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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Four Great Picnic Ideas for Springtime

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Ahhh, springtime. The days are getting longer, the sun is peeking out, the flowers are blooming, and – if you’re where I am in the mid-Atlantic – the temperature is currently … 37 degrees? No matter. We’ll be back in the 70s soon enough, and already I’m dreaming of picnic fare.

Aside from cookouts, the picnic is probably my favorite type of meal to plan. I love the exotic feeling of dining outdoors, atop a well-worn blanket or perched in camp chairs or, sometimes, sitting in the way-back of the car, preparing to watch a drive-in movie. With friends, with LeeLee, or sometimes just by myself, a picnic brings peace, no matter the occasion. It signals a slowing-down of the day, a moment to savor life. I love picnics for that most of all.

There are plenty of ways to plan an excellent picnic. A satchel of wine and snacks never hurt anybody. Or a to-go bag of your favorite carry-out is a great choice for after work when you don’t feel like whipping something up. But if you’re looking to go the homemade route, you could do worse than these ideas! From huge buffet-like spreads with half a dozen friends to quiet evenings for two, here are some picnic recipes to get the party started.

Falafel Pitas With Salad
Any falafel recipe will do for this dish – I used a homemade baked version that I’ve had since about 2003 (!). Store-bought is also just fine if you’re in a bit of a rush. But whether you enjoy this in a backyard feast, in your local park or even in the living room on a rainy evening, it won’t dare let you down. Falafel is so dang versatile – and it holds up so well in a pita during transport!

Turk’y and Cheese Sandwich With Potato Salad and Fresh Fruit
This combo served LeeLee and me so very well when we brought it to an outdoor movie a few years back (and many times since). Be sure not to load your sandwich down with too many condiments so it won’t get soggy before serving, and don’t forget to keep that potato salad on ice! And if you’re following us to a movie, be sure and bring a fun card game (Mille Bornes is a huge hit in our house).

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches
Let’s face it – peanut butter and banana sandwiches make for an excellent hiking buddy. My dad and I have been known to enjoy PB&Bs on every road trip we’ve ever taken together over the years, and for good reason: These sandwiches are easy, shelf-stable, filling and frugal. They’re easy to carry on the trail (just keep an eye out for grizzlies, would you?) and just as easy to prep on the dashboard of the rental car should events call for it! 

When Friends Convene, a Buffet Emerges
In this case, a picture speaks a thousand words. From tabbouleh to tortilla chips to beet salad to peanut noodle salad to … well, you name it … the more friends you can rope into the act, the better your picnic spread will be! In this case, we had joined up with a big group to celebrate a friend’s birthday in the pre-pandemic era, first feasting on all the aforementioned (and more) and then enjoying an evening of live music under the stars. When it comes to the menu, the sky’s the limit!

Picnic and a Movie.

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This weekend marked the 10th annual Alexandria Outdoor Film Festival, and the organizers hit us where it hurts: Saturday night’s feature was “Rogue One,” which LeeLee and I couldn’t dare pass up.

As you know by now, I’m a huge fan of a picnic, and frankly an outdoor movie seems the perfect venue for such a thing! So Saturday afternoon, I rolled up my sleeves (well, actually, at 90+ degrees today, my sleeves were short to begin with) and got to work in the kitchen whipping up a little feast for two. (All our usual movie-going friends were booked up already this weekend! Oh, the humanity!)

I knew we’d want an anchor – in this case, a turk’y and cheese sandwich topped with avocado – and a side, as well as something that would be sweet to end the meal. Our CSA, Great Country Farms, recently sent us a fresh shipment of potatoes, and before long potato salad was calling my name.

Now, typically I use my grandfather’s recipe for potato salad, and it has always served me well. But there were a few differences in today’s recipe that I needed to account for: The potatoes we had on hand were new potatoes, not Idaho or Yukon Gold, and – most criminal of all – we had no Worcestershire sauce with which to doctor the potatoes as they boiled. Anyone who knew my grandfather knew that the latter was a sin. So since I was already going quickly down the road to perdition, I elected to seal the deal with some sour cream instead of mayo and some Dijon mustard instead of yellow just to see where that got me. I know Pop’s chuckling to himself in heaven; he was nothing if not thoughtful when it came to changing times.

For a sweet treat, I knew LeeLee and I didn’t want the temptation of a traditional dessert, so instead I whipped up a fresh fruit salad starring blackberries and blueberries from the morning farmer’s market and … strawberries from the grocery store. So much for 100% local! But they tasted great anyway.

I readily admit that we brought a couple of cans of wine (to avoid using glass) to toast our meal and movie, and after dinner we played a mean game of Mille Bornes before the feature began. All in all, a successful night at the outdoor theater! And you can’t beat the prices.

:)

On the Road Again: Peanut-Butter and Banana Sandwiches.

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pb-banana-sandwich

As I mentioned on Tuesday, my dad and I are traveling around Alaska this week to enjoy some national parks (and some time together). And as soon as we pulled the car into Anchorage to start our adventure, we set our sights on the nearest Fred Meyer – our old friend every time we visit the West! – and picked up provisions for the week. At the top of our list: A loaf of bread, a container of peanut butter, and a bunch of bananas.

