What makes a perfect picnic? And who says it has to be perfect?

Instead of starting with the quest for perfection, let us chat for a minute about the topic of picnics. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I mention this phrase?

“Let’s go on a picnic!” 

Was it a positive thought?

One filled with adventure?

Is it something that you picture your kid asking you with great excitement?

Does it sound like work?

Is it saved only for special occasions, like Mother’s Day or birthdays?

Do certain kinds of picnicking food immediately come to mind?

When was the last time you went on a picnic? 

When I was a kid, growing up in the Piedmont of North Carolina, money was tight and meals were anything but frivolous. Get-togethers were often planned but more than often they just happened, simply for the joy of getting together and visiting.  

There was a tucked-away park in town that wasn’t really a park. It was more of a wooded low spot with a few picnic tables across the street from a wooded neighborhood. The more I think about it, it probably was a park. The fancy parks with carousels were saved for school field trips but this park felt like it belonged to mom and me. As the youngest I was often the only sibling tag-along with mom and her grocery shopping trips and library visits. Fast foods were not an option for us so mom always had an igloo filled with essentials. For us, essentials meant a thermos of milk, peanuts with raisins, and cheese slices. If it were a particularly busy day we would eat our igloo meal in some random parking lot with the windows rolled down in our station wagon. Some days were special. Extra special. Mom would take our wagon down the road and turn on to the street that entered that wooded neighborhood and I knew immediately it was picnic day.

Same igloo. Same old milk jug, same old jar of peanuts and raisins, and chunk of cheese.  Only this day was different. 

This day was picnic day. 

What makes a perfect picnic? 

Having one.

I just realized that I don’t picnic anymore.  I have grown up and moved away from the igloo. So what happened? Did I get caught up in the fast paced life of adulthood? Moved on to thinking events have to be too planned and too perfect?

I asked my kindergarten niece Jocelyn the other day about picnics. I wondered if she had ever been on one. She had, at grandma’s house. I asked her where she thought a perfect picnic would be and what food did she think was the perfect picnic food.

For the record, it is in the woods and it is cake.

Get out there and start playing. If you see me, come saddle up next to me on the picnic table and I will pour you some milk.

With cake. 

Happy picnicking. 

Lyndi

 

 Getting to Know Your ARWB Foodies

Lyndi Fultz
nwafoodie.com

What food reminds you of childhood?
cheese omelets
When I was a kid, my mom made runny, undercooked, boring scrambled eggs. I decided to take matters in my own hands and learned how to 1) make dry scrambled eggs and 2) kicked it up a notch and learned how to make cheese omelets. Never again did I have runny, undercooked, boring scrambled eggs. Thanks Mom!

What is your favorite international cuisine?
slow food from France and Italy
I like the country rustic fare from just about anywhere: fresh fish plucked from the sea, lightly but perfectly seasoned, wine with brie and fruit and long conversations, and whole chicken simmered in broth with garlic. I can appreciate fancy food yet I fall in love with simplicity that is delicious.

What is always in your refrigerator at home?
good, grass-fed butter
whole whipping cream
Parmesan cheese
farm eggs
large curd cottage cheese
whole milk plain yogurt
brussel sprouts
thyme
minced garlic in a jar (what, you didn’t think I always mince my own garlic, did you?)

What is your most used cookbook?
Cook’s Illustrated

What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
santoku knife

Do you have a favorite food indulgence?  
fried chicken, yes please

What is your go-to ingredient that you use time and time again?
fresh thyme

What is your favorite food meal to cook at home?
pan slow-cooked paillard chicken in broth with balsamic and dijon

What is a cooking tip that you would like to share with beginning cooks?
 Sign up for Cook’s Illustratedbecause they will absolutely teach you how to cook

When you’re not cooking, what are your favorite pastimes?
kayaking, fishing or just hanging out in the lake, remodeling, landscaping, going for drives with my husband and hanging out with family.

What else would you like us to know about you?
I need a clutter-free zone to function properly.

Connect with  Lyndi:
Twitter: @nwafoodie
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Pinterest: Lyndi (nwafoodie)