Outdoor concerts, family outings and a romantic lakeside lunch for two all have one thing in common, the chance to enjoy a fabulous picnic. From making an easy step picnic basket to preparing the perfect food, creating the Maximum Living Picnic will always ensure your success for any picnic outing. Oh, and don't forget a great bottle of wine and a fresh bouquet of summer flowers always makes the experience come alive!

 

Making the picnic basket : Go to your local craft store and pick out a basket that feels like the right weight and size to carry when full of your picnic food and supplies; while you are there you will want to pick up the following:

•  bottle of Tacky Glue

•  Double sided Velcro (enough to go around the inside rim of the basket)

•  Fun fabric (enough to line the inside of the basket and to cover with a fabric lid)

•  Any other exciting elements you may want to add to your basket to make it your own, showing your own personality. From Ribbons to appliqués, just have fun and use your imagination.

Directions: Take your fabric and measure it to fit the inside or your basket all the way up the sides, cut it to shape and secure it to the inside of the basket by turning the fabric edge down and gluing it to the rim of the basket. Now that you have a nice finished edge let it securely dry. While this is drying take the remaining fabric and cut it into a lid for the basket making sure you give enough fabric for the lid to completely cover the basket opening. Next take your sticky back Velcro (teeth side) and stick it completely around the edge of the fabric lid, take the soft Velcro strip and attach that to the inside rim of the basket. If you want to tie ribbons to the handle, weave them through the basket or even add fun appliqués, make sure to do this before you line your basket. Also, feel free to theme your basket and even make one with the kids, just for them. You will really have fun, and best of all, you will end up with a great reward in the end!

Where did the word Picnic come from?

'Picnic' began life as a 17th-century French word -- it wasn't even close to being an American invention. A 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Françoise de Ménage mentions 'piquenique' as being of recent origin marks the first appearance of the word in print. As for how the French came by this new term, it was likely invented by joining the common form of the verb 'piquer' (meaning "to pick" or "peck") and a nonsense rhyming syllable coined to fit the first half of this new palate-pleaser.

The first documented appearance of the term outside the French language occurred in 1748, but it was 1800 or thereabouts before anyone can prove it made it into the English language. Even then, it still wasn't in America -- it was in England .

Originally, the term described the element of individual contribution each guest was supposed to make towards the repast, as everyone who had been invited to social events styled as "picnics" was expected to turn up bearing a dish to add to the common feast. This element was picked up in other 'picnic' terms, such as 'picnic society,' which described gatherings of the intelligentsia where everyone was expected to perform or in some other way contribute to the success of the evening.

Over time, the meaning of the word shifted to emphasize an alfresco element that had crept into the evolving concept of what such gatherings were supposed to be. Nowadays one thinks of a picnic as a casual meal partaken in a pastoral setting, not as a repast enjoyed either indoors or outdoors but which was contributed to by everybody. Modern picnics can be provisioned by only one cook and no one would think anything of it -- what matters now is the food be eaten outdoors.

By the 19th century, 'picnic' had successfully made this linguistic shift in meaning. Its history (and that of every other word in the English language) is documented in the Oxford English Dictionary .

Successful Picnic Tips

When summer is in full swing, a top summer activity is picnicking and entertaining outdoors. The bacteria that cause illness grow on moist, usually protein-based foods that are between 45º F and 140º F, so minimize the time you allow these foods to stay at these temperatures. For better peace of mind that you're serving safe food to your family and friends, keep the following food safety guidelines in mind.

If you're not traveling far and the food is nonperishable, you can pack your food in a brown paper bag, lunch box, or plastic tote. However, food containing meat, poultry, or fish, eggs and dairy products, mayonnaise or "creamy-type" dressings are very perishable and must remain thoroughly chilled until just before serving time. Do not allow these foods to remain un- chilled for more than 1 hour, and to sit in direct sun.

Wash your hands thoroughly before cooking , after touching raw meat, fish, or chicken, and especially after visiting the bathroom. Most food borne illnesses are related to improper hand washing after going to the bathroom. If hand washing facilities are not available, wet napkins or sanitizers will reduce the germs on your hands, but won't eliminate them.

Be mindful of temperature control:

• Cook thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to check that meats and poultry are hot enough to kill any harmful bacteria. Minimum safe internal temperatures are:
• hamburgers (ground meats and sausages, including pork sausages): 155º F
• steaks and other beef, veal, lamb, fish and shellfish: 140º F
• poultry: 165º F
• pork (except pork sausage): 150º F
• Keep hot foods hot . After cooking meat or chicken on the grill, keep it at 140º F or warmer until serving. If reheating fully cooked items such as baked beans or hot potato salad, head to 165º F.
• Do not partially cook meat or poultry and finish cooking later.
• Keep cold food cold . If you are using a cooler, keep it out of the sun and avoid opening it too often so it stays as cool as possible inside. Keep cold foods at 45º F or colder at all times.
• Transport cold foods in a cooler to minimize bacteria growth. Use an insulated cooler with icepacks.

Don't cross-contaminate:

• Don't cut vegetables or other ready-to-eat foods on the same cutting board as chicken or meat without thoroughly cleaning the knife and the cutting board first. Our recommendation for picnics, where proper washing facilities are not available, is to bring two separate cutting boards - one for meat, chicken, and fish, and the other for vegetables and other ready-to-eat foods.
• Don't put cooked meat or poultry on the same platter that held the raw food.

Be careful with melons

• Be sure to wash the melon rind before you cut into it to minimize pushing bacteria that is often associated with melons down into the flesh. Keep cantaloupe and other melons cold 45º F or colder.

Leftovers

• Refrigerate food as soon as possible in shallow containers. Discard any food that has been out of the refrigerator for 4 or more hours.

Food poisoning and other food-borne illness may cause nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain, headache, and diarrhea. If you are an adult, it will probably clear up by itself (follow your "sick-day" rules if you have diabetes). If the symptoms are severe or persist, contact your physician. If you suspect that a child has food poisoning or another food-borne illness, contact the child's doctor immediately.

These are great tips to follow to insure your success at every picnic…and remember to always keep your basket in the car during the summer months; you never know when the mood might strike! Have fun and remember…

YOU CAN DO IT!
Randy