Five Tips for Enjoying Food Outdoors
Before fall hits, take advantage of afternoons and evenings outdoors. Whether your preferred activity is a nature hike, some giggly water play, or simply an afternoon spent hunting for bugs in the backyard, we all aim to take advantage of the ample daylight that summer offers, enjoy that fresh air, and stop to smell the flowers.
One of our family’s favorite things to do outside in the summertime is cook and eat. Many an evening are spent on the picnic table or around the grill, prepping and cooking our dinner, enjoying a beverage, and then feasting together in the warm evening air. To help your family get the most out of your backyard/porch/deck outdoor meals, we thought we’d share a few things to keep in mind that will minimize hassle and maximize fun & flavor.
1. Involve the whole family.
The beauty of being outdoors is that it makes messes more or less a non issue, and that means that kids of any age can participate at some level. Even the most rudimentary motor skills have their place: how about ripping the leaves off the corn, or tearing up the cabbage for a rustic slaw? Yes, it’s probably a good idea to circle back and make sure your final product is up to standards, but delegating tasks to young hands and minds instills trust and empowers little ones to take an active role in preparing the meal.
2. Don’t Fuss about Mess.
Even if you need to lay down a tarp, let meals outdoors be one of the few opportunities to let go (within limits) of stringency involving manners and cleanliness. Eating spaghettini by the fistful? Blowing ridiculous milk bubbles that splash from your glass? We’re certainly not suggesting full on food fights— though if that’s how your family gets down, then get to slingin’ that lasagna. Everyone will need to establish their own acceptable range of mess, but as long as you establish that this is the appropriate time and place for that behavior, letting food be fun can’t hurt.
3. Choose plates and platters wisely.
Outdoor meals are a great opportunity to switch it up and eat family style, which helps with not having to schlep an entire dinette set back and forth across your yard. Whether you’re eating on a blanket in the grass, on proper picnic tables, or anything in between, think about your setting and your surfaces, and choose things that will work well with your scene.
Go with rimmed platters to prevent spillage on uneven surfaces, and stainless steel mixing bowls may not be the most elegant, but they are lightweight and easy to handle. Also worth considering are the numerous brands of durable, reusable plates and bowls, many as lightweight as their disposable counterparts. Whatever you go with, make it sturdy, but not too heavy, which will give the young ones all the more opportunity to assist.
4. Prepping ahead is paramount.
Whether it’s cutting and marinating your diced chicken ahead of time (to be skewered and grilled the next day), washing and trimming/peeling some of the veggies, or simply cooking a pot of rice and lentils earlier in the day, you want to set yourself up for success in order to execute your meal in a timely manner. Outdoor cooking can be a blast, but it can also be slightly more chaotic, and you may be involving the kiddos more than usual. The more you can get ready ahead of time, the easier it will be to keep things fun and light.
5. Set your space up for success.
You may be eating just outside the kitchen door, or you may have brought all of your food and utensils a bit farther from home for a makeshift picnic.
Wherever you’re headed, load up with the tools and vessels that will make setup and cleanup a breeze. A couple large plastic cups are great for holding silverware, and if you have a broad bin or bucket, you can use it to bus your dishes easily and cleanly at meal’s end. It might be a good idea to invest in a a thick vinyl cloth (picture the red checkered patterns out of quaint Italian bistros) that doubles as a durable, easy to clean picnic space and tablecloth. You can even designate a separate set of “away” tools that you keep stored in their own box or bag, ready to go when you want to take things to the great outdoors.
Most of all, remember to make the experience relaxed and fun, for the kids and for the parents. Everyone deserves a little al fresco dining when the weather permits.
These pops are just about as easy a summer recipe as it gets, and I can remember making them with my mom as far back as I can remember.
As with all the best recipes, there are endless substitutions to customize your pops and keep things fresh, so be creative!