Welcome To My Picnic Life

Sweet corn, bacon, tomato and basil Pizza

Iowa Summer on a Pizza

Fire up the grill and put summer on a pizza! Sweet corn, bacon, tomato and basil are the perfect combination for a fun and easy summer dinner.… Continue reading →

July 18, 2018

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

MAKE MEATBALLS GREAT AGAIN ...

Recipes

Tis The Season

Summer Sangria

Refreshing and fruit-forward, this sangria recipe is perfect for any summer gathering or just a relaxing moment in a hammock.… Continue reading →

July 21, 2016July 4, 2018

Nick McVey

Baked 4-Bean Casserole

Baked bean casserole goes pro with a variety of beans as well as a molasses and cider vinegar sauce. This recipe is a crowd pleaser for your next picnic or potluck.… Continue reading →

July 3, 2016July 4, 2018

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

3-Bean Salad

This colorful, delicious, and simple bean salad recipe is loaded with vegetables and perfectly balanced with a light, tangy dressing.… Continue reading →

May 26, 2016July 3, 2018

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

Be Foodventurous!

Foodventurous: Wallace Country Life Center

If you grew up on a farm in the midwest, chances are one of the publications prominently displayed in your home was Wallaces’ Farmer. If you are a history buff, the name “Wallace” triggers thoughts of Vice Presidents and Secretaries of Agriculture. Go to college in the late 70’s or early 80’s? Remember punch cards… Continue reading →

May 29, 2018

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

Foodventurous: Mankato

If I invited you to share a picnic with me and gave you the opportunity to choose one of the following settings, which would you choose? Wine & Live Music Waterfalls & Pie Military Tanks & Beef Jerky Did you think I was going to make it easy for you to choose? What if I… Continue reading →

April 23, 2018

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

Foodventurous: Olive Oil in Lazio

Which travel personality are you? Are you the laid-back, we’ll-figure-it-out-as-we-go type? Or are you like me … Type A, FOMO (fear-of-missing-out), Google-obsessed planner? You can imagine then that a trip to Rome as the master-planner for 6 people might send me into overdrive. It did. Prioritization became a must … “everyone pick ONE thing you… Continue reading →

February 7, 2018February 10, 2018

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

Foodventurous: Rome

Just how exactly does one put Rome into words? Even if I narrow it down to “food in Rome”, it is still an overwhelming task. Having just returned from a week in Italy and placing a magnificent check-mark next to one of my upper-tier bucket list items, I find myself trying to pick just the… Continue reading →

December 1, 2017December 4, 2017

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

Farm Crawl 2017

Whether you consider it a “crawl” from farm to farm because of all the gravel roads and traffic, or a “crawl” because that’s all you can do at the end of the tour, it doesn’t matter. A beautiful fall day spent touring farms showcasing Iowa agriculture, arts, people and food is a good day. I… Continue reading →

October 8, 2017October 25, 2017

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

You can take the girl out of the farm …

… Picturesque … … Quiet … … Idyllic … This is my home. This is Iowa. This is farm country. These pictures show the beautiful scenery here. What they do not capture is the less-than-glamorous side: the hard labor, the investment of time and money, the nurturing of plants and animals (24/7/365), the fear of… Continue reading →

September 7, 2017

Anita Hinkeldey McVey

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