A Valentines Picnic for two

Because Valentine's Day was coming this week and my stove was out of service, I thought it would be nice to do something different and make a wonderful picnic for my sweetheart and I to share for the occasion. It is really fun to do and it doesn't really take a lot of work. The weather has been pretty miserable lately, but that doesn't mean we still can't enjoy a picnic. Some of the nicest picnics can be shared directly within the four walls of your comfortable home!

The central part of my picnic was a delicious Buffalo Chicken Salad that I threw together. You will find the recipe below for a simple chicken salad and 10 variations. This is just one of them, and I can tell you it is really tasty!

This morning I had a good old sniff around the fridge while Todd was outside and by the time he got home, I had more than a picnic meal for two. We had some leftover potato salad and coleslaw from the other day, so it was packed in a container to share. . .

I always have a lot of cheeses, chutney & crackers and crackers and so I made a small cheese plate that we could enjoy. I used some vintage white cheddar, Danish blue, Wensleydale with cranberries and boursin cheeses. I put the chutney in a small Bonne Maman Jar and an assortment of crackers and some butter to sprinkle in a sandwich container. Make sure you use a knife for cutting the cheeses and a spoon for the chutney.

You want a toasted baguette or crispy sandwiches with the chicken salad, or even some vegetables. Todd is not much for slagreens, so I had soft baguettes for him. No roasting today, because there is no oven.

There was a Melton Mowbray pork pie in the fridge (Todd & # 39; s favorite pie) and some cheese and onion sandwiches, so I added a bowl, and also some English mustard for Todd to enjoy with a slice of it cake. I also had some black and green grapes, so I washed some of them and put them in another container.

Something sweet is always welcome, which is why I have added a container with favorite cookies from Todd and some fruit yogurts.

I also added the necessary cutlery, plates and glasses, along with some tealight candles (for romance), a blanket to sit on, a poetry book to share with each other and a fun game to play.

A bottle of sparkling apple juice was the finishing touch. I then put it in our picnic basket. . . it is a red metal specimen with chrome handles that I bought a few years ago. I think it is really nice, although in reality a wicker one is better, because it is quite heavy when you have it full. It didn't quite fit the inside, but it didn't matter that we didn't get very far. . .

And because we were two & two, we contributed the juice separately with bread, games and poetry. Like I said, we didn't have to go far!

Todd was pleasantly surprised when he came home. I have put some nice music in front of us to listen to and in all truth we sat at the table. . . these old bones of ours don't like sitting on floor, no more. . .

It was a really nice spread. . .

I had my chicken salad on salad green. . . Todd of course not. Oh well yes. . .

The star was of course the chicken salad. I did the Buffalo Chicken version and it was absolutely amazing. The recipe comes from a magazine about chicken that I bought in the supermarket the last time I visited Canada. It is a nice basic recipe. . . .

And then of course there are ten different variations. . . certainly for every taste!

This was really great fun! And it didn't take much effort on my part.

It made a change from the usual winter ticket price. . .

And injected a little sunshine and romance into what was just a cold, windy, rainy day!

Yield: 4Writer: Marie Rayner

Chicken salad with variations

With a few tasteful additions and basic ingredients you never have to have boring chicken salad.

ingredients:

For the basic salad: (see variations below)

• 1/2 pound of cooked chicken, minced meat
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• 2 thinly sliced ​​spring onions (spring onions)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of good quality mayonnaise
• or salad dressing
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil cut
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

instructions:

1. Combine the chicken, celery, spring onions in a bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, basil, lemon zest and salt. Carefully fold the dressing into the chicken and vegetables, combine well. Cover and cool for 1 to 4 hours. Serve on bread, crackers or green salads.

variations:

1. 1. Buffalo Chicken - Omit Basil, stir in 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce.
2. 2. Hawaiian - Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pineapple. Before serving, add 1/4 cup finely chopped roasted macadamia nuts.
3. 3. Mediterranean - Leave out celery. Stir in 1/2 chopped marinated artichoke hearts and 1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese. Top with grated basil.
4. 4. Grape-Nut - Stir in chopped seedless grapes of 3/4 cup. Before serving, add 1/2 cup chopped roasted walnuts.
5. 5. Bacon egg tomato - Stir in two chopped hard-boiled eggs. Stir in ½ cup chopped cherry tomatoes before serving. Top with crumbled cooked crispy bacon.
6. 6. Spicy Chili - Omit Basil and lemon zest. Stir in 1 to 2 teaspoon chilli powder. Top with roasted pumpkin seeds.
7. 7. Cashew curry - Stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of curry powder. Just before serving, add 2 frozen roasted cashews to TBS. You can also add 2 TBS mango chutney with the mayonnaise.
8. 8. Cucumber / melon - Stir in 1/2 cup chopped cucumber and serve on melon wedges before serving.
9. 9. Coriander lime - Leave out basil and lemon zest. Stir fresh coriander (coriander) cut into 1 TBS and 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest. Top with roasted sesame seeds and chopped coriander.
10. 10. Apple Pecan - Stir in 3/4 cup chopped fresh-eating apple. Just before serving, add 1/3 cup finely chopped roasted pecans.

Even if you don't want to do this before Valentine's Day, it would be nice to just do it every day to chase away the doldrums and blues in the winter.

Happy Sunday and Bon Appetit!