In my last post I mentioned (again) that there were not enough picnics in my life. I'm happy to report that with a bit of focus, determination and seized opportunities, that has changed! Since writing that, I've had three pretty fantastic picnics. One was at Halibut Point in Rockport, one of my favorite spots in Massachusetts. We had the sun setting on the water on one side of us, and the full Blue Moon rising on the other. We had some wine and ukulele playing along with our food. The menu consisted of caprese salad, bread, cheese, crunchy veggie salad and a Thai noodle salad. It was a perfect setting despite a fairly short-lived mosquito frenzy. The second picnic took place on a log to the side of a hiking trail in Parc de la Jacques-Cartier outside of Quebec City. We stopped in a market in Quebec City to purchase some fantastic local cheeses, a baguette, truffle chips, tomatoes and strawberries. After a short kayak in the park, we hiked up a trail until we found a suitable spot to enjoy our wares.
The third picnic took place on Georges Island on Labor Day weekend. A quick stop at Whole Foods on the way to the ferry yielded some more tasty cheese, a mix of heirloom tomatoes, a baguette, and apple and some soba noodle salad. What I've taken away from these experiences is that all you need is a nice spot and some good bread & cheese and tomato and you've got yourself a great picnic. It's the simplicity of it that I enjoy. A nice well thought out picnic with elaborate dishes and one of those lovely picnic baskets is nice too, but a baguette, some fresh goat cheese and a farm fresh tomato provide a tasty meal.
As the blur of summer winds to a close, I feel pretty good about my picnicking status. I also had a chance to make this dish, which I had learned about from one of my British colleagues earlier in the summer. Apparently, both this and zucchini "spaghetti" are all the rage over there. I made some of that too, which I will post later.
When I made the cauliflower "rice", I didn't get at all fussy about it. I'm sure you could get tastier results with some sesame oil, scallions and other veggies, like asparagus, but, I just wanted it as a quick side dish. Shop around on the internet for different variations of this recipe if you're in the mood for something a bit fancier.
Cauliflower "Fried Rice"
1 head of cauliflower, grated with the large holes on a cheese grater
1 egg
1 cup of peas
1 large carrot, diced small
1/4 inch piece of ginger, grated or 1/2 tspn dried
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos, to taste
1. In a large skillet, heat some canola oil on medium high heat.
2. Crack egg into the skillet. Let it fry for a minute or so, then scramble it up, breaking it into small pieces. Then keeping it in the pan, just push it to the side.
3. Add carrots and peas, sautee those for a few minutes, until the carrots begin to soften. Add ginger and garlic to them and stir.
4. Add cauliflower. Let that cook for 3-5 minutes, until soften. Then add soy sauce/ Bragg's. I probably used a few teaspoons or maybe up to a tablespoon. Add some then do a taste and adjust.
