beauty

buzz boards

entertaining in SETX

heart healthy hangouts

be a community contributor

SoutheastTexasWeddings.com

Take It Outside

entertaining thoughts by anna sites

Here in good ol’ Southeast Texas, it’s about as close as it gets to Summer-like conditions without the oppressive heat and smothering humidity. So lets make the most of it! Planning and preparing for a perfect picnic is a breeze.

For a tasty alternative to that trusty potato stand-by, try a salad with a Latin flare. Combine one can of black beans, one can sweet corn, one chopped medium tomato, a half cup of chopped onion, one chopped avocado, juice of one lime, one tablespoon olive oil and as much chopped cilantro as you like. Added bonus: no dairy, so bacteria can’t have a fiesta.

While we’re primarily a meat-loving family, we recently went out on a limb and gave frozen vegetarian ‘burgers’ a try. The results were fantastic. The best sandwich I’ve had in quite some time stacks up like this: split a large whole wheat dinner roll in half, smear on a smidge of mayo, layer fresh spinach, thinly sliced raw mushroom, one warm vegetarian burger patty, half a sliced avocado, a few sliced grape tomatoes, and a dash of Cajun seasoning. Heaven on a hoagie. This can be a messy masterpiece, but it is well worth the extra napkins. And it’s kid approved! Veggie chips seem only too natural an accompaniment.

Now all you need is a cooler of drinks, a watermelon and the great outdoors. Throw in a can of bug spray, a bottle of bubbles and some sunny conversation, and you’re well on your way to a Norman Rockwell-worthy family outing.

While it can be easy to cast safe food handling practices to the wind while enjoying nature, be sure to make your mother proud by remembering the basics:

' Frequent hand washing. Not near a satisfactory water source? Alcohol-based hand sanitizer works wonders.

' Don’t let foods sit at unsafe temperatures. We’re all guilty of it. Let the hot dogs stay out just in case the kids get hungry again? No good. Use ice chests and insulated bags to keep cold things cold, hot things hot.

' Let it go. It’s tempting to save those left over chicken wings for lunch tomorrow, but don’t do it! Anything left out for more than an hour gets laid to rest in the nearest refuse receptacle.

Now go forth and enjoy Spring. If you can find a day with less than a 65% chance of rain, that is.

Featured Editorial Archive

Click on the cards below to meet our Friends!