I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring an artichoke.
I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring an artichoke and some bacon.
And on and on and on. This game is a staple in our house. The boys loved it before the girl was born and now it’s her favorite. But there are only so many picnics you can go on before all the apples and bananas and candy and doughnuts and eggplants become boring. I get bored. My husband gets bored. The kids aren’t bored, but there are times where it seems most of parenting is doing the same thing over and over. Isn’t that also the definition of insanity? 
We like to shake things up, so therefore we started making changes. “Hey, so instead of going on a picnic, can you name an animal for every letter of the alphabet? How about a board game? What about famous people? What about a weapon?” Even that gets old after a while.
“Hey, Mom, it’s your turn to pick a category.”
“Um…How about swear…uh…”
As an aside to my husband, “Remind me of that later, it’s a fun idea, but not child appropriate.”
Back to the kids, “Ok, so instead of any sort of words, what about a noise for each letter.”
It was a good suggestion. Soon, the car filled with laughter as we all made crazy noises.
Sometimes the things that are most fun are the changes we make to the classics. It’s why I taught my boys to only spell the word “racecar” backwards and taught the girl to say the alphabet backwards (after she learned it forward). There are only so many times I can do the same thing over and over before I need to shake it up and amuse myself.
This French Potato Salad is kind of like that.
French potato salad has a nice hit of vinegar, but doesn’t come on as strong and in your face as German Potato Salad. It isn’t as creamy, sweet, and overloaded like American Potato Salad. It’s simple ingredients done perfectly. It takes everything you know about a classic like potato salad and turns it on its head.
This salad is perfect to take along on a picnic because it doesn’t need to be refrigerated and isn’t going to spoil if it gets warm, like the Old Fashioned Potato Salad would. It’s pretty quick to throw together. It eliminates the worry of giving your family salmonella. Not having that sort of worry allows you to concentrate on important things, like thinking of naughty words for every letter of the alphabet.
If you are looking for ideas of what to serve with this salad, check out this old menu:
The Recipe:
For other great picnic side dishes check out Cabbage Salad, Bread and Butter Pickles, and BLT Salad.
Tarragon Vinegar! That’s a new one to me.
I love potato salad, and this looks like a terrific one to try. Thanks!
I made the vinegar myself. I can find it in stores, but don’t use it often enough to purchase a whole bottle.