Easy Like Sunday Picnics

It may not seem like it, but summer picnics can be lazy lunches.  Gather eggs, lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli and radishes from the Farmers Market.  Add peas, herbs and wild berries from our homestead.  Round out with local grainy bread and shrimp to assemble a salad platter, heavy with produce.

This salad was garnished with toasted sesame seeds, ground cashews and this dressing from Clean Eating Magazine.  

Maple Sesame Dressing

(Serves 2)

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce

Fresh ginger, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

The wild black raspberries in our development are the best ever.  Yesterday when the power was out for a few hours, we picked berries in the rain.  I made a black raspberry cobbler with this recipe for the topping.  

The environment is equally important to the menu.  We chose a county park a few miles out of town, under a pavilion and by a rolling creek.

There was a gentle breeze and only the noise of a nearby tractor mowing grass.

The service is 4 star in our view as I prepare the meal and Bob takes us to the location.  We enjoy every bit of our Sunday outing together.

   

 

 

Why This Retail RDN Posted Nutrition Labels

I viewed this as one of my major career accomplishments-providing nutrition labels at point of service on all menu items served in the Health Sciences Center Cafeteria.  Customers could even view the nutrition label by clicking on each menu item on the electronic menu.  Made from scratch, standardized recipes were entered into the Nutritionist Pro and Labeling Software Program.  Labels were printed complete with ingredients.

It took me many years to accomplish this task.  I started the analysis at a time bulk food distributors were not required to provide the nutritional information on institutional packaging.

Why did I do it?

Customers wanted it.  They wanted to know much more than calories-they requested and expected protein, carbohydrate, fiber, sodium and every nutrient listed on grocery store packaging. 

Physicians wanted it.  Just when I was about to complete the lunch labels, the former Chief of Staff (a good customer) declared "You need to post breakfast labels".  That did not take me as long to accomplish.

Dietitians wanted it.  While we were not an in-patient meal provider, some of our goods were ordered for patient programs and we had many surrounding out-patient services.

Customers with insulin pumps counted on the labels.  One of my proudest moments was when a resident with diabetes told me our homemade dessert information was "spot on".

Customers on Weight Watchers could calculate their points.

Customers in the Ornish Program could check compliance.

Customers with allergies had readily available ingredient listing.  If more information was needed for a specific ingredient, we could easily bring that item from kitchen storage.

Nutrition labeling became a tool for this Retail Menu Planner. I used the information to plan meal deals, to meet the Mayo Clinic guidelines for sodium, to meet the American Heart Association guidelines for added sugar, to determine eligibility for the Whole Grains Stamp and to add value before testing.  Adjustments could be made in ingredients to improve the nutrient density.

Analyzing nutrient information and food cost on standardized recipes went hand-in-hand before a new item was added the menu.

In my volunteer work since retirement, I no longer have access to a nutrition analysis program.  Since my meals now are for just a few, I can project protein, sugar, fat and sodium  After a career of planning meals for 1000 + customers a day, I've had lots of practice.

 

Picnic Pockets

Fresh baked pockets of dough filled with vegetables and cheese might exemplify comfort food. Now serve that outdoors on a moss covered floor seated across from your life partner-and that feeling is achieved.  

We kept our picnic close to home today-less than 20 miles-traveling to Coopers Rock (WV) State Park.  I refrigerated a small portion of dough made yesterday, along with vegetables and beef, cut and cooked, and shredded cheese.  I was ready to fill and bake 1 hour before leaving, by preheating the oven and setting out the dough.

After the dough had set out and rested in individual balls, I patted it into a round and topped with a veggie mix of sauteed mushrooms, onions and peppers, then adding chopped cooked beef round and shredded cheese.  I folded the dough over, crimped the edges and baked for 25 minutes.  To transport, I wrapped each calzone in foil, wrapped in a warm towel and placed in a zippered insulated container.  The folded dough retains the heat even better than a pizza!

Our meal today included corn-mango salsa (a mixture of corn, steamed and cut off the cob, mango, peach, tomato and fresh basil with cilantro).  No dressing is necessary.  Sticks of watermelon are on the side.  The beautiful Key Lime Pie is from a local bakery.  We split that in half and shared.

Calzones

(6 servings) 

Dough
In bowl of electric mixer with dough hook in place, mix 1 cup flour and yeast.  Add water and honey.  Beat at medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl down.
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup warm (125F) water
1 tablespoon honey

Add 1/2 cup flour, salt and olive oil.  Beat at medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl down.
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Slowly add whole wheat flour, kneading on low speed until dough leaves sides of bowl, about 7 minutes.
3/4 cup whole wheat flour

Place in bowl sprayed with olive oil spray.  Turn dough.  Cover and let rise for 45-60 minutes, or place in refrigerator till ready to bake.

