Alex Heminway, author of Picnics (Gibbs Smith, 2007), remembers his childhood fishing trips just beyond New York's Fire Island with his uncle and grandfather. They were among the last days the young Heminway would spend with his grandfather, who was then in failing health. Sharing a slow-paced picnic lunch with these special men remains a cherished and comforting memory for Heminway. It's also the feeling that informed his book written with his mother, interior designer Hilary Heminway, who provided recipes and illustrations.
Often simple, rustic meals shared with family or special friends, picnics have a carefree yet tender quality, says Hilary Heminway.
"There is a certain clarity of the moment around a picnic. It might be something as simple as a bird you’ve never seen before, for example, which creates memories,"she says.
As a child, Heminway took picnic trips with her family to the deserted barrier islands around Rhode Island’s Block Island. When she became a mother, she took her children (Alex and his sister) on weekly trips to the beach where a picnic might evolve into a bonfire, replete with s'mores.
Today, splitting her time between homes in Connecticut and Montana, Heminway says picnics are still par for the course. In this age when formal meals, conversation, and true family time are all too rare, a picnic offers the perfect opportunity to power down and enjoy each other’s company with all of nature as a beautiful and soothing backdrop.
With her first grandchild, a granddaughter, now on the scene, she eagerly anticipates many more special excursions into the Montana mountains.
"We’ll backpack, hike up a mountain, and hope the bears won’t smell our sandwiches," she says.
The following simple recipes from picnics are easy to enjoy for adults and children alike. For more picnic how-tos see Picnic Perfect.
Continue to the recipes: Tuna Salad Sandwich and Chocolate Scat Cookies
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