I’ve been jonesing to go on a picnic for several weeks now. Brad and I have discussed it several times, but it always seemed to be too hot or too muggy, or too hot AND too muggy.
The weather in NC is just starting to cool off just a tad and the humidity has really dropped off (bye bye humidity, don’t let the door hit you on the way out!).
So with the much more pleasant weather, we managed to finally go on a picnic…
…in where else but our own back yard!
I met Brad at the new house where he was busy prepping two of the exterior walls for painting. I haven’t shown this part of the house renovations, but we basically took out a door and bricked it up, knocked out part of the exterior wall to make a double window where there once was a single, and moved the back door over, which is now a French door. Our contractor managed to save some of the brick we removed from the house to use in the process and Brad has been applying some kind of acidic mixture to the bricks to get the excess morter off so they’ll be ready to paint.
He was tired from a busy morning and eager to take a rest with Rascal, who is always down for resting.
While we picnicked, Rascal kept watch for bunnies, squirrels, and killer chipmunks.
We have a bunny who lives in our yard and Rascal loves to chase him every time we go to the house. Even after the bunny makes his getaway, Rascal still continues to “chase the bunny”. He has a vivid imagination.
For our lunch I made one heck of a veggie sandwich.
Hearty Veggie Sandwich (serves 2)
If you’re trying to cut back on eating meat or maybe just deli meat, you won’t miss it a bit with this hearty sandwich. It’s also a great way to pack in some vegetables into your lunch if you’ve gotten a bit tired of the daily salad. It’s as yummy as it is healthy!
Prep time: 10 minutes
4 slices hearty whole wheat or sprouted bread (I used Ezekiel bread)
2 Tbsp. hummus (I used TJ’s edamame hummus)
3 tsp. spicy dijon mustard
8 slices cucumber
4 oz. pre-baked tofu, sliced in two on the horizontal
2 thick slices of beefcake tomato
1 oz. sliced avocado
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into long strips
Toast bread. Spread 1 Tbsp. of hummus each on two slices of bread . On the other two slices spread 1 1/2 tsp. of mustard each. On the hummus slathered toast, layer 4 pieces of cucumber, 1 slice of tofu, 1 slice of tomato, half of the avocado, and 1/2 of the red bell pepper. Top with one of the pieces of toast with mustard and smash with your hand to helps the contents of the sandwich stay in one place. Repeat the layering for the second sandwich.
Slice on the diagonal for easy eating.
We also split what was left of the strawberries I picked up the day before while grocery shopping. Strawberries don’t last very long in our house. They will be sorely missed come fall.
Oh what a pleasant day it was. The perfect day for a picnic in our own back yard.
And yes, I am wearing cut off jean shorts and Keds (un-pictured). It’s always 1995 in my world. 🙂