Sunday, August 24, 2008

Picnic Weather - Maybe!

YES, we're going to the Portland Zoo tonight: a concert to see the Avett Brothers and Shawn Mullins. The photograph shows the sky above that has been sprinkling for a while now. Not enough to soak the grass here, but don't know about the zoo. That's where we'll be sitting on the grass. Well, in our sand chairs that friends are bringing, since they will be driving a car and we are going to take our vaunted MAX train to the zoo and carry our dinner with us. You can not bring bottled drinks - even water - into the zoo, since they have their own concessions.
However, I made potato salad. Yes, be afraid - very afraid! I'm cooking again. So far the ingredients I've put in have been the ones I thought they were. I took olive oil and added two fresh-crushed cloves of garlic and then two tablespoons of mayo (real thing; none of the "light" stuff) and poured that over hot, cooked cubed red potatoes. It - smelled - so - good! (Yes, I licked the spoon.)
I decided to make sandwiches, too. Tuna, chopped black olives, chopped tomatoes (crossed my fingers that they're free of toxic disease causing bacteria), capers, Mrs. Dash's lemon pepper, and then more mayo and fat free sour cream with curry powder and squeeze of lemon. I thought about adding some Gorgonzola cheese, but what are your thoughts on an unopened package of cheese that says "use by March 5, 2008." Should I go ahead and use it? I ate a bit of it and it doesn't taste bad or look any worse than when I bought it. (It is supposed to have greenish-blue veins running through it, isn't it?)
I think I'll make peanut butter sandwiches for any wienies who can't handle tuna.
Before fixing our dinner/picnic I spent most of the day in the sunroom cleaning up. Outside the sunroom is this huge angel wing plant (begonia cousin). A friend gave me one stalk of a plant to try and it has absolutely loved our house. It likes summer even better when it can go outside and roam free.
Well, I wish you good weather if you have an outdoor dinner planned tonight - femminismo

1 comment:

Candace said...

We have had nonstop torrential rain several times this week and weekend. Incredible. We went from 100 down to 78 in two days. Hot and droughtlike to subtropics.
I worry about my little fawns!

Love that plant! Love that potato salad too. Yum. Aren't picnics and dinner al frescos great?
Candace