Monday, October 29, 2007

We love to picnic!

We are year-round picnic-ers! Now, I KNOW that in my last post I was saying how nice the weather has been, but here we are in our winter coats - 2 weeks ago - having a picnic. Our ONE cold day was when we had a picnic planned. No matter - we have all kinds of Thermoses to keep things warm/cool. The big surprise was the park already has put away the picnic tables for the winter, but the tailgate makes a good substitute.
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For Mother's Day this past year Little Boy proudly presented me with a very cool picnic bag... and here it is during one of our summer picnics. This is a great bag because the front has plates/cutting board/silver/glasses/napkins/salt/pepper, etc. And the back has a very roomy pocket that holds a surprising amount of food.

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Here is a photo from one of our day road trip picnics this summer. For this picnic I planned ahead for a slightly "gourmet" picnic. I steamed baby asperagus for asperagus roll-ups, we had several different cheese/crackers and crusty bread, roasted potato salad, marinated vegetable & pasta salad, clementines, rum cake, cookies and I am sure we had several other things too but it was awhile ago so now I can't remember. Thank goodness for photos to jog our memories! Often we will add a few packaged salads from the grocery store... it all depends.

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It is pretty simple - picnic-ing. Of course, when it is hot you have to be mindful of foods staying cold. I really love picnic-ing when it is cold out though - those warm foods taste so extra yummy for some reason. There are some basic things to remember to bring - which I usually just keep in a box - ready to toss into the back of the truck at a moments notice. Let's see... charcoal, lighter stick, grill brush (no grill needed because I've already scouted out the area for parks that have stand-alone grills!), plastic table cloth and clamps (or at least a spray bottle of cleaner/paper towels), old picnic quilt (sometimes we go where there are no tables!), paper towels, sunscreen, bug spray, a jug of water for cleaning, empty plastic bags for the plates, etc... and a ball. I think that about covers it - you might need more or less. All that is left to pack is the food/drinks/cups/utensils...

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If you don't have any Thermoses about your house - get some! Plan a brisk fall walk in the woods or a bike ride and then enjoy a nice hot picnic afterward. It is handy to have an assortment of plastic containers, plastic cups, ice packs, coolers.

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We picnic a fair amount - even if we just go down the street a few miles, it is a fun event. We actually sometimes picnic right in our front yard in the summer. Little Boy adores a picnic - I often think that, for him, half the fun of any outing we go on is all the food we pack! After eating we always play a rousing game of ball. Fresh air and exercise, plus good food. Perfect.

9 comments:

loulee said...

You know I haven't picnicked for ages! Last time I did it was with take away food and a plastic fork, we sat at a table in the park. Not quite the same I know, but I do enjoy eating out doors.

Melanie said...

What great memories --- he'll never remember your salary, how much you paid for a car, but he will rember picnics with his mom....enjoy.

Hedgehog said...

I love picnics - all year round - have fun!!

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, such nice pictures ! Aren't you both so lovely ! GREAT moments together .... and YUMMY picnic ! (now I'm hungry !)


Hugs & smiles
NADINE

Laura said...

It sounds like so much fun and your menu makes me hungry. Thanks for sharing!

doni said...

Good Memories! My grandma loved to picnic. We usually had to "open the season" the first nice saturday (March???) and close it with a chili cookout in the park shelter in November ... good times with the family. Great tradition to pass on!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Way cool picnic basket! I wish I could hop in that pic and picnic with you!

KC Quilter said...

DH and I love to take impromptu picnics too. We often just throw some bottled water into a thermos caddy, stop by a sandwich store for yummies, and head to a nearby lake that has tables up all year. I may have to follow your lead and do some picnicking in cooler weather, bringing hot soup in a thermos to go along with those sandwiches!!!

Hanne said...

Thanks for sharing your picnic. Lovely photos.