Family Picnic #7: Raggedy Ann Salads and Recycled Art

Welcome to the seventh installment of our Family Picnic series! We’ve been sharing new ideas for picnic-ready food, fun and conversation throughout the summer of 2020, to help families find new ways to connect during social distancing. Rituals are an important way to keep family life going when times are unpredictable. A weekly family picnic can be one ritual to look forward to!

This Week’s Family Picnic Menu

This week, our picnic is all about being creative. The recipes are fun and easy to prepare, and kids can really get involved! Start off with a main dish salad that’s also an art project, and serve it with an Italian bread salad full of summer vegetables. For dessert, let everyone make their own miniature fruit “pie.”

Raggedy Ann salads from our book Eat, Laugh, Talk: The Family Dinner Playbook are a work of art that’s tasty, too!

Raggedy Ann Salad

 

 

Panzanella is a summer classic that uses up leftover bread in a satisfying salad.

Panzanella

 

 

Who doesn’t love a good fruit pie in the summertime? These pocket fruit pies satisfy the craving, without the fuss of pastry.

Pocket Fruit Pies

 

 

Fun

While everyone’s already in a creative mood, turn trash into treasure. Bring out an assortment of recyclables, like egg cartons, jars, cans and cardboard boxes. Add tape, glue, scissors and markers or paints to the pile, and see what your family can create with what’s on hand! For extra fun, try challenging everyone to follow a theme, like “robots,” “aliens” or “inventions.”

Kitchen Art

 

Conversation

Keep the creativity and imagination flowing with these conversation starters!