Spring and Summer Picnics
- May 11, 2018
- 4 min read
Nothing captures the spirit of the spring/summer season like a picnic with friends! Picnics are a great low maintenance way to spend time with friends and enjoy the sunshine.
A picnic can be both affordable and extravagant! Make your friends feel like royalty with simple small plates that are easy to share. Invite a few friends and have each person bring about two small plates/drinks for an Instagram worthy lunch experience.
I’ve prepared a few easy-to-make, delicious-to-eat recipes that I hope you try making at home…
If you try any of my recipes or tips out, please send pictures of your results! I'd love to see what you can come up with!!!
Ricotta Cheese – use as a spread, make a sweet ricotta pie for dessert, pair with fruits, honeys, or cured meats on baguette slices with crisp crust…. totally customizable and yummy.
Ricotta cheese is usually made with sheep’s milk but this recipe calls for cow’s milk as it is generally more accessible to the average person!
Ingredients & Tools:
6 cups of whole milk (unpasteurized if possible)
2 cups of cream
3 tablespoons of white vinegar (also try using lemon juice, experiment with different acids and see what you like!)
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
Strainer
Cheesecloth (muslin cloth or thin cotton can work as well if you have nothing else on hand)
4 quart pot
Directions:
Line your strainer with a damp cheesecloth and hold it over the sink. Bring milk, vinegar, cream, and salt to a simmer in the pot. Be careful to not let your mixture come to a boil! (This will form a skin over the milk.) In about 3 min the curds will separate from the whey, when it has separated take the pot off the heat and turn off the stove. Pour the contents of the pot into the cheesecloth strainer you’ve prepared and twist the top of the cloth closed. Gently squeeze the cloth to remove most of the whey. That’s it! So simple and so delicious! The cheese is ready to eat immediately, or you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days in a closed container.
Preserved Lemons
I usually make a healthy dessert version of this that I came up with to eat on days where I’m craving something sweet. However, the recipe I use is an acquired taste I think. Especially for those who dislike the taste of cilantro or ginger. While this version of the recipe takes considerably longer to make, I still count it as a simple, quick recipe because the preparation is so easy.
Whilst working at the local farmer’s market, I noticed a stand selling whole preserved lemons which weren’t sweet at all but salted rather. This piqued my curiosity and I found upon further research that preserving lemons is a Middle Eastern (supposedly specifically Moroccan) tradition. The lemons can be used in any dish that requires citrus rind as a spicy twist.
This recipe is my version of an amalgamation of recipes after testing them out. If it’s not to your tastes, be sure to experiment and tweak it to your liking. The fun part of making simple things is how customizable they can be with some experimentation you can feel like a professional chef!
Ingredients & Tools:
10 lemons (organic if possible, without protective wax coating, medium sized)
¾ cup of kosher salt
3 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon of whole allspice
1 teaspoon of whole cloves
1 teaspoon of cilantro
2-4 dried thai chili peppers
Resealable quart jar (such as a mason jar, with multiple lids available
Pot large enough to cover jar
Directions:
Soak the lemons in cold water overnight, make sure they are completely submerged. Drain and dry the lemons as much as possible. Bring pot of water to boil and sterilize clean jar and lid by simmering for 10 min. Turn off the heat but leave the jar in the water until you’re ready to use it. Remove the lid and band and wipe dry with a towel. Cut off the ends of the lemons and quarter them but don’t cut down to the bottom so that they still appear as whole lemons but are split open. (pics will hopefully be added soon to clarify). Rub salt into the crevices. The bowl will catch excess salt and/or lemon juice. Get out your jar and wipe it dry. Add the spices and leftover salt to the bowl of juice/salt and stir it up. Alternate layers of spiced juice and lemon until the jar is full and press the lemons down tightly into the jar. It’s fine if they get smushed a bit. If the lemons aren’t completely submerged in juice squish more juice out until they are. Seal the jar and keep it in a bright, warm place. For the first week, open the jar and let out gas once a day. After that, continue to do so every seven days until a month has passed. After the one month mark the liquid will turn clear signifying that the lemons will be ready to use and will keep in the fridge for about two months.
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