May Vintage Spotlight: Picnics & Vintage Picnic-Friendly Foods

Howdy! I know I didn't come up with Spotlights for January through March and I'm sorry for that, but I thought that maybe that'd be a bit too much to bombard you all with in addition to the other months that I was already going to post, so I started from May instead. But anyway, I first got the idea to make a picnic-related post back during spring, when the temps first started to warm up and I didn't have to wear several layers of clothes to go outside anymore. 

Source--Please read the source post for this photo. Did you all picnic like
this as well?

I think I've always liked picnics, mainly because I love being outside so much. As a kid, sometimes the family would get a bunch of sandwiches and stuff packed up into a basket and spend the day at the park. To this day those are still some of my favorite memories. Since I live in what is undeniably a desert, the 'in' place for a good picnic day was one of the local parks. Most of the time it was on a spur of the moment kind of thing, but it was always so much fun. The parks were packed with families, who were either picnicking as well or having parties, and the sounds of kids playing greeted you from around the corner. Picnic blankets, tents and umbrellas were spaced out throughout the park, and there were various puffs of smoke throughout the park from the portable grills. After the blankets were laid out, us kiddos were turned loose, where we played hard for as long as we could. The conspiracy theorist in me always came out during this time, because after that first child got called away to eat (which to us felt like punishment and the rest of us prayed we wouldn't be next LOL), it seemed like most of the park took a lunch break. We suspected the parents did this on purpose. lol

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Of course, there were some rebels (ha), but for the most part, lunch was a domino effect. We'd eat and rehydrate, rest for awhile, then play some more before chasing the ice cream truck for some frozen goodies. The mosquitoes usually attacked around 6 or 7, and that's when families would start packing up. Sometimes some of the families would stay long enough for us kids to get a few good runs through the park sprinklers, then the day was over and if there were any leftover sandwiches, that was dinner as everyone was usually too tired to do much of anything once we got home. By the time I got in the front door, I was sweaty and exhausted but so happy I could burst. After dinner and a good shower, it was straight to bed for me so I could get up for church the following morning. It was a day of fun, food, family and new friends, all of my favorite things. In retrospect, I wonder if most of these parents didn't plan these picnics simultaneously because they realized that it was the best way to get a mass amount of children to sleep without the usual issues. Hmm....

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The tradition didn't continue in our family as the number of kids grew to 5, partially because we fell on tougher times so the focus turned to just getting through the day, and partially because it was an increasingly large hassle to get all of the kids in the car at one time to go anywhere. I think this is a struggle with many larger families, so if you're a parent or an older sibling like me who had to help with the wrangling, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. When the kids were much younger, there was always someone slipping back out for something they'd forgotten, to put something back that they tried to sneak in the car, or simply because someone had decided that it was a good time for a tantrum and no longer wanted to go. I empathize with parents who still have to go through these things. No joke, it used to take a good half hour to get everything together, all of the kids together, hustle everyone into the car, get them buckled in, keep them buckled in, and get to where we needed to go with all limbs intact. It was much of the same when trying to get back home from wherever it was that we were. Besides that, this was a new generation of kids, so if we turned them loose in the park, they'd come right back a few minutes later, bored and wondering when we were going to go home so they could watch tv. I can completely understand why my mom abandoned the idea. lol 

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This calm setting was never my rowdy family.
 It still isn't, and half of us are grown now. LOL

 As an adult I had a few more health problems and one of the things I hated about it the most was that it took the sunlight from me. I'm a nature buff and one of the biggest problems with being homebound was that I could no longer enjoy simple things like taking a walk, going somewhere to watch the sun set, or getting caught in a random drizzle. I wasn't going outside, and I got all of the heat from the warmer months via bad air conditioning lol, but there were definitely no picnics. My immune system is insanely low as a result of these health issues, so obviously going out in cold weather was not an option that I exercised often, hence why on the few times I did have to go outside, I usually wore two layers of clothes if the temperature was even slightly below 55 degrees. I'd like to find a healthy medium temp between freezing to death and having to be half naked to avoid heat stroke, but I live in Texas. There won't be a healthy medium until October. LOL   

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I'm allergic to hot dogs, but this is awfully cute, right?

