Picnic Series- Installation 3

Post By: Guest Blogger, Kiersten Washle

At the farm we believe that you are what you eat, so why not enjoy a healthy treat? This is the third installation of the picnic series and the topic for today is finger food. Finger food is one of the greatest parts of picnicking, no silverware, no mess, no worries. As great as finger food is, there is one problem: often times people think their only finger food options are of the packaged and processed variety. Today we want to showcase some options that are both simple, bite-sized, and healthy.

Recipe 1: Grape Caterpillars
 Ingredients:

• A Package of Grapes
• Cooking Icing (Betty Crocker brand comes with a easy to squeeze package) 
• A few mini Chocolate Chips
• Skewers

 Directions:
1. Wash your grapes. Push about ten grapes onto each skewer.
2. Take your icing and make two circles (as large as you can make them) on the first grape in the line.
3. With 2 mini chocolate chips, make eyes by placing one chip in the center of each icing circle.

Recipe 2: Stuffed Cherry Tomato Poppers
 Ingredients: 

• Cherry Tomatoes
• Prepare Salad of Your Choosing
• Mellon Baller (for scooping out the seeds and pulp)

 Directions:
1. Slice top off of cherry tomato. Scoop out the inside of the cherry tomato using the melon baller. Lightly salt inside an turn upside down on paper towel to drain excess liquid.
2.Stuff with your favorite prepared salad and there you have it! Below are a few prepared item we suggest:

• Wild rice salad
• Quinoa
• Tuna Salad 
• Orzo Salad

Recipe 3: Fruit in a Lemon 
 Ingredients:

• 3 Lemons
• 1 Apple
• Grapes
• 1 Orange, peeled
• A knife
• A grapefruit knife would be helpful to hollow out the lemon, but as long as it gets hollowed out, you can use whatever works. 

 Directions:
1. Wash your lemon, cut the top off and set aside. (We are going for a container here, so when you cut your lemon do not half it.) Hollow out the lemon. Repeat with the other two lemons.
     ~We won't be using the insides but feel free to use them for a nice refreshing glass of homemade lemonade.
2. Chop a washed apple into small bite sized chunks. Set aside.
3. Wash your grapes and pull them off the stem, set aside.
4. Separate your peeled orange into slices. Set aside.
5. Mix all the fruit together and divide evenly into the lemons.
6. Replace the top of each lemon and use a piece of ribbon, twine, or a rubber band to hold it tight.

Now you have a nice fruit cup! The lemon's natural acidity will keep the fruit fresh and the thick skin will keep it a little cooler than plastic ware.

That's all for today folks! Stay tuned for the next installation of the summer picnic series!