Category Archives: Picnic Basket Foods

Easy , quick recipes for outdoor Concerts in the Park, Hollywood Bowl concerts, or camping at Malibu Creek – or anywhere you like to eat outdoors!

Pasta Salad with Tuna and Peas : Recipe

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Sweet and Tangy Pasta Salad with Tuna and Peas.

Sweet and Tangy Pasta Salad with Tuna and Peas.

I don’t know where this super simple recipe originated. But it is a far cry from an old fashioned tuna casserole. We had something like it on the salad bar when I worked for Cheesecake Factory. The sweetness of the peas and dressing makes it. 

 

Someone brought this dish to an overnight birthday party for my friend she held at

at Malibu Creek Park.

 

 

Malibu Creek State Park Potluck Overnight.

Malibu Creek State Park Potluck Overnight.

What a great idea for a group get together! Everyone brought kids, tents and blow-up beds (who knew you could use a car battery as an energy source to blow one up?) and of course loads of

potluck food. 

 

 

So easy. Just mix. Done.

So easy. Just mix. Done.

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 bag / lb Pasta (like large shells, or rigatoni or….) boiled per directions
  • 1 drained Can of Tuna 
  • 1 Cup Frozen Peas
  • 1/4 Cup Sweet Pickle Relish
  • 1/2 Cup Ketchup
  • 1/2 Cup Mayonaisse

 

(Or you can just use 1 Cup of your favorite Thousand Island Dressing).

 

 Mix together. Done!

 

 

 

After dinner, enjoying the fire with our puppy, Bella.

After dinner, enjoying the fire with our puppy, Bella.

Chinese Cold Spicy Sesame Noodles – a la Shorty Tang’s recipe

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Pasta like Spaghetti can be used instead of the Noodles in most recipes.

Pasta like Spaghetti can be used instead of Chinese Noodles or Soba in many recipes.

There’s a restaurant in Manhattan Beach that serves a great spicy sesame noodle recipe topped with peanuts that I was seriously craving the other night. When I worked at Cheesecake Factory, we had a similar dish called the Peking Salad although I don’t believe it is on the menu any longer. As I pondered how to recreate either of the sweet, salty, nutty, tangy noodle dishes, I wondered if there were an authentic, original version for Spicy Cold Sesame Noodles. 

 

After some research, I learned that there is actually a guy named Tang Win Fat, nick-named Shorty Tang who legend has it, is responsible for the first cold, sesame noodle

Shorty Tang gets credit for inventing the Cold Spicy Noodle Recipe

Shorty Tang was a well known New York restauranteur who invented the Chinese Cold Spicy Noodle Recipe.

recipe. His story is featured on his grandson’s WordPress Blog RiceWineVinegar and he was also featured in a story about his historical New York restaurant and in the recipes section in the New York Times. Shorty Tang was born in 1926 in Sichuan’s Nianchang, worked in restaurants starting at the age of 12, and left China for Taiwan in 1946 where he worked as a street vendor before opening his first restaurant there. Then, he moved to Queens, NY in 1967 and opened a restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown which was famous for among other dishes, his Cold Sesame Noodles. This recipe is supposed to replicate Shorty’s but I’ve also listed Madame Wong’s recipe below it which I just happened to have found (strange coincidence) when making a version of her Chinese Lemon Chicken recipe. We served these noodles with a simple Pork Loin Roast and it was a great pairing. 

 

 

 

The easy way to add Fresh Ginger to any recipe. Freeze it, then grate it in.

The easy way to add Fresh Ginger to any recipe. Freeze it, then grate it in.

  • 8 ounces Chinese Egg Noodles or Soba or Spaghetti, cooked and cooled. 
  • 4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce or Tamari 
  • 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
  • 2 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter
  • 1 Tablespoon Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Red Chili Paste (or Chili and Garlic Paste or even Sriracha Sauce)
  • 1 Tablespoon Grated Fresh Ginger 
  • 1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons Sesame Paste (I forgot this ingredient and it still tasted amazing!)
  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Peanuts
  • 4 Chopped Green Onions
  • 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced (my addition)
  • 2 Cups Spinach Leaves (my addition)
  • Feel free to add any other vegetables you like (like broccoli, bean sprouts, celery, cucumber etc…)
  • Feel free to add egg, tofu, leftover chicken, ham or turkey. 

 

Make noodles per package instructions. Drain and rinse in cold water. 

I add Spinach, Peppers and Grated Carrots to the mix.

I add Spinach, Peppers and Grated Carrots to the mix.

When cool, mix all ingredients with the sauce. Done.

