A Quick and Easy Picnic Lunch

Today Nathanael and I made an excursion to meet Daddy at work for lunch. We had a nice walk together outside while we waited for Josh to get out of surgery. We all enjoyed our lunch together on a park bench, and it was so easily done I wanted to share it with you.

We had:
* Tuna salad on pita bread
* Sliced bell pepper and whole radishes
* Homemade lemonade
* Pudding cups

The "pita" was really a couple of thick chapatis I made last night for dinner. Chapatis are a whole wheat Indian flat bread, very simple to make. They don't seem especially flavorful but are excellent for dipping or holding other food. You can find a recipe in the More With Less cookbook, in Indian cookbooks, and I'm sure online.

Tuna Salad
This makes two good servings (double, triple, etc. as you like). Feel free to adjust proportions of ingredients to your taste.

Chop (or you can use a food processor):
2 celery stalks
5 or so sweet baby gherkin pickles
2 green onions

Put these in a bowl and add a splash of pickle juice for flavor (I learned this tip from my mom). Drain and then add:
1 can tuna packed in water

And:
A dollop or so of mayonnaise (just enough to bring everything together)

Mix well, adjust ingredients according to taste, and serve on toast, pita bread, or crackers.

Note: Another nice addition, if you have an extra fifteen minutes or some already prepared, is chopped hard cooked egg white.


The lemonade was super easy. I bought a two-pack of Real Lemon juice from Sam's for under $5, 1.5 quarts per bottle. Josh made the delightful discovery of making lemonade from these -- there's a recipe on the bottle. We use 1/3 less sugar than what they call for; we like our lemonade a bit tart (and don't mind using less sugar). I love using fresh lemons for things, but I use lemon so often in cooking and lemons typically run a little high in price, in addition to the preparation factor. And now homemade lemonade can be a part of our drink repetoire (instead of making it every few years). So I finally reconciled myself to buying lemon juice, and now with Josh's discovery, I'm so glad I did!

***I hope you get a chance to enjoy a picnic with loved ones while we still have pleasant, warm (but not too hot) weather! I'd love to hear your ideas for easy picnic lunches!***