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
{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Yay for summer! Happy BDay Gena!!
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
HAHAHA I love the melon and jug pictures
Sounds like a fun day! We have tons of fruit as well.. costco will do that to you! Have a great night!
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!
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
Haha, the melons & jugs pictures are cute!
Sorry most of your company bailed…guess that just means more food/leftovers for you!
ahhhahaha melons and jugs
you are too cute, kath
hope you’re having fun- sounds like a lovely evening!
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
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!
Looks like a wonderful night out with great food! Kath – I love your haircut – it looks great on you!
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
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.
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!
LOVE summer bbq’s. The salad looks delicious!
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.
The wheatberry and fruit salad was sooooo good. I highly recommend it!!
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
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!
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.
there’s a hummus among us!
looks delish and lovin your melons and jugs sense of humor. Definitely made me LOL <3 silly girl.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
I spy the Trader Joe’s Hummus Quartet.
The melons and jugs are hilarious. I almost died.
We have these too!!! I can not wait until they start they go every Friday night through the summer!!!
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!
You are a dirty bird with those melons and jugs. LOVE IT!
may i know what is that rice? it looks very nice.
Kath,
Never thought I’d say this to you, but… nice melons!
Love your sense of humor
Acadia
LOL, Kath!!! Love the melons and jugs!
Sounds like a great night, regardless of the “no shows” !
Beautiful!
You are hilarious! Love the picnic spread!
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
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.
hahahhaah the melons and jugs are amazing. nice work.
so fun! I love your summer pop adventures
Thanks for the shout, gorgeous! The symphony evenings always look — and sound — so lovely!
haha – the melons and jugs pics are hilarious
what a fun night! symphony sundays sound fun!
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
That wheatberry salad sounds divine. I tried some in oatmeal and wasn’t a fan :/ but that looks great!
Those berries look AMAZING!
hahah love the melons and jugs
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.
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.
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…
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
Kathi ,
2 cups total berries. I’d say about 8 servings, maybe 1 cup each, but that’s a rough estimate.
K
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!