Picnic Time

Ammo for those park benches and beach blankets

Greetings from the Gaeltacht in the West of Ireland. Haigh!

I’m here visiting my eldest son in Irish college, having packed loads of home-made treats into a dinky little picnic basket. Finding somewhere to eat locally, alongside hundreds of other visiting visitng families, sounds like a recipe for a massive tantrum (erm, by me, not by my son).

Either way, I’m bound to mortify him anyway, waving at the gate holding my picnic basket and dangling a spare pair of Birkies. I’ve even packed CBD chocolates, but they are for me on the M6 back to Dublin.

I adore picnics. They can brighten up a grey flat day like an unsupervised ice cream to a giddy pug. No need to wait for a sunny day.

Below, I’ve written out my top 3 picnic recipes for this summer. All hold their shape well, and can withstand unplanned heat or travel in a way that dairy or chocolate simply cannot.

1. Green omelet triangles (can also work as a wrap)

2. Carrot & rooibos brack (sliced thickly and sandwiched with butter)

3. Filo chive and cheddar tart

Other easy ideas include:

• store-bought hummus with flax crackers or carrot strips

• excellent olives

• jammy boiled eggs with cumin salt

• Bean bars

• Quinoa tabouli

First up is our green omelet, a current obsession with my eldest sporting nut. All you need is a blender to whizz the dark green leafies into submission. The filling options are endless - smoked salmon and avocado? Feta, broccoli and micro herbs (as pictured)? Basil, white bean and Parmesan? Tomato, olives and red onion?

Then we have a loyal Irish-ish brack, and a flask of hot tea. My boys eat thick slices of brack at a speed that would rival a half-price sale at JD Sports. Obviously, I found a way to profit on this and squeeze more plants into their orbit (carrot and ginger, take a bow).

And if the green omelet didn’t excite you, the filo egg tart certainly will. It sounds much more complicated than it actually is. All you need is a store-bought frozen filo pastry and a round cake tin. The rest is like Play-Doh!

Love, light and picnics,

Susan Jane

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Inishboffin island, off Connemara, the last time the boys and I visited