But back to the point. Picnics, I think, are subjective in terms of what kinds of food to serve. The French had more of a luxurious take on the idea. They brought foie gras, caviar, fancy meats, the works. Americans went for cold chicken, sandwiches, salads, and sweet treats. The English liked full-on, elaborate meals with meat pies, seafood, hard-boiled eggs, and even champagne for the more wealthy. I read an article where sometimes the wealthier picnickers even brought along their servants for a full-service picnic. Nowadays I don't see anyone at the park during the weekend, save for the teens who hang out at the skate park or the little leaguers playing a game there. I don't often see picnics anymore and when I do see it now, the food options lean more towards fast food and simply eating it in the park. But I like the original concept of picnicking--making a tasty meal specifically for that purpose, packing it up in a basket (or cooler, if you're bringing perishables or drinks), and taking it to the park, where you can nibble on the contents at your leisure throughout the day.  For me, a picnic includes lots of nibblies. I love food, but my stomach usually can't accommodate it all (LOL), so normally, I nibble throughout the day anyway. I've been really interested lately in what people were eating at picnics and parties back in the day, so I turned to my BFF, the 'Net, to see if I could pull up some recipes. Now I have to admit, while I don't mind many of the recipes from the '50s, there are also a bunch of them that simultaneously provoke nightmares and nausea. I'm going to try to avoid those. LOL

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I know this isn't a vintage recipe per se, but I wanted to post this one since I couldn't find the original recipe for the bacon and cheese pie photo I came across on Pinterest. If you're going out in the morning, whether it be for a brunch at a park or in the backyard, I think this would be a great finger food to bring along. There's a great mixture of my favorite breakfast foods, the portion sizes are good, and they're cute to boot. Hell, I'd make these even if I wasn't going on a picnic. lol

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I'm not a big fan of all the recipes on these pages, but this photo is straight from a mid-'50s cookbook called "Let's Eat Outdoors," which focuses on nothing but different foods to bring to outdoor events. What cracks me up is how Dixie cups are being hyped to high heaven. Don't get me wrong, disposable cups, plates and cutlery are great, but I'm not that stuck on them. lol My favorite recipe from this photo is the Sundae Surprise, but the reason why I included the photo was because of the 'box lunch picnic' idea. It would certainly save on space, time and cleanup to just fix plates, close them up and take them along, already prepared. 

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I didn't like a lot of the salad recipes I came across, but I love panzanella, minus the artichokes and anchovies. lol Since this salad gets better the long that it sits, this would be an excellent make-ahead dish that you can prepare the day or night before your outing, which saves a lot of time.

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This is another excerpt from "Let's Cook Outdoors" and I included this photo because of the butterburgers recipe on the second page; this would definitely be something for the more ambitious picnicker who doesn't mind doing some cooking the day of the picnic. On an unrelated note, Karo and Spam, who else remembers those? The former is included in mass amounts in that flapjacks recipe up above. I don't mind flapjacks, but I'm not digging the Spam and blueberries being included. I'm also not about a life which includes that Short Cut Salad on the other page; I'm not a fan of cottage cheese anyway but I'm definitely not going to eat it with fruit. Whenever I see people eating it, I want to ask them, "Why?", which I know is rude as all hell, but I mean the question honestly because I really can't find anything tasty about it. If you eat cottage cheese, how do you like to eat it?

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For people who don't have guts that hate them, potato salad is a great option for picnics. That isn't the case for me lol, but I do like the recipe. It's very simple, doesn't take long to prepare, and after chilling it sufficiently wouldn't be hard to pack up and take along. Even though it's full of mayo and egg, things that are very perishable if not properly monitored, it's still become a staple picnic and warm weather side dish. I love potato salad, but I've really been jonesing for some cold macaroni salad lately, which is also a good option for picnicking. 

