Picnics & Good Intentions

First – I must admit…I’m a woman with the best of intentions. Several months ago Melissa, the Cooking Diva linked to the International Farmers Market, asking for bloggers around the world to contribute photos and musings about local markets and post by June. OOPS - missed the deadline, but you really should drop by and check out the roundup.

Next, it's time for Weekend Cookbook Challenge conceived and hosted by two fabulous ladies – Ali of Something So Clever and Sara of I Like to Cook. This challenge is around picnics using recipes from some un(or under) used cookbook. I also get to squeeze out another entry for Kalyn’s Weekend Herb Blogging event, my other fave happening. This weekend it's being hosted by Virginie at Absolutely Green. So that's where to head for the roundup.

So now let me back up a bit….last Friday was my father-in-law’s birthday and my honey was going to be out of town on business so we thought we do a combined Father’s Day/birthday do on Saturday, culminating in leisurely lunch at our home. Because I wanted a light but interesting lunch that I could semi-prepare the day before (we were going to be busy all morning and just showing up at our place at lunch time), I thought of doing dishes that would also work for a picnic. That way I could kill two birds with one stone – create an easy-to-do meal and an entry for Weekend Cookbook Challenge. I used the The Sonoma Diet book and came up with a

wheat berry and lentil salad (fabulous) and

tuna & pickle relish salad (pretty ordinary). Of course that wasn’t nearly enough variety for me, so I did my usual

tomatoes with goat cheese and

mini jalapeno cornbread muffins (last two are from my own book - Every Kitchen Tells Its Stories).

For dessert, I prepared a fresh fruit salad – plums, peaches, local organic strawberries from Dufferin Farmers’ Market (I actually did go there – just not in time for the parade of farmers markets), pineapple and cantaloupe with some fresh mint. Nothing could be easier or more natural.

Oh, and of course I had to whip up something sweet beside the fruit, so I made some modifications to the apricot pistachio muffins from Delicious Magazine. Too lazy to shell pistachio nuts, I toasted some pecan pieces instead. I substituted Splenda for sugar and whole wheat flour for regular. Next time I’ll try it with almond meal instead (I only thought about it after the muffins were in the oven). So all in all it's quite South Beach Diet friendly too.

So here's my menu for a lovely picnic - whether you eat it at home on a table or in the country on a blanket.....

Menu

Wheat Berry & Lentil Salad

Tuna & Pickle Relish Salad (or Sandwiches)

Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

Mini- Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins at the bottom of the St Lawrence Market post

Fresh Frut Salad

Apricot Pecan Muffins

Related links: Food and Drink recipes weekend cookbook challenge weekend herb blogging South Beach Diet