Calzone assembly
Divide dough into 6 pieces.  Place on floured surface and let rest (covered) for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle parchment lined baking sheets with cornmeal.
1/4 cup corn meal 
Press each dough piece into a round.
Top each piece with 2 tablespoons sauteed vegetables (mushrooms, onions and peppers)
Add 2 tablespoons chopped cooked beef round.
Top with 2 tablespoons of cheese. 
Shredded cheeses (aged cheddar and Parmigiano)
Fold dough over.  Crimp ends with a fork. 
Brush calzones with oil.
2 tablespoon olive oil 
Bake at 400 F. for 25 minutes.

Our picnic today was at Coopers Rock (WV) State Park. 

The mountain laurel is in bloom.  We beat the rain.

 

Fun with Dough: Picnic Rolls

These delightful pizza rolls were soft and light and paired perfectly with a vegetable salad and berry yogurt dessert at our picnic today.  The dough is 1/2 whole grain and rolled around a marinara, cheese and vegetable filling like a cinnamon roll!  We each ate 1 1/2 of these delightful rolls.

Pizza Rolls

(12 Rolls)

In bowl of electric mixer with dough hook in place, mix 1 cup flour and yeast.  Add water and honey.  Beat at medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl down.
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup warm (125F) water
1 tablespoon honey

Add 1/2 cup flour, salt and olive oil.  Beat at medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl down.
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Slowly add whole wheat flour, kneading on low speed until dough leaves sides of bowl, about 7 minutes.
3/4 cup all purpose flour

Place in bowl sprayed with olive oil spray.  Turn dough.  Cover and let rise for 45-60 minutes.  

Saute mushrooms, peppers and onion in olive oil for about 8 minutes.
5 mushrooms (stems removed), diced
4 mini sweet peppers, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 teaspoon olive oil.

Add garlic and saute an additional 2-3 minutes.  Empty into a bowl and cool.
2 cloves garlic, minced.
Empty into a bowl and cool.

Mix olives with sauteed vegetables.
2 tablespoon Kalamata olives, chopped

 Punch dough down.  Turn onto board sprinkled with flour.  Roll to 14 X 8 inch rectangle.  Brush marinara sauce over dough to about 1/2 inch from ends.
3 tablespoon marinara sauce
Sprinkle with all of vegetable-olive mix.

Sprinkle with cheese.
1/2 cup aged cheddar cheese, shredded

Fold in short ends of dough. From long end of dough, roll and seal seam.  Cut roll into 12 pieces.  Place cut side up on parchment paper.  Press down slightly and sprinkle with additional cheese.
1/4 cup Gruyere or Parmigiano cheese, shredded

Transfer rolls with paper to a pizza stone preheated in a 425F oven.  (I use an inverted cookie sheet to hold the paper and rolls to carefully slide to the hot baking stone.)  Bake for 12 minutes.  Cool slightly on a cooling rack.

The side salad included sauteed diced carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, sweet pepper and mushrooms with a no salt herb seasoning and combined with diced olives and radishes.  The salad did not need a dressing.

The red, white and blue parfait recipe is posted here.

Our picnic was at a nearby lake.  We first stopped at the Farmers Market, where I bought 7 pepper plants, then proceeded to the park.  It is less than 1 hour drive from home.   My husband had plenty of photos to take while I set the table.

I love our alone and together time with nature!  

Enhancing Aura of the Market

The ambience at the Farmers Market is hard to beat with farm fresh produce, meats, cheese and eggs-locally grown, sold and distributed by the farm families.  The farmers are are happy to talk to customers, answer questions and share experiences.  Customers from the community value that experience.

RDNs at farmers markets can enhance that experience through farm fresh sampling and recipe sharing.  Our sponsor, the Working H Farm Meat and Poultry, is happy to support the other farmers by adding produce and cheese to our product sampling.  Today's sampling featured the grass fed pork in Sweet Italian Sausage, which was grilled with local cheese and produce from the other market vendors.  The aroma of the hors d'oeuvre sample permeated the market and the taste left one wanting more.  The Working H family sold out of the 30# of sweet Italian sausage (twice the amount normally sold) brought to the market, yet they had many other delicious grass fed and cage free products to sell.

We served 240 customers samples in 3 hours at the market.  To each customer, I suggested using a similar combination of ingredients on pizza toppings, with vegetables of choice in a lasagna or on a calzone.

I used 4 pound of the Italian Sausage Links for the sampling.  I baked the links the day before at 325 F. for 35 minutes, immediately removed the skin and chilled.  We then cut each 4 ounce link in 16 slices and refrigerated in 1/2 pound zipper bags.  (That allows us to chill the bags at the market and keeping those not being grilled at safe temperatures.  We pulled 1 bag every 30 minutes.)  We used 4 pounds of cheese, sliced and chilled in 1 pound zipper bags.  I roasted the asparagus for 10 minutes at 450F the day before and sliced in 3/4 inch slices.  2 bunches of asparagus were donated.  We snipped fresh chives on the grilled sample on the market.  Every stage of the preparation smelled terrific! 

All customers enjoyed the sample.  We heard many "that is so good!" comments and received several referrals.