PB&B sandwiches are a mainstay of our travel diet each and every year we travel together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Think of it: Protein, fruit, carbs, and just a hit of sweetness in every bite. Everything’s shelf-stable, so there’s no need to carry around a cooler. A little bit goes an awfully long way. And it can be prepared in the car (the dashboard makes an excellent buffet), atop a picnic table, or on the trail (just look out for bears!), in little to no time. Also, as we discovered this week, the handle of a plastic fork makes an excellent knife when Fred Meyer is sold out of real plastic knives.

Served with some chips, it’s a lunch we can return to time and again. And believe me, we will! Time may pass, our trip locations may change from year to year, but PB&B sandwiches stay the course. I can’t think of a better traveling companion for us both.

:)

Recessionista on the Road: Vegan Picnic Wrap!

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vegan-picnic-wrap

Yesterday, I took a little road trip for work, and before I even woke up in the morning my heart was already singing with joy for one particular reason:

Road trip = Picnic!

Oh, how I do love a picnic. For special occasions (July 4, a performance in the park) or for just regular old run-of-the-mill occasions (a pretty summertime Friday night, some national park adventures close to home), it doesn’t take much for me to pack up a picnic basket and get moving. Yesterday, since I was the sole adventurer, I didn’t go all-out as I do when we’ve got guests to feed. Instead, I focused my efforts on making the best dang veggie wrap in the history of veggie wraps. And friends, I think I succeeded.

Veggie wraps are one of my go-to picnic staples, it’s true. But never have I mastered it quite like I did yesterday. I don’t say this out of arrogance, but out of wonderment. What’s usually a nice, filling main course became a culinary masterwork, a symphony of fresh flavors! And it didn’t take but a few minutes of prep time to put together. Here’s how I did it.

First, I laid out a large flour tortilla (think burrito size) atop a sheet of aluminum foil. Then I added a generous dollop of Just Mayo in a strip down the center. Next, I laid five Tofurky deli slices (I used the peppered kind this time around) atop the mayo, and then added two slices of Daiya Swiss. Then it was time for the veggies! In order, I placed a large handful of spinach leaves, half a diced peeled cucumber, seven or eight cherry tomatoes, and half a sliced avocado right on top of the Tofurky and cheese.

Then came the difficult bit: Wrapping it up! Carefully, carefully, I began wrapping both the tortilla and the foil to keep everything in place, and then picked up speed to ensure no veggies snuck out in the process. I secured the wrap with one more sheet of foil, tucked it into an insulated lunch bag, and voila! It stayed fresh and cool until lunchtime, at which point I enjoyed it from the comfort of my car (because the temperature was 38 degrees outside!) at a lovely overlook in Pennsylvania. Chips were served alongside to round out the luncheon.

Now that spring is supposedly on its way, I foresee plenty more picnics in my future! Perhaps LeeLee and I will sneak over to view the cherry blossoms in a few weeks, dinner in tow? Time will tell!

:)

Sunday Picnic: Falafel Pitas With Salad.

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So, this isn’t our usual Sunday Cookout, for a couple of reasons:
  1. We cooked out last night with friends before the Alexandria fireworks display (and, as per usual, I was so busy chatting and carrying on that I neglected to take the first photo of our meal).
  2. We were supposed to go out for a picnic in the park tonight – starring falafel pitas!

Well, No. 1 occurred flawlessly, and we had a delightful time as ever.  Notice, however, that in that second bullet point I said we were supposed to go to the park.  That changed this morning, when we realized that our Sunday schedule, much of which became work-related for LeeLee, had gotten a little jam-packed.
But not to worry!  Our picnic fare didn’t go to waste; we decided to simply picnic at home tonight instead!
I pulled out a falafel recipe I’ve had years and years and got to work. I can’t even remember where I got the recipe in the first place – in my big homemade cookbook of all types of printed-out recipes, it’s just copied into an email that I sent to myself in – get this – July 2003.  And let me tell you, from Day One it has been a winner!
Basically, all you do is this: Add two (drained) cans of garbanzo beans to a food processor, and top them with parsley, scallions, turmeric, ground cumin, garlic powder, salt, and a dash of cayenne.  Then pour a quarter-cup of water on top of the mixture and add the juice of one lemon.  Then process the heck out of everything until it’s smooth!  Then add a third of a cup of flour, stir it in well, and you’re ready to cook.
The thing I like most about this recipe – other than its ease of use – is that it calls for baking the falafel rather than frying, and in this day and age, I need every calorie-counting trick I can get!  So just simply spoon the falafel mixture out into little patties onto a baking sheet and bake them for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  They’ll be perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside by the time they’re done – just how you want falafel to taste!
We tucked our falafel into halved pita bread, adding lettuce, cucumber, and a pinch of feta cheese to round out the sandwich.  Then I put together two side salads (one for each of us, y’know) with basic ingredients – lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black olives, croutons, cucumbers, and the like.  I couldn’t resist adding some potato chips to our plates just for a real picnic feel!
The final result was wonderful.  The falafel was fresh and flavorful, and the salad was a great accompaniment.  The halved pitas were just enough – they didn’t overstuff us, but they didn’t leave us hungry.  And we have quite a few falafel patties left for tomorrow’s lunch, which makes me quite happy!
So it may not have been the picnic in the park we’d planned, but it sure turned out well anyway.  I’ll take it!
:)