Picnic Recipes

We enjoyed a picnic with friends this weekend and many people were interested in the two dishes I prepared, so I thought I'd share the recipes.

Lentil and Edamame Salad with Lemon and Herb Dressing
You could substitute green peas, but I had some edamame in my freezer from last season.
Serves 8

1 lb. brown lentils, rinsed
8 c. water
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 T. lemon juice
1 T. grainy mustard
coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
2 c. fresh or frozen edamame
1 c. chopped celery plus the leaves
1/2 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. red onion, chopped
1/4 c. torn arugula
1/2 t. salt, or to taste

In a large saucepan combine the lentils, water, and bay leaf.  Cover and heat to boil, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender 20-30 min.  Drain and rinse with cool water in colander; discard bay leaf.  Whisk, minced garlic, oil, lemon juice, mustard, and pepper in a large bowl.  Add the drained lentils, edamame, celery, carrots, onion, arugula and toss to coat.  Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt.

Peach-Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
Early June is still a challenging time of year to prepare dessert with local foods so I used frozen local fruits I still had from last year.  Otherwise local strawberries and rhubarb might never meet peaches.  This dessert was a huge hit.  Let's just say that by the end of the night some of the "gentlemen" were digging straight into the serving dish with their spoons.


12 oz. EACH frozen strawberries, diced rhubarb, and sliced peaches, thawed (of course you can sub. fresh fruit)
1 1/2 c. xylitol (can sub. granulated sugar fully or partially)
3 T. lemon juice
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 c. oats
1/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 c. cold butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine the fruit with the sugar and lemon juice. (If you have a lots of juice from thawing, you may consider first mixing the lemon juice with 1 1/2 T. organic cornstarch then proceeding with the recipe.)  Add 1/4 c. flour, stirring well.  Pour mixture into a 13-x 9-inch baking greased baking dish.  Combine oats, brown sugar, and remaining 1 c. flour in a small bowl; cut in cold butter with a fork or your hands until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle mixture evenly over fruit filling.  Bake 45-50 min. or until bubbly.