Food News: Picnics can use some updates

"In my backyard, I have the same picnic table my mother used as a teenager. It's a solid, sturdy cedar table with benches, unlike its less substantial modern-day counterparts.

Crafted in the early 1950s and once a prominent feature on my grandmother's side porch, it has seen many a picnic. My mother tells me that before air conditioning, they ate most warm-weather meals outside.

I recall it topped with newspapers for fish fries, dressed in red-and-white checked cloth for my grandfather's barbecue, and unadorned for simple summer suppers of Meme's fried chicken, freshly shelled butter beans and rice, and watermelon.

After many years, the traditional red rust paint faded and chipped and looked worse for wear. But I was hesitant to refinish what I deem a family heirloom. I struggled with the concept of a redo as improvement.

Finally, I did decide to make a change. This spring, the table got a fresh coat of pea-green paint and now serves as my family's dining room table in the spring and early summer.

Dining alfresco, for me, remains one of the true joys of the season. How is it that food simply tastes better outdoors on a beautiful day?"

Includes recipes:

Spinach-Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

Carrot & Beet Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette

June 3, 2005

Food News: Picnics can use some updates