Miss Edith Ponders Picnics

Today's New York Times has a nice thing by Mark Bittman about cooking for picnics. It's one of those pieces that's really just an irresistibly long list. I highly recommend perusing said list when thinking about cooking for picnics, or, for that matter, when trying to figure out what to make for dinner any night of the week during the summer.

I found, as I read the list, that a surprising number of the items Bittman mentions are things we eat here at home pretty frequently in the summertime. Cold peanut noodles, for example -- cold Asian noodle dishes are consumed here at least once a week all summer long. Innumerable versions of rice salads are also consumed. Couscous salads are good, too; I favor Israeli couscous in summer salads, though, over the usual little tiny couscous buds, just because I find the more substantial shape carries its own against coarsely chopped vegetables better. (Bittman doesn't seem to care one way or another, if I remember correctly.)

Anyhow, if you're looking for inspiration, this really does seem like a good place to start.

Bittman does not mention tomato pie, which is a summer staple to me, but then again, it takes longer than twenty minutes to assemble. Maybe I'll talk about tomato pie another time...