What are your favourite EASY picnic spreads for just you and few loved ones for company?

Meaning portable meals without too much effort. (Maybe some of us have different definitions of "effort".

Since we bike, the meal must be light/not too bulky/fragile to carry. (though we have carried gourmet cakes on bike several time a year from bakery to home.) And we have many scenic places that we can bike over and sit down to eat. No, we seldom bring a blanket to sit on.

Tonight on a mildly hot summer evening (approx. 82 degrees F), we'll be heading out in less than 1 hr. Supper is: some couscous cooked with sundried tomatoes, onion, garlic, fresh thyme, basil and chopped red pepper. (Easy to make and keeps warm for 1-2 hrs. after cooking. No need to worry about samonella,etc.) Some fresh cherries on the side afterwards.

We haven't got any fruit juice on hand right now. So it'll be water from our water bottles.

Love to hear about your edible spreads or is it modest like ours? We're pretty casual.

Orchid...you sound so healthy...couscous is so good..can you send me a recipe of your couscous? I used to buy it from a little shop in Metarie near New Orleans...it was so good. I really don't have any picnic spreads...haven't done a picnic in years...but, it sounds nice.

We haven't done picnics per se, but we often tote around goodies while we travel. For long trips (eg, to northern Quebec), we take along our electric cooler which plugs into the car's lighter plug. Our normal "picnic" food would be grapes, cheese (which we often buy at a cheese factory en-route - fresh cheese curds being one of our very favourites), crackers and a wee bit of chocolate for dessert. I have to confess that if we want or need something a little more filling, we'll buy a sub from Subway. Or, gasp, when traveling in Quebec, we do indulge in the occasional poutine...don't scream...we exercise later to make up for it!

EagleH: I giggled over your picnic poutine craving. I'm sure you go for a stroll afterwards. Oooooh, I love cheese curds.

Dee: I forgot, the dish does include mushrooms. Broth, I cheat abit and used veggie soup powder if I don't have any on hand. Or seafood broth works well. I threw in some chopped red peppers.

Couscous with Sundried Tomatoes and Mushrooms.

Makes 8 servings, 3/4 cup each

ACTIVE TIME: 25 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), snipped into strips
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
Dash of hot sauce, or more to taste (I use a dab of Malaysian chili paste instead, sambal olek. Because we have it, not Tabsco sauce.)
1 1/2 cups couscous
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I consider this optional.)
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and tomatoes and stir until the onions are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme and stir until the mushrooms give off their liquid and begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add broth and hot sauce and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from the heat and cover. Let stand until the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. With a fork, fluff the couscous and stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 166 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 1 g mono); 2 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 3 g fiber; 91 mg sodium; 151 mg potassium.
2 Carbohydrate Servings

Try the above recipe from Orchid mixed with Humus. I bet it would be extra good slathered on long, thin french or Italian bread!!! YUM!!!