“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” Erma Bombeck
YA had our first 4th of July picnic early this year. We made our annual trek up to Fawn-Doe-Rosa on Tuesday. We have several traditions around this trip, including taking a picnic lunch and enjoying it after we’ve had our fill of goat/dear/llama petting and bunny whispering.
This year we had sandwiches (cheese for YA, PB&J for me), coleslaw, watermelon and strawberries as well as tortilla chips and salsa. All packed in our trusty cooler and enjoyed with pop purchased from the pop machine at F-D-R. It was a beautiful day and I think eating outside in the shade made the food taste better!
What kinds of foods do you pack for picnics? Any favorite picnic spots? Any picnics planned for the 4th?
Trail Baboon 
It is nice to pet a dear. My guess, however, is that at Fawn-Doe-Rosa you petted deer. 🙂
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My dear is still sleeping, and I don’t want to disturb him.
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My dear is still sleeping, and I don’t want to disturb him.
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Ha ha! Spellchecker is just useless with homonyms, isn’t it??
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My internal spellchecker is the voice in my head that pronounces words I type. But here, too, homophones ruin that function.
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My dear is still sleeping, and I don’t want to disturb him.
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Mine too. I just came from the bagel store where I splurged on a dozen red-white-and-blue bagels.
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Is your dear still sleeping?
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We went to a potluck last night with the Carpe Diem Paddle Club – we were among the “bottom feeders” – folks who come just for the food after the kayaking has happened.
In summer I like to bring salads that don’t require mayo… this was Indonesian Rice Salad (from the Moosewood Cookbook) – or a 3-bean salad, or Southwestern Couscous Salad… now I’m gettin’ hungry.
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The other non-mayo salad I love to bring in season or with pomegranate substitute, is Joanne’s Pomegranate-Qinoa tabouli. Safe and delish.
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Thanks, just found it (near the end) of Kitchen Congress…
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Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes are all nice substitutes for the pomegranate seeds, if you cannot get those. This dish is always eaten clean to the bottom.
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https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/the-truth-about-mayonnaise-and-food-safety-article
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Good to know, Bill!
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Do you also have a special name for baboons who show up for book club without having read the book(s)?
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Bottom feeders. (I usually haven’t read the book, PJ, at least recently…)
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There are certainly meetings where the baboons who haven’t read the book outnumber the ones who have. The only constant is that VS has read both books.
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Has WordPress gone completely off the rails this morning? How is it possible that “My dear is still sleeping, and I don’t want to disturb him.” has posted as three separate comments posted at 8:19 AM? Weird!
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That is really weird. My dear is awake now.
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We are having friends over for a barbeque on Saturday. Husband is grilling the brisket today. He devised the recipe himself and calls it ” 2019 Ralph Ellison Memorial Oklahoma City No Booze Brisket”.
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We are also making Swedish Baked Beans. Our friends are bringing potato salad. I need to figure out a dessert.
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Rhubarb pie.
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That’s a mouthful! How did Ralph Ellison’s Oklahoma City Memorial inspire it?
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He is reading jazz writings by Ellison and Ellison was born in Oklahoma City. He also intends it as a celebration of Juneteenth .
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I just found this passage in the Picnics chapter of Laurie Colwin’s More Home Cooking: “…You pack a knife, a hard salami, some cheese, a loaf of bread, and a cutting board and make your sandwiches when you want them… I also feel in my heart of hearts that a picnic is an excuse to buy an enormous bag of potato chips… And I think that leftovers make interesting additions to any picnic. My particular favorite in this department is cold chicken…”
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Perfect.
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Rise and Shine Baboons,
My Dear just finished trimming the lawn. When we arrived home from NYC our 6” rain gauge was overflowing, the lawn overgrown, and the weeds in the garden were choking the flowers and veggies.). Our Sour Cherry tree was overflowing with ripe cherries. We picked 1.5 gal of them Tues pm, pitted them and froze 5 qts. (Take That Renee—competitive food processing. HAH.). So today we are having Cherry Pie with Whipped Cream. Yesterday my back and legs we requiring a lot of rest after the sidewalks of NYC, then the Cherry Marathon.
