A Warming Picnic

 These past few days haven't been Springlike. There's still a wintry chill in the air despite the blooming flowers and bright sunshine.It's still a nice time to gou outside for a picnic, just bring warm food.

A picnic with hot food is an easy gather. You can always buy a whole roast chicken just from the rotisserie at any of your local grocery stores. Pack a sharp carving knife so you can cut slices for sandwiches.  Another idea is bringing buckets of assorted pieces from Popeyes' or KFC along. Make sure you have plenty of wet wipes for afterwards. Of course a barbecue is another way of having warming food on an outing. There's the usual fare of hot dogs and hamburgers but you could also bring steaks or wursts for something different. if you want gravy for the steak, heat it up before hand at home, and then pour into a thermos. This creates a tasty French dip sandwich , perfect for chasing away a a Spring chill. To accompany the meat  think baked potatoes. You can roast them either with or without foil. One usually takes forty -five minutes to an hour  to thoroughly cook through If you want a faster cook precook them for about five to six minutes in the microwave before leaving home.

What about sides? Can they be hot as well? yes. You can easily whip up a hot potato salad and then put it in a container in an insulated bag.  To make this, it's cooking the potatoes in a vinegar and oil mix along with sauteed  chopped onions, flour sugar salt, celery salt and pepper. Bacon gives it an added kick of flavor but you can omit it if you want.  Another side is sauteing  cannelini beans with spinach and garlic.This can also be put into a container and carried to the picnic. A lighter hot picnic can be soup in a thermos with hot grilled bread. You can either make the soup yourself or just heat up cans of Campbells' or Gardein and pour into a thermos.What do you drink it out of? Get a set of camping coffee mugs on Amazon. A set of six stainless steels ones is only $15.99. These are great because they  can be easily rinsed out too. Use these for hot tea, coffee or hot cocoa that you can bring along too. These are the perfect ends to a hot picnic at the park or beach. Bring slices of plain pound cakes or shortbread cookies to end the meal.

Yes it's a chilly Spring right now. Yet you can still enjoy a meal in the fresh air. Just make it a hot one for a more enjoyable experience.