Get Cookin': Outdoor Eats

Have you ever seen a good way of serving salad on a picnic? If you dress it before you leave home you end up with limp, soggy greens. Another alternative is to haul around a bottle of dressing, which in addition to the salad bowl, weighs down the pack. The brilliant solution is to prepare a salad of finely chopped veggies with a feta tinged dressing that marinates in its own edible red pepper container on the way to the festivities.

Hint: You can use any mix of your favorite steamed or raw vegetables rather than the selection offered here. Also, try cooked brown rice instead of the croutons.

• 4 large red bell peppers
• 4 large spinach leaves
• 1 cup seasoned croutons
• 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup minced, fresh basil
• 1 small red pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 small cucumber peeled, seeded and finely diced
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1 small zucchini, finely diced
• 1 small crooked necked squash, finely diced
• 1 ounce feta cheese, finely crumbled
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste