites. This is one of the recipes that I passed on to my girl and I hope you like it too.

Finishing this recipe with fresh lemon juice is what makes it pop.  It becomes bright and herbal yet hearty and healthy. Incidentally, I have also used the same method for green beans and zucchini and it was just as amazing.

You will need:
A frying pan or suttee pan

Ingredients

1 swirl or two of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
2 cloves of garlic- finely chopped
2 medium zucchini-sliced
12-14 white mushrooms- sliced
1 tablespoon or dried oregano
Salt and pepper (about a ½ teaspoon each or to taste)
A few squeezes of fresh lemon juice- 3 or 4 tablespoons

How to do it

1.    Add the garlic to the oil while the pan is just starting to warm up. Let the garlic heat through and begin to sizzle
2.    When the garlic begins to release some scent, add the mushrooms and zucchini
3.    Stir fry the vegetables on medium heat
4.    Add the oregano and stir.
5.    Allow the mix to cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetable are tender. They should be cooked through but still in one piece.
6.    Add the salt and pepper.
7.    Add the lemon when the vegetables are done. You want to finish this dish with lemon. Adding it to early will make the vegetables mushy.
8.    Serve with your favorite main dish

Eggs Benedict is one of my all time favorite dishes. It’s perfect for any meal and simple to make.

Bring 8 cm (3-inches) of water to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer.
To keep egg whites from sprawling, crack eggs, one at a time, into a small dish, then slip into simmering water.
Cook in barely simmering water 3 to 5 minutes. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and drain well.

Tips
Use the freshest eggs possible for oval shaped poach eggs.
Use cold eggs
The best pan is a shallow saucepan with large surface.
Eggs can be poached in dry white wine, chicken broth or tomato juice for added flavour.

Hollandaise Sauce
Hollandandaise sauce is the icing on the cake sort of speak.

It is not that difficult to make at all if you remember not to let the sauce boil as you are thickening it or let the water in the double boiler boil.

Hollandaise Sauce

2 egg yolks
4 – 8 tablespoons butter, cut or broken into small pieces
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
1 – 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar

Separte the egg whites from the york. Put the egg yolks in a metal bowl. Sit the bowl over a saucepan filled with cold water. Heat the water, beating the egg yolks constantly with a wire whisk. The water in the pan should not boil and the bowl should stay cool enough to hold with your hand.

*Tip save the egg whites for an egg white Omlete.

Continue beating the yolks constantly until they thicken. You will know when the yolks have thickened enough, when you begin to see the bottom of the bowl between strokes and the mixture forms a light cream on the wires of the whisk.

Immediately remove the bowl from over the water. Add the butter, in tiny pieces, whisking in each pat and allowing it to melt before adding the next. When you are finished, the mixture should be very smooth and light. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and stir in the seasonings and lemon juice.

Tip: If the sauce is too thick, thin it a bit with cold water. Keep in a warm place.

Yogurt and Chive Hollandaise Sauce
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
150 g Greek-style yogurt
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
pepper to taste

So we have our poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, all we need now is english muffins and some ham slices.

1. Cut english muffin in half.
2. Place one piece of ham on english muffin half.
3. Gently place poached egg on to ham.
4. Pour the hollandaise sauce over the poached egg.

Now we have Eggs Benedict

More Information:
History

Found this recipe in a card mailed to me by Body & Soul Whole Living Magazine.

In an electric blender, combine frozen organic blueberries and strawberries, 1/2 cup chilled green tea (unsweetened), 3/4 cup plain low-fat organic yogurt, 2 tbs ground flaxseed and a little trubinado or raw organic sugar to taste.

Blend till smooth—yum…and don’t you look young!

Contains about 250 calories, 13g protein, 9 grams fat, 35 g carbs and 8 g fibers–the perfect calorie combo. Thanks, Martha Stewart!

I whipped these up the other night. They only took a few minutes to make and were soooo good. I can’t wait to have them again! They’re filling yet healthy–and delicious.

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Sautee an onion and some garlic in a frying pan. Add veggie crumbles and brown as you would hamburger. Stir in cooked rice (I used Success Rice, which only takes 10 minutes) and half a jar of prepared Spaghetti Sauce. Add chili powder and cayenne pepper to taste (I have a taste for a LOT).

3. Cut off the tops of four large green peppers and scoop out the insides.

4. Fill the peppers with the rice mixture, sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top, put the pepper tops back on and bake for about 20 minutes (I like my peppers al dente, but bake longer if you prefer them softer).

Just thought I’d pass this little recipe along. If you’re a hot sauce addict like me, you’ll probably also like them with a little Red Hot Sauce for dipping. Enjoy!