Picnic kabobs

We went to the Ravinia Festival today and saw Matchbox Twenty and Goo Goo Dolls perform. Well, we had lawn seats, so we didn't entirely "see" them the whole time. You can't really see the stage from the lawn unless you go stand up next to the fence around the pavilion. The deal at Ravinia is that you come early, stake your territory on the lawn, and picnic and drink. People bring chairs, blankets, tarps, food, alcohol, coolers, picnic baskets, backpacks, wagons... everything. Arrive early and make a day of it. Inside the pavilion where you have a clear view of the stage, there's no food or drinks allowed and the price is absurd, so what's the fun in that? The venue has excellent sound throughout, but it's a very strange set up for sightlines. You would expect the lawn section to rake upward, but it rakes downward, which is why you can't see the stage. As per usual, Midwesterners baffle me, but I had a lot of fun. I rushed to the fence around the pavilion every time a favorite song was played and sometimes just because, but spent most of the day enjoying our picnic.



I had an abundance of bamboo skewers left over from a camping trip where I grilled kabobs over the fire, so I decided to make our picnic feast with them.

Vegetable kabobs

Ingredients (makes 6 skewers):

1 red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper

1. Cut peppers from the top down on all 4 sides, and quarter each side. Cut the ends off the onion, shed the outer skin, then quarter the entire onion. Cut each quarter in half, and peel each layer apart.
2. Thread pieces onto skewers.

For the dip, I picked up a dip mix when we were visiting Hermann, MO that we sampled in a boutique shop, and loved, so we bought it. I mixed it according to the instructions on the box.

Garden Delight Dip

Ingredients (makes 2 cups, way more than enough):

1 packet Krista Kay Gourmet Garden Delight Dip
1 1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise

The Garden Delight Dip ingredients are "dried onion, sea salt, celery, bell pepper, parsley, spices". What do you think? Can I make this myself? I might try.

Fruit and cheese kabobs

Ingredients (makes however many you want to make):

Granny Smith apple
Red seedless grapes
Your favorite cheeses cubed (We used Chipotle Pepper Gouda and Colby)
Your favorite breads cubed (We used Pretzel bread and Ciabatta)

We also added some summer sausage to a few skewers, and some turkey pepperoni to a few as well.

1. Thread desired pieces onto skewers.

We brought some cashews, almonds, and our drinks of choice to add to the spread.

It was a good day. Thank you, USA, for all of this freedom. Happy 4th, all!