 

 

 

As an alternative, here is Madame Wong’s Easy Cold Spicy Noodles Sauce Recipe Ingredients (a quicker, easier version but both recipes are delicious):

 

  • 1 Tablespoon Red Chili Sauce (or Chili and Garlic or Sriracha Sauce)
  • 1/4 Cup Sesame Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce or Tamari
  • 1/4 Cup Rice or Regular Vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

Either of these recipes work well for a kids’ lunch, or to bring to a picnic or a party although I would use Cashew or Almond Butter and Cashews instead of Peanuts as you never know who might be allergic if you’re sharing this dish with a crowd. Summer is over, but it is still warm in California. Jackson Brown just played at the Santa Monica Pier last weekend. So, I will eat these noodles until it starts to rain and think of Shorty and his lovely family and how even a single recipe can touch so many for years down the road.

 

  

Curried Lentil Salad

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Just had a great gig at a Concert in the Park in San Juan Capistrano. There were so many friendly families and kids and once the sun went down, a nice breeze came in

Great gig. Warm breezes. Summer in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Great gig. Warm breezes. Summer in San Juan Capistrano, California.

over the mountains.

I love Concerts in the Park, whether I’m singing or watching other bands play. It’s so fun to bring and share food and wine with friends. I am sad that Summer is almost over.

 

This is one of my “Picnic Basket” side dishes that is inspired by the Indian Dahl recipe. It is incredibly inexpensive to make and a little goes a long way. When I was in college, I’d make a huge pot when I was out of money and eat it on toast topped with sour cream. Sometimes, I’d eat it for a week until I had money for groceries again. Lentils have no fat, are low in calories and high in fiber and nutrients – even iron so if your’e anemic, lentils are a great staple to add to your diet. And as usual, this side dish recipe is incredibly easy to make. 

 

Easy Lentil Salad Recipe.

Easy Lentil Salad Recipe.

  • 1 Cup Dried Lentils
  • 2 Cups Water or Broth
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1/4 Diced Onion
  • 2 Tablespoons Red Wine or Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive OIl
  • 1 Tablespoon Tamari or Soy Sauce (left it out of this batch as I had run out.)
  • 2 Tablespoons Curry Powder and/or Cumin
Lentils have no fat and are high in nutrients.

Lentils are high in nutrients.

 

Boil water (or broth) and add lentils.

 

 

Cook for 20-30 minutes until water is gone. (Drain if you have to). Remove from heat (don’t overcook.You want the lentils to have a bite to them and not be mushy).

 

 

Yummy Chilled Curried Lentil Salad. So easy.

Yummy Chilled Curried Lentil Salad. So easy.

Cool the lentils. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Done!

 

 

 

 

Shenandoah Valley Easy Peach and Tomato Salad Recipe

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Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.

Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.

My sister, after living and working in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC and Boston, now lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley in Virginia where she discovered this recipe at an amazing farmer’s market 10 minutes from her house (also nearby are 2 wineries and a lavender farm.) Every Tuesday and Saturday the market is jammed with local farmers who offer amazing vegetables, fruits, meat, honey, bread, eggs, and cheeses. All of the items are farm to table and the “ Buy Fresh – Buy Local ” movement is very big there.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local produce in the Shenandoah Valley.

” Buy Fresh, Buy Local ” produce in the Shenandoah Valley Farmer’s Market in Virginia.

 

She is loving living in the “country” now close to where the food grows. This recipe was featured as part of the market’s yearly tomato contest and is an unexpected pairing of two of summer’s greatest bounties – peaches and tomatoes. She has brought this very easy and fresh salad (perfect for the last days of summer which I am holding onto kicking and screaming like a child who doesn’t want to leave the park) to several dinner parties and everyone always asks for the recipe. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Beautiful Farmer's Market tomatoes make any easy salad gorgeous.

Beautiful Farmer’s Market tomatoes make any easy salad gorgeous.

Ingredients:

 

  • 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup of diced red onions
  • 4 slightly ripe (not mushy) peaches
  • 4 medium vine ripe tomatoes – you can also use cherry tomatoes (2 cups) cut in half if you have those handy
  • ½ cup of fresh basil (don’t use dry – it doesn’t taste the same)
  • ½ cup of fresh plain crumbled feta cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

Put 4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar in a large bowl. Add the 1/3 cup of diced red onions to the vinegar and let sit for 20 minutes Cut the tomatoes into bite sized (1 inch pieces) and add to the bowl. Cut the peaches in half. Take out the pit and peel with potato peeler or knife (I leave the skin on – it’s easier ). Cut into slices (1/4 inch or so) and put them into the bowl. Cut up basil into ribbons and add to the bowl. Add the feta cheese to the mixture. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Blend gently so that the vinegar and onions are mixed in to the salad. Don’t overstir since you don’t want the peaches and the tomatoes to get mushy. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until served. If you are taking it to a picnic, pack the cheese and lettuce separately and mix with the peach mixture before serving. Serves 4-5.