Summer Cold Picnic

Last night I went to the Muny with my family and 10,ooo of my closest friends to see Disney's Beauty and the Beast. If you're not from St. Louis I probably need to explain. The Muny, is on outdoor theater that opened in 1917 and has been a St. Louis tradition ever since. Seating 11,000 people, is the nation's oldest and largest outdoor theaters.

Part of the tradition is arriving early and picnicking in the area. There are a few picnic tables just outside the theater, but many of us choose to picnic beside the fountains and ponds in Forest Park, taking the time to relax before the show starts. (It also helps with finding parking that is within an easy walking distance.)

The 2010 season opened this week with Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As usual for this time of year, the temps were hanging close to 100 degrees -- a typical Muny evening. We let each of our daughter's invite a friend to go with us, as well as my mother, which meant I needed to create a picnic dinner for seven people that could be enjoyed in extreme heat. One of the friends is also a vegetarian.

Black-Bean and Tomato Quinoa fit the bill. It has a light, refreshing lime dressing that really hits the spot on a hot evening, and it is a family favorite. If you're not familiar with quinoa, you should be. It is considered a super food -- providing protein, iron and calcium. The recipe I use calls for a pretty involved method of cooking, but I just rinse and cook like rice in our rice cooker. The only local foods I used in the recipe were butter, cilantro, and my homegrown cherry tomatoes. I can't get locally grown quinoa or limes.

Accompanying the quinoa I made deviled eggs, using eggs from the River Hills poultry alliance, and a fennel and kohlrabi salad, using locally grown fennel and kohlrabi.

Fennel and Kohlrabi salad

We received Biver Farms fennel last week, and kohlrabi this week, and I had never cooked with either one before. Everything I read about fennel talked about a licorice flavor, which didn't appeal to me, but, boy was I wrong. It does have a licorice flavor, but it has a freshness that makes it very different than licorice candy. It is a refreshing flavor that enhances food.

The kholrabi comes in a bulb shape. It is very hard, kind of like a hard potatoe. I sliced it very thin with my food processor and did eat a slice or two before making the salad. It too, had a refreshing taste. Together I knew it would make a great salad.

I used a recipe I found on line that said to make a dressing out of lemon juice and canola oil. It was much too tart for my family, so I added some sugar, salt and pepper. Everyone liked it. We finished it off at lunch today.

Overall I was pleased to create a cold picnic dinner I could take to the Muny that was primarily locally grown. I look forward to seeing what I come up each week as new items come into season.