July 4th Picnic
To celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, I went back to blog posts from past July months on my related blog, Beyond Gumbo, selected some of my favorite food photos. I have many nostalgic memories when growing up of summer picnics in our backyard or nearby mountains, swimming in an ice cold spring fed swimming pool, churning homemade ice cream and attending the town or county fairs. Plus our parent’s garden was beginning to supply a bounty of fresh vegetables. I associate foods with many of these events..I have selected some of the recipe photos which might have been served at these summer picnics around the Fourth of July Hope you will enjoy the photos. And it wouldn’t be a picnic without hot dogs. These hot dogs were similar to ones served at a gourmet hot dog restaurant close to Chicago. I think Chicago must have the best hot dog restaurants!
This area of the Shenandoah Valley is known for its Barbecue Chicken. And not any kind of chicken. This chicken is marinated with a vinegar & oil and salt brine. When grilled over coals it is just delicious. Serve it with fresh picked corn on the cob, please.
The chicken barbecues were held at churches and community clubs/organizations as fund raising events and under the watchful eye of Round Hill in the background.
A favorite summertime activity was taking an outing to a nearby mountain lake. Here at Todd Lake we would canoe, swim and have a picnic.
Homemade peach ice cream was always a favorite. Peach Custard ice cream is the best. Peaches are grown in this part of the Shenandoah Valley. Ripe peaches make a very good ice cream.
We sampled homemade peach ice cream at the Bridgewater Lawn Party (or festival) one year. It was some of the most flavorful ice cream I’ve eaten.
The Lawn party includes an antique farm and auto parade.
After the parade the old autos and farm equipment could be viewed at the Lawn party site.
Another summer favorite ice cream was cherry ice cream.
Any flavor of homemade ice cream is a winner. I made a ice cream with Steen’s molasses syrup and pecans.
It wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without Deviled Eggs.
Or fireworks. It was fun to visit fireworks stands to purchase fireworks and then set them off to see what they do.
If you didn’t have a garden full of fresh vegetables, there were farms selling produce close by.
These Mennonite farms are favorites for their fresh corn. But you have to arrive early to get the day’s pick before was all gone.
Marinated tomatoes and cucumbers is always a favorite summer salad.
My favorite summer vegetable is “Aunt Fanny’s Squash Casserole.”
And let’s end the picnic with patriotic cheesecake bites.
And a blueberry dump cake.
Yum! Love the summertime and memories of growing up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
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