All posts tagged: picnic

Perfect picnic food with Californian Medjool Dates

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This post was made possible thanks to big and juicy Californian Medjool Dates. These whole fruit treats are a natural source of fibre and a wonderful to refined sugar. Available at Huckleberry stores and in the fresh produce section of your local supermarket. Scroll down for giveaway details.   We have had a deliciously warm summer in Auckland. Great picnic weather, and typically for Auckland, some not so great picnic weather. To me, perfect picnic food works at ambient temperature and extra points if it can be eaten with hands. I’ve created these Moroccan chicken pies with Californian Medjool Dates to be enjoyed hot or cold. Chicken, dried apricots and Californian Medjool Dates pair beautifully with cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and ground ginger. These spices are warming but don’t pack any heat, making them excellent for a range of palates including little ones. The filling can be made ahead of time and the pies filled and baked before you head out. And if you plan on bringing these to your next picnic, place pies a tea …

Baked frittata

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I first made this dish the day after a hangover. I never crave greasy food after a hangover, I prefer foods that are a bit more hearty or nourishing. Even better if it’s something that I can pick at over a period of time rather than have to eat the whole thing at once. Over the past week or so I’ve tweaked this a recipe a little and we’ve eaten this for both breakfast and weekday lunches. Hot or cold. Both are good. Future me might make this the day before a night out so it could be picked at the following day. That would be amazing. I’ve just planted a bunch of seedlings including basil, oregano, thyme and sage so I’ve used a mix of these in this frittata. You can change up the ingredients, use ham, sausage or chicken in place of bacon if you have them. Other vegetables like courgette, broccoli, capsicum would also work. Just make sure you use egg, cheese and potato. Baked Frittata Ingredients 2-3 potatoes 6 free range eggs …

Banh mi in winter

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Early 2000’s, The Koala and I arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam at 6am local time during the coldest month of the year. We’d just flown in from balmy Kuala Lumpur and had been awake for at 24 hours. We weren’t prepared for the cold but we dumped our stuff at our hotel and went exploring. The city was wide awake, bright and bustling. Big baskets of bread stacked on the footpath and banh mi sellers bundled up and huddled together like winter birds cozied up on a branch. What is banh mi? For those unfamiliar with banh mi, the word “banh mi” (pronounced BUN-mee) just means “bread” in Vietnamese but has come to mean a single serve baguette sandwich. The French colonials left behind baguettes and pate when they left Vietnam in the 1950s and the locals created this awesome fusion sandwich before fusion was a thing. Stuffed with pork or chicken, pate, mayo, cucumber, coriander (cilantro), pickled vegetables and sometimes chillies, they are made fresh to order so you get to choose (in our case point) the …

Our Growing Edge June 2015 Intro – Picnic Edition

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A new month means new edition of Our Growing Edge. Thanks to those who submitted to May’s edition. Below are just a few of the submissions from May’s edition of Our Growing Edge. Check out the full round up by Jordan and Cindy over on My Daughter and I. Picnic theme Those of you in the northern hemisphere will be enjoying longer and brighter days while us southerners are hunkering down for winter. Maddie from Supper Lovin’ is our host for June and we have a gourmet picnic theme this month. I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Some suitable ideas are food that travels well, baked goods, summery drinks and cocktails, salads, sandwiches. Dishes you love eating at picnics but have never tried making, maybe classics with a twist. Submissions for June are open from now until the start of July. More information here.

Monday Bunday: Kissing Rabbits Picnic Blanket

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It’s summer here at the moment and with so many of us trying to save money for this or that, a picnic with friends is a great way to spend an afternoon. I must admit, I don’t even own a picnic blanket. We just use a summer weight sleeping bag. How cute is this Kissing Rabbits Picnic Blanket by Anorak? A blanket like this would be a compact alternative to lugging around our sleeping bag. It’s on the pricey side at £36, but if you picnic a lot, it could be a worthwhile investment.  

Have a picnic at the beach

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We just got home this week from a holiday in Tairua in the Coromandel. The weather wasn’t the best, but we made the best of what we had. We had a well stocked fridge and BBQs just about every day. Heaven is day after day of epic feasts with friends. We are back to work next week, so being the last weekday of the holidays, we decided to head to the beach one more time. Today we went out to Goat Island which is just over an hour north of Auckland and worked up an appetite by swimming and snorkeling at the marine reserve. Sometimes, the best picnics are the ones where not a single thing is prepared at home, but instead, collected from your local supermarket, assembled and enjoyed somewhere beautiful with friends. A hot roast free range chicken, cheesy buns, fancy bread, salads, chips, crackers, cheese, stick shaped vegetables and loads of dips. Dig in.

A Bargain To Eat Upon

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As much as I love eating outside, we’ve never really owned an outdoor table. We either sit on the edge of the deck with plates perched on laps, or if we’re feeling really fancy, we drag the dining table out. We don’t often bother as it doesn’t really fit through the door and takes a bit of shoe-horning and coaxing to get it in and out. Then, I found this sturdy table on Trademe for $20. It looked a bit rough, but had potential. Brought it home, sanded it and gave it a few coats of paint. We already had sandpaper, a bucket of paint and a sponge paintbrush leftover from other projects, so this really cost $20. Perfect for alfresco dining over summer. I’m dreaming of BBQs and cocktails in the backyard. Now all we need are outdoor chairs or benches. But for now, our dining chairs will do just fine.