Summer has officially started
LOVE the Symphony Sunday nights!!
Matt and I spent the afternoon relaxing and getting ready for our picnic. We nibbled through some fruit…
And a bit of goat cheese on some JJ Flats crackers.
x2
I got pretty hungry around 4:30 and had a small bowl of Zoe’s Granola with berries and milk.
You’ll probably be seeing me eat a lot of fruit these next few days because we have a TON in our house. Blueberries (4 pints from Costco!), raspberries, pineapple, 10 bananas and…
Two big melons
And jugs!
For the symphony picnic we made a Triple Berry Salad.
SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I simmered a cup or so of wheatberries on the stove top this afternoon. After they were chewy to taste, I drained them, and added
- About 2 cups of blue and raspberries
- ~4 oz soft goat cheese
- ~1/3 cup cranberry pecans (the secret ingredient!)
- ~1/4 cup whole almonds
- Big handful spinach
- Dressing: Juice of a lime, 1 tsp honey, pinch salt, 2 tsp olive oil
One of the best salads we’ve ever made.
We arrived at the symphony blanket around 6:15 and waited for our friends to show up. Amanda arrived and then Michelle and Ben but EVERYONE ELSE BAILED!! BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! We’ve waited our whole lives to have a group of friends to picnic with at the Summer Pops 🙁
But the company who came were fun!
The spread included the wheatberry salad and watermelon
Annie’s Snack Mix from Danica
Hummus from Amanda
With pita chips
My plate. I assembled a plate and was careful not to snack on the pita chips and crackers that were within reach all night – knowing how easy it is to down 300+ calories in empty carbs.
Watermelon and seconds on the awesome salad
You really can’t go to the Summer Pops without a splash of wine – which was all I needed.
I switched to seltzer, which was just like wine in my big plastic glass
Amanda brought choco covered raisins. Mmmm…dark chocolate. Had a few more of these at the end of the evening.
And I brought these “meh” cookies. Had half of one and didn’t care for the rest.
The symphony was lovely, per usual. Filled with songs I know and love, including some western and musical theater favorites. Can’t wait till next week!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENA!!!! 
Good night all
zestycook says
Yay for summer! Happy BDay Gena!!
Anne K. says
Haha I love the melons and jugs bit! 😉 Too funny 😀
That berry salad looks fabulous! Your eats are all so summer-y and delicious. I’m glad the symphony was good–that sounds like fun!
Have a lovely night 🙂
Katherine says
HAHAHA I love the melon and jug pictures 😉
april says
Sounds like a fun day! We have tons of fruit as well.. costco will do that to you! Have a great night!
Mara @ What's for Dinner? says
Your melons and jugs photos remind me of some of the crazy shenanigans we used to get into when I worked at Starbucks! HA! I’m jealous of the Symphony Sundays… our town has NOTHING like that, and we have to travel about a half hour to get anything similar.
Have a great evening!
Elizabeth says
A perfect summer evening! I wish there were more opportunities to combine picnics & the arts around my area….
That salad looks delish! I may be brave enough to try making wheatberries yet 🙂
Justy2003 says
Haha, the melons & jugs pictures are cute! 😉
Sorry most of your company bailed…guess that just means more food/leftovers for you! 😀
gina (fitnessista) says
ahhhahaha melons and jugs
you are too cute, kath 😀
hope you’re having fun- sounds like a lovely evening!
Help Meghan Run says
Oh my gosh that berry salad looks great…think I’ll definitely be replicating that. 😉 And I am also jealous of that symphony series, so lovely for summer!
HelpMeghanRun.com
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) says
Mmm that salad looks wonderful! Definitely going to have to try that!
Glad you had fun!!!! Love the melons and jugs photos…too funny!
Have a great night!
Heather @ Sugar N Spice Blog says
Looks like a wonderful night out with great food! Kath – I love your haircut – it looks great on you!
Rachel says
Psh, how could someone bail on THAT? Your salad looks delish and listening to live music outside is one of the best things ever. Plus, you make funny boob jokes 😉
Emily says
Looks like such a fun time! I love seeing the symphony..I’d definitely picnic with you if I lived close! 🙂
OSU is performing our pops concert this Saturday. We’re playing Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Catfish Row from Porgy & Bess among other selections.
Lisa says
Hee hee, melons and jugs! Too funny.
I’m jealous of the wine at your picnic. It’s illegal in Ohio because of the darn open-container laws!
Ellen @ Peace in Motion says
LOVE summer bbq’s. The salad looks delicious!
Hannah Hawley says
Love the melons and jugs pictures! They cracked me up.
I like to make white wine spritzers! I usually do a 1-4 ratio of wine to seltzer and I get the hint of wine taste and can get several drinks instead of just one. It also spreads it out, which I enjoy, and I never end up feeling like I have to have a little bit more.
Amanda says
The wheatberry and fruit salad was sooooo good. I highly recommend it!! 🙂
Jenn (www. j3nn.net ) says
I LOL’d at the melons and jugs. Funny!
The salad looks delish. I’m craving watermelon now. Your wedges always look so enticing.
