Out & About July 2017

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Easy picnics
n Sandwiches – make fillings that won’t make
your sarnies go too soggy like cheese,
ham, roast beef. Take salad, mayo, pickle,
mustards etc in little jars. Egg mayo always
seems like a great picnic classic filling, but a
few hours after making them you’ll be lucky
to pick them out of their box without them
falling apart.
n Finger foods - crudités with hummus, pies,
chicken drumsticks, falafels and, always, a
sausage roll.
n Mason jars packed with salads keep them
fresh as long as you add any dressings just
before you eat.
n Sweet treats - fruit salad, traybakes and
loaves.
n Drinks – take fizzy water and mix with fresh
fruit concentrates. If you prefer adult fizz like
Cava or Prosecco, pop a few strawberries in
a container and add for a glitzy picnic drink.
You can freeze bottles of soft drinks which
will keep your picnic cool and should be
ready to drink after a few hours. And muffin
baking tins used as trays are a great way to
park your drink on the grass without spills.
n And don’t forget the wet wipes!
Food bites
Picnic paraphernalia
A great website for picnic gear is
From lovely Orla Kiely melamine jugs, tumblers
and trays to hampers and cool bags, you will
find something to jazz up your picnic.
Cheers for beer
Beer is a must for summer-day picnics and
Tesco has increased its craft beer range to
more than 70 beers in stores throughout the
country.
Reflecting the growing trend for craft beer in
pubs and bars across the country, Tesco will
become the first major retailer to stock the craft
drinkers’ favourite tipple – sour beer.
Sour beers are intentionally acidic and tart, and
are most commonly seen in Belgium. Despite
the name, sours are refreshing and a perfect
accompaniment to food.
New beers include Tart sour beer, £1.90 –
brewed by Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire,
it has a golden colour, white head with a
combination of citrusy hops and hints of
grapefruit and lemon, and has an ABV of 6%.
Other new craft beers include: Kofra Stout from
Norwich brewery Redwell; Forklift Truck Mango
Ale by Glasgow brewer Drydate; Fourpure
Session IPA made by Bermondsey brewery
Fourpure and Double Brew Lager by Swedish
brewery Wolf Warning.
Refreshing for little ones
For non-drinkers and the children, Robinsons
has the new Robinsons Refresh’d, made using
100 per cent naturally-sourced ingredients, and
made up of spring water mixed with real fruit.
Available in three tasty flavour combinations
– raspberry & apple, orange & lime and apple
& kiwi – there are just 55 calories per 500ml
bottle. Price £1.29.
Carry the parrot
The Frida Parrot Picnic blanket by Marks &
Spencer is round and featres a quirky parrot
design. It has a carrying handle too. Made of
polyster it can be wiped clean and costs £19.50.
Track your hydration
Quirky kitchen products manufacturer Joseph
& Joseph, stocked by Camp Hopson, has
a pretty water bottle to take on picnics or
anywhere. It’s unique because you can track
your daily hydration goals with it.
The lid displays a new dot each time you refill
so you can easily keep count of the number of
bottles you drink.
Comes in a range of colours, £9.
Dinky meringues
Don’t have time to bake for your picnic? Then
pick up a packet of diddy and dainty Meringue
Drops – dinky little drops of handmade, Swiss-
baked meringues in a kaleidoscope of colours.
These rainbow-finished meringues are the
creation of sweet treat innovators Flower &
White. They are suitable for vegetarians and
naturally gluten free.
Meringue Drops launched exclusively online
– – last month, and are
going nationwide this month.
Available in 100g bespoke boxes, there are
three varieties: Rainbow Fruit – a mixed box
of strawberry, lemon, passion fruit and black
cherry – fat-free and dairy-free. Chocolate –
fat-free and dairy-free and white chocolate &
raspberry – low fat. Boxes are £2.95.
Yum Mum!
The cleverly designed Yumbox
MiniSnack is designed specifically
to make eating healthy snacks
easier and more fun for little ones.
The food tray has three separate
compartments with the large one having a ¾
cup capacity, the small one a 1/3 cup capacity
and a dip well that can take yoghurt, dip or
small food items.
The clear plastic tray that has the food wells
built in is removable making it easy for little
ones to eat their snacks and it also makes
washing the Yumbox very easy.
The leak-proof and silicone-lined lid seals all of
the food wells, ensuring no spills or leaks even
when yoghurts or dips are included.
The Yumbox MiniSnack is £18.50 from
RECIPE: Picnic Loaf
This cob loaf stuffed with
goodies is easy to pack and can
be sliced and served in wedges.
2 tbsp pesto
4 tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
100g (3 1/2oz) roasted red
peppers, drained and chopped
50g (2oz) sundried tomatoes,
drained and chopped
Small handful fresh basil,
chopped
85g (3oz) Parma ham or 100g (3
1/2oz) wafer-thin cooked ham
100g (3 1/2oz) sliced Jarlsberg
cheese
200g (7oz) brie cheese
100g (3 1/2oz) sliced salami
1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced
4 leaves little gem lettuce
1 medium sourdough loaf or
round cob loaf
Combine the pesto and
mayonnaise in a small bowl.
Mix together the peppers,
sundried tomatoes and basil and
season well.
Cut the loaf in half horizontally,
then scoop most of the dough
inside to make room for the
filling.
Spread the pesto mayonnaise
inside both pieces of the loaf
and layer up with the pepper/
tomato mix, ham, Jarlsberg, brie,
salami, cucumber and little gem
leaves. Replace the top of the
loaf, press together gently, wrap
very tightly in cling film and chill
for 2-3 hours.
Cut into wedges to serve.
Tip: The bread you scoop out
of the middle can be made into
breadcrumbs in a blender, tipped
into a bag and frozen for up to
a month
*Recipe and picture courtesy of Tesco
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