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This is a copy of a Woolworth's menu from the '50s, and I included this because of the sandwich options. Another staple of picnics is a good sandwich, and even though I don't see a club sandwich or just a regular ham, cheese and turkey sandwich, I think all of these are easy options for a picnic. They aren't heavy on the stomach, they're all easy to prepare and don't take up too much space in the basket. Egg and chicken salad are also staples of many picnic menus, which is another reason why I wanted to include this photo rather than trying to find separate recipes for everything. I think the entire menu could be some inspiration for your own picnic menu. 

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I've noticed that deviled eggs are another favorite warm weather dish to take along, and while this is yet another thing I won't be eating in the heat, I love deviled eggs. The recipe we use now is the same one my gramma used when she and my gramps would entertain their buddies back during their heyday. My mom learned it from her, then passed it on to me. It's not like an heirloom or anything, it's just eggs lol, but it's cool to know that I'm making the same recipe that she once did. Something I've noticed since I started making the recipe was that if you make the filling and then chill it and the eggs separately first, then chill the eggs again after being filled, they hold a lot better and for longer periods of time. These are usually a holiday treat, not something we make on a regular basis, but I'd bring these to a party.

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I couldn't have a post about picnic foods and not include the OG of '50s picnics, fried chicken. Usually people took this to the park and ate it cold, and while I'm not a fan of eating it cold, I do love some fried chicken so I included this recipe from Paula Deen. Say what you want about her, but the lady can make some fried chicken. I think it suits the other side dishes in this little list of foods, it's not too heavy, and like the other dishes it's easy to pack up and discard when you're finished. 

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This here is a recipe for red velvet cake, and I included it partially because the recipe encourages you to make the cake from scratch rather than relying on a box mix. I've never made a cake from scratch before; to be honest I'm a little intimidated by the concept. I'm willing to try, but it scares me a little. I chose red velvet cake for a picnic rather than chocolate because it's a bit lighter on the stomach but doesn't sacrifice taste in the process. I also thought that if you wanted to modernize this recipe, you could make red velvet cake pops instead. 

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For a simpler option, this chocolate peanut bark is also easily portable, can easily be rationed out between multiple people, and sounds very simple to make as well. Obviously, the name of the game with picnic recipes is simplicity. You're already taking a number of things along with you, no reason to complicate the prep in addition to everything else. I like the concept of a fancy picnic, but I have simple preferences. A few finger foods, small sweets and a drink option or two and I'm good. Speaking of drinks, though, here's a recipe for a simple syrup that you can use to make lemonade for your day out.

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For me, lemonade is the perfect drink for a hot day. Y'know, other than water. lol If it's too sweet it tends to leave a heavy aftertaste and I'm not about that life, but if done correctly it's light, lemony and refreshing. And finally, I had to go with the other staple of picnic drinks, some good ol' iced tea. 

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This isn't a vintage recipe, but I couldn't find a photo of iced tea so I just went with this modernized iced tea instead. I love strawberry lemonade tea and it's on my bucket list this summer to make some sun tea, so this seems like the perfect combination of both things. This is another easy make-ahead item and if you make it early the morning of the picnic, it'll be ready by the time you leave. The instructions for this recipe are also very simple and don't involve a lot of ingredients, another thing that I like about it. I also came across a tip that said grilling the lemons releases the sugars, so I wonder how this recipe would work if you dropped a few of the grilled lemons slices with this mixture and let it sit that way. 

Let me tell ya, if I hadn't found a site called Hey, my mom used to make that! when I was searching for recipes, this post honestly may have never gone up. So massive shout-out to whoever runs that site, because it saved this post and my little yellow bum in the process. The site has an abundance of '50s recipes, and luckily for me there were a few picnic-friendly recipes I could grab a photo of for this post. Unfortunately for me, finishing this post also meant I had to sift through recipes of epically nauseating proportions to find what I wanted. lol But anywho, that does it for me for now. I hope you liked this post and I didn't bore you too much before we got to the actual recipes. I'll see ya tomorrow with June's Spotlight!