Picnics always start with bug dope. Then for an actual picnic, I like deviled eggs (kept on ice) which always get eaten quickly. Baguettes and cheese, seasonal fruit, the Pomegranate-Qinoa Salad (Thank you Joanne). Nothing chocolate—it melts. Don’t ask me how I know that. A little beer, a little fruit of the vine, a nap. My favorite place for a picnic is Lake Harriet.
Everyone, enjoy your freedom today.
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Oh, I envy you those cherries! What a treat!
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We planted the tree 5 years ago (part of my tree for birthday or Mother’s Day streak). This is the most we have ever picked. What a delightful surprise this year. So many things this year are running late, but these were right on time. Maybe even early.
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P.S. The Erma Bombeck quote is brilliant VS. Thanks.
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Yes.
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I like grapes, cheddar cheese curds, crackers and wine in my picnic basket.
I’ve been hiking in the Carleton Arboretum lately. What a beautiful place! There are benches here and there made from huge, split logs. They’re located in secluded places with lovely views. It’s just so peaceful and organic and tastefully done. That would be an excellent place for a picnic.
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Krists, when I was at Carleton I lived on 4th Goodhue my freshman year so I looked out at the Arboretum everyday. Wonderful!
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I’ll tag along for your picnic, Krista. Yum.
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Our biggest apple tree is loaded with apples this year.
(Anyone got secrets to treating the tree or spraying ((something safe)) to keep bugs off? Otherwise 90% of them will be rotten before they’re ripe).
But the two pear trees don’t seem to have any fruit this year.
Picnics– often, we end up bringing buns or some kinda snack. One sister always does the salads, another has the meat, another brings potatoes and there are always plenty of desserts. So we do whatever is left over. Plus, sometimes, something special for daughters diet.
I may get the big brush hog hooked up today and mow some waterways and ditches. But that’s not too much work and it’s in an Air Conditioned cab with radio so it’s easy work.
Going to check to see if the corn is knee high too. I’ll report back.
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The corn made it. But barely.
Knee High is knee high!
In a more normal year, corn would be waist high by now.
This hot humid weather, won’t take another 10 days it will be waist high.
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My food service delivered a meal to me this afternoon. It consisted of two potato salad sandwiches and a side salad. Wanna guess what the side salad was? And a cookie. I was happy with it. I like potato salad, and there was no cheese.
At odd times I’ve smiled to remember the picnics my family took when I was growing up in Ames. One day I did a careful audit of my memories, trying to recall details. Now I’m pretty sure we had just two picnics! Possibly three, but I think it was two. I remember both of them well.
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No, really (potato salad)?
Like “did a careful audit of my memories…”
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Potato salad sandwiches with a side of potato salad! Now that’s weird.
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I think he means a green side salad.
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Somehow I don’t think so, Renee. Which was it, Steve?
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I’m also guessing that the side salad was potato salad.
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Nope. Two potato salad sandwiches with a side serving of potato salad.
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When husband and I do road trips, we usually pack a cooler with various picnic foods: bread, cheese, ham, lettuce, cuke, red onion, tomato and mayo. For dessert we usually have fresh fruit. We also bring our camping stove, a long handled sandwich cooker, a coffee pot, and coffee.
If weather permits, we prefer to eat our lunches at roadside parks or picnic areas. While husband fires up the camp stove and puts water on for coffee, I put together the sandwiches and slice up some onion, cuke, and tomato for garnishing the sandwiches once they’ve been grilled. We love these little road side picnics.
No picnic planned for today. The usual suspects will be gathering on Ann’s front porch for a pot luck feast.
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My parents rarely went on picnics, but we would eat outside in our back yard at the picnic table. I didn’t think of it until just now.
Husband and I are having a cooking extravaganza today, and we often put an old table cloth on the kitchen counter to aid with clean up. The old table cloths we use are the very ones my mom used outside on the picnic table! They are somewhat worn but are too intact to throw and waste good cotton fabric, so they are still in use after many decades. Mom had them before I was born.
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A favorite picnic spot is Lakefront Park in Hudson, on the St. Croix river. I get together there on occasion with a friend. We usually do chicken kabobs on a little grill with peppers and onions, new potatoes with herbs and olive oil wrapped in foil, cheese and crackers, maybe some hummus, cucumbers, beer or wine.
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