Picnic Perfect

(How jealous am I of that portable picnic record player. Photo by Frolic.)

Happy July 1st! How can you have a lovely picnic? It's easy. All you need is preparation and a willingness to have a nice time with friends. Get over your laziness and do something fun!

For my picnic yesterday I made asparagus, goat cheese, lemon, tarragon pasta. I found the recipe from Smitten Kitchen here. It's incredibly simple. The only problem is that the asparagus and goat cheese cost a bit more than you may be willing to spend if on a budget. Still, it's entirely worth it. I made a pound of tasty pasta for eleven dollars. I served it cold.

For dessert, you've got to try this strawberry-rhubarb pie. It screams summer with bright pink and red strawberry juice that will stain your clothes. I improvised at the last second by making two pies instead of one. Since I only prepared enough dough for one pie I ended up not having a pie crust for the tops. It turned out fine, though it might not win a beauty pie contest. I was worried that the filling was too juicy and would make the crust saggy, not to mention challenging to eat. But after the first bite I knew that it turned out precisely perfect. I would only recommend toning down the sugar suggested in the recipe. The strawberries surely suffice as an added sweetness. Make it here. You'll want to prep the dough the night before. It's super easy and makes for a very worthy crust. You can read up on the dough recipe here.

(That's my strawberry-rhubarb pie.)