Picnic in the Park

Today is the last day of the Art Fest in the Park that the local museum puts on the first weekend of June every year.  It always features food booths as well.  But this year I decided to picnic in the park with some friends listening to one of the musical acts.  Picnics always make me think of either summer food or weirdly, take out from Au Bon Pain in Washington, DC with cherry blossom petals falling like pink snow--a memory from college.

Oven 'Fried' Chicken

So I made oven fried chicken with homemade BBQ sauce or homemade honey mustard sauce, potato salad from my Mother's recipe and brought sparkling water.  One friend brought corn bread (hers is much better than mine--I should get that recipe) and the other a rhubarb galette with orange sauce and whipped cream.  I ran into her at the farmer's market yesterday and we discussed what delightful sweet thing she'd bring.

Mom's potato salad--I love it!

We had much better food than the fare food that was being sold.  Don't get me wrong--sometimes fried dough, hot kettle corn or other fare food treats really hit the spot.  But it's over-priced, not terribly good for you, and who knows where it is from or what is in it.  Since the park is just a block away, I don't have the "I've gone to the fare" feeling that would help me justify that food.  I'll get my kettle corn when I head to the ball park this summer.

We spread out our blanket in a both shady and sunny spot in front of the band stand, had out picnic, enjoyed the music and finally got some sun--it's been too long here and this upcoming week promises to be rainy and damp again.  I hope everyone in town was able to get out this weekend.

And a recipe today--my Honey Mustard Sauce/Salad Dressing.  It's almost too easy to be a recipe, but it is so much better than anything out there commercially and completely fat free.  A little thicker it is a great dipping sauce and a little thinner it's my favorite salad dressing.

Honey Mustard Sauce/Salad Dressing

Equal parts honey, grainy mustard and Dijon mustard.  A splash or white, white wine, cider or raspberry vinegar.  Stir until smooth.  Adjust sweetness to taste.  Delish.

All the ingredients and the finished product!

A word about honey.  I always use local honey when I can.  Studies have shown that using local honey can improve the immune system because the bees have processed local pollen.  And also, studies have also shown not to feed it to babies--because their immune systems are still developing.