Jenn
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says
What a lovely summer picnic. Sorry to hear about the party poopers who bailed on you, but the food and company looks great all the same! 🙂
What an amazing salad Kath! Definitely a creative mix! I just love all the great uses for this delicious summer fruit.
Have a wonderful week!
Whitney says
the melon and jug pics made me laugh out loud.
Too Funny! We have a similar type of concert place called Ravinia that I really love.
Shannon says
there’s a hummus among us! 🙂 looks delish and lovin your melons and jugs sense of humor. Definitely made me LOL <3 silly girl.
Kailey (SnackFace) says
Bahaha I’m dying here. You have really nice melons and jugs, Kath. I had no idea!
Oh the return of the symphony nights! I always love the dinner picnic assortments you have!
jenner says
ahahahahaha Kath you are too funny! thanks for the laugh! I’m glad you enjoyed the symphony. I’m going to have to find out if there’s sth like that in my area.
I love fruit/all produce from Costco! I also meant to tell you that they have the Kerrygold? cheddar you said you quite liked!
Amanda says
Banrock Station wine!!! Oh my gosh, that it so cool. That’s from a town close to where I grew up. I performed a few times at the Station! 🙂
Looks like such a nice time, I wish I were able to hang out on summer nights with friends.
I’ve read your blog for a while. Just wanted to say thank you for getting me into dark leafy greens – I’m loving collard greens and kale etc. 🙂
Jenn (eating bender) says
You are so funny – love the melons and the jugs 😉
I’m glad you had fun at the symphony! I think it’s so cool that you spend your Sundays there during the summer – I remember reading about it last year and thinking it sounded like so much fun! I hope next week you get an even bigger crowd to join you. But the food looked wonderful!
anon says
Umm . . . how heavy are those melons? And you’re casually holding both up at the level of your chest? Congrats on all your accomplishments with weights at the gym!
Hangry Pants says
I spy the Trader Joe’s Hummus Quartet.
The melons and jugs are hilarious. I almost died.
bobbi says
We have these too!!! I can not wait until they start they go every Friday night through the summer!!!
Kori (All Things B.) says
Kath- I know you said you weren’t completely psyched on the new do, but I think it looks great or maybe it’s just those melons that are clouding my vision 😉 hahahaha Love the salad recipe!
Sarah (LovIN My Tummy) says
You are a dirty bird with those melons and jugs. LOVE IT!
qiufen says
may i know what is that rice? it looks very nice.
Acadia Durham says
Kath,
Never thought I’d say this to you, but… nice melons!
Love your sense of humor 😉
Acadia
Marisa (trim the fat) says
LOL, Kath!!! Love the melons and jugs!
Sounds like a great night, regardless of the “no shows” !
Meghan (Making Love In The Kitchen) says
Beautiful!
thepinkpeppercorn says
You are hilarious! Love the picnic spread!
Stacey says
My boss keeps those chocolate covered raisins in her house, and I am always rummaging through the kitchen after a meal looking for them! Looks like a lovely evening 🙂
JENNA says
What a fun NIGHT!!!! I remember reading your fun times at the summer pop last year and was so envious! The summer night picnic looks fab.
Anne P says
hahahhaah the melons and jugs are amazing. nice work.
Shannon (The Daily Balance) says
so fun! I love your summer pop adventures 😉
Gena (Choosing Raw) says
Thanks for the shout, gorgeous! The symphony evenings always look — and sound — so lovely!
brandi says
haha – the melons and jugs pics are hilarious 🙂
what a fun night! symphony sundays sound fun!
Kath says
Hannah Hawley,
My mom is always pushing me to try those. I usually refuse because I feel like it would just dilute the wine, but sounds like I should give it another try.
Amanda ,
And it was on sale for $5 a bottle!! Loved it.
Kath
Kati says
That wheatberry salad sounds divine. I tried some in oatmeal and wasn’t a fan :/ but that looks great!
Adventures of Alice says
Those berries look AMAZING!
Olga says
hahah love the melons and jugs 🙂
SarahP says
Dirty girl! Hilarious.
A nutrition scientist I interviewed a few months ago recommends buying extra blueberries when they’re in season and freezing some. You can defrost them all winter. It’s much cheaper than buying frozen, and much tastier than buying the puny out-of-season berries.
Marcia says
Looks very tasty…I have such a hard time with crackers and hummus or crackers and cheese (was too close to it at a party this weekend). Really, I love hummus too…maybe I need to stick to carrots sticks and hummus.
Jasmine says
That wheatberry salad is right up my alley — I will have to give it a try. I love bean salads and grain salads all summer long…
Kathi says
Is that two cups of blueberries and 2 cups of raspberries? How much does the salad serve? I would like to give this salad a try.
I have just cooked up my first batch of wheatberries and now I don’t know what to do with them!
I did also find a Wheat Berry Waldorf Salad I might give a try.
Thanks so much for your time!
kathi
Kath says
Kathi ,
2 cups total berries. I’d say about 8 servings, maybe 1 cup each, but that’s a rough estimate.
K
Danica says
OMG I was cracking up over the melons and jugs – totally something my Husband would have me do to be funny LOL.
Isn’t that snack mix totally addicting?! LOVE it!