Dancing Apache Ranch Picnic

An all-time favorite picnic spot and wonderful place to spend a summer afternoon is Dancing Apache Ranch.  Sharing our afternoon and the yummy food we ate.

Dancing Apache Winery

Denisse and I took the road trip up I-17 and celebrated her retirement with a fantastic day. 

Sitting in the lush grass next to the spring-fed creek on a hot summer day is so refreshing to my soul.  So a trip to Cornville, Arizona (what a name, right?) and a visit to DA Ranch Estate Winery’s property is what we did on a fine summer afternoon. I’ve shared a previous visit here before.

Picnic

We both brought salads we made from recipes from Love and Lemons.  I made the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad topped with the homemade basil pesto my SIL Linda sent home with us from her garden.

Almost all the other ingredients were from Trader Joe’s so shopping and assembling was easy and the outcome was so good.

The subs I made:

• Since I topped with pesto, I subbed the pine nuts for Marcona Almonds
• Fresh, chopped grape tomatoes were used instead of roasted tomatoes
• The basil and mint were replaced with pesto
• The feta was omitted
• Lemon vinaigrette was the dressing of choice
• I didn’t have chickpeas, so I drained a can of white beans, rinsed and added them
• Whoops, totally forgot the red onions – that would have been good

This salad is perfect for modification to any taste buds, diet needs or for using up what you have on hand.

Denisse brought her famous Best Broccoli Salad.  I have made it and shared it here before.  Denisse does it better I think.  I love this salad and could eat it every day.

For dessert she dipped fresh strawberries in a mixture of cacao, coconut oil, honey and sea salt.  Wow!

Winery Mascots

The folks at the winery dump a pile of ice in the shady grass and their two dogs immediately lay down for their afternoon naps in the shade.

Except when Sophie meandered over to our picnic site and decided she wanted a visit with the ladies while we chatted and ate.

Wrap Up

Thanks for coming along on a peaceful little picnic. Do you love being outdoors as much as I do? Does eating outside tickle your inner child?  Maybe we need a discussion on The Secret Garden and how it’s influenced my life!

Are you experiencing the dog days of summer or still savoring the long, warm days?  The kids in our town are already back in school, so those moms are getting back into a routine.  As for me, I’m still off on summer adventures and I thank you for joining me!