A Picnic for the Races

Spring is well and truly here in Melbourne and I’m very happy to be able to escape the house for a picnic in the sun!

Today’s post is inspired by a picnic that I put together for our wedding day last year. Our ceremony finished at lunchtime, we enjoyed wedding cake and champagne with our guests and then the bridal party headed off to have photos taken by the beach. Of course I wasn’t going to let them go hungry so I thought about a picnic that would be light but filling, fresh, easy to eat anywhere, satisfy my vegetarians, carnivores and non-dairy-eaters alike as well as containing savoury and sweet treats.

Here is what I made:

Sandwich
Make it with ham, cheese, salami or a mix of them depending on preference. Keep it simple and stay away from any other fillings like tomato and cucumber as they will make the sandwich go soggy. Simple is best. You can make it the day before and keep it in the fridge.

Pea Salad
To add some freshness and greens, make this easy pea salad. Salads are always a challenge because you don’t want them to drown in the dressing over time, but I find something fresh should be included to be eaten along with the sandwich. Peas hold their shape well (but make sure not to overcook them) and won’t dry out or go soggy. Perfect picnic food. You can prepare the vinaigrette the day before and then toss the ingredients together on the day.
I served mine in little noodle boxes. I find anything in noodle boxes looks adorable.
For those not eating dairy, just leave the sprinkle of feta cheese.

Chips/Crisps
Add a little salty crunch. In Australia I love Deli Rock Chips, in the UK my favourites were Kettle.

Banana and Blueberry Muffin
Add a little sweetness, along with some fruit.
They keep fresh very well, I had baked them two days before the wedding and they were still delicious and hadn’t dried out at all. Just keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.

Add a small bottle of water or a little bottle of champagne, depending on the occasion!
Some paper serviettes and plastic (or wooden) take away forks make the picnic set up complete.

For the shoot I found these cute little baskets but on the day I put each person’s serving in a brown paper bag – love them, don’t ask me why I just like the look of them. Remember this is an easy and quick picnic, so you don’t want to mess around with too many dirty containers that you have to carry home afterwards. The brown paper bag will double up as rubbish bag for all the wrappings and noodle boxes. Everything is made of paper so just put it in the recycling bin when you’re done. Easy to clean up and no mess is left behind.

If you are looking to go to the races this year, this might be a good picnic idea for you. Here in Melbourne it is Spring Racing Carnival and everyone enjoys going to see the horses, put a little bet on, join in the office sweep and of course get dressed up in gorgeous dresses, hats and fascinators. Melbourne Cup Day, Oaks Day and Stakes Day are still to come. Kick your shoes off, sit in the grass and have a picnic!

As a side note, to prepare all these things in one go (rather than making some ahead), it took me a little over an hour.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Pea Salad

(original recipe found in Madison Magazine)

For the vinaigrette:

• 1 1/2 cloves garlic, crushed
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbs dijon mustard
• 50 ml red wine vinegar
• 50 ml lemon juice
• 200 ml olive oil

Mix everything together, taste and season as you like it. The original recipe said to use 400 ml olive oil which I found way too much and even with only 200ml I ended up using a bit more vinegar and lemon juice because I like mine a bit on the acidy side. Feel free to experiment.
This makes more dressing than you need for the pea salad. I keep the rest in the fridge and use it in the course of the week.

For the salad:

• 5 basil leaves, cut into fine strips
• 5 mint leaves, cut into fine strips
• 2 eschalots, finely sliced
• 2 cups cooked peas (I use frozen peas)
• salt and pepper
• 100g feta

• Make the dressing and set aside.
• Combine all the ingredients for the salad except the feta.
• Use about 40ml of the vinaigrette to toss through.
• Fill noodle boxes and top with crumbled feta.

Enjoy!

Banana and Blueberry Muffins

• 1/2 cup macadamia oil (or unsalted butter)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (you can use a bit more, I like mine less sweet)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large ones or 3 small ones)
• 1/2 rice milk (you can use normal milk if you prefer)
• 2 cups flour (I use organic white flour)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

• Preheat oven to 190C.
• Fill muffin tin with muffin cups.
• Mix together oil (or unsalted butter), sugar, eggs, milk and banana mash.
• Mix together flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
• Add flour mix to the wet ingredients and stir to combine, careful not to over mix.
• Carefully fold in the blueberries, if you use frozen ones, add them in while they are still frozen otherwise they will turn the batter purple.
• Spoon the batter into the muffin cups.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown.
• Let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a rack.

Enjoy!