Picnic and the tropics don't seem to go well together! But it makes a good story and we had some great fun! Though I have had many lunches outside or on the road, we never really have been on a real picnic. Thanks, @rebeccaryan for this challenging topic! @menta, @forrestwillie and I sure had a great experience on our first picnic try-out!
As soon as we spread the blanket and put everything on it, a big long-tail macaque appeared out of the bushes. Though we have been living in the tropics for the past 3 years, monkey encounters are quite rare. We see them very often, but usually they stay at a distance. But not this one!
No table mannners whatsoever!!!!
Totally baffled by his sudden appearance, we didn't know what to do! Monkeys have big teeth and can be very aggressive! Especially when this big! So he sat down with us and grabbed what he could.
Every time we tried to save or take something, he showed his fangs and we stepped back. At one brave moment, I was able to pick up of the whole blanket and save what I could to resume the picnic on the motorbike.... but there was no stopping this monkey.
He had his cute moments too!
He jumped straight up there and stole some more food.... Jumping on the brand new secondhand bike we bought the day before was just one step too far for @menta. So he had enough of the rude picnic intruder and bravely picked up a stick and chased him back into the jungle.
A few minutes later the bushes behind us were moving and we spotted at least 10-15 other monkeys... luckily there was only one big and brave enough to walk up to us! Damage could have been much worse....
The damage: 2 mangoes, all the roasted cashew nuts, and the meatballs! Though some of the foods were touched by the monkey's fingers we were too hungry to care and let all the yummy foods go to a waste hehe!
While the no-other-people-spot seemed just the better idea, lesson learned next time we'll go to the main, monkey free picnic spot too!
A Monkeys' lunch
Ingredients (serves 3 people and a monkey)
A bottle of prosecco
Some mangoes
ALT sandwich (Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato) with red beet hummus
6 small roll or bread of your choice
1/2 avocado. sliced
1 cup salad green of your choice
Red beet hummus (recipe see below)
Banana Chocolate Muffins with Belgian Chocolate (makes 6 muffins)
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
3/4 cup flour of your choice
1/4 cup raw cacao
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/3 cup raw palm sugar
1/3 cup homemade plain yogurt
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup mashed banana
1 to 1.5 ounce chopped Belgian dark chocolate
For the meatballs
12-ounce minced beef and pork meat
3 tbsp of the avocado pesto we had left (click here for the recipe]
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
Dried oregano, sea salt, and black pepper to taste
1/2-1 cup fresh Italian basil
1 tsp onion powder
Veggie sticks and black sesame seed red beet hummus (this makes too much hummus but who minds leftover when it comes to hummus?)
1 big carrot, cut in sticks
1 daikon radish, cut into sticks
For the tahini (also make too much, but otherwise you can blend sesame seeds)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp olive oil
For the hummus
1.5 cup cooked chickpeas
2 tbsps of the black sesame tahini
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup red beet, cubed
Sea salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 small lime, juice only
Fruit skewers
Papaya, cubed
Watermelon, cubed
Pineapple, cubed
Mango cubed
Fried cashew nuts
This was a store-bought package because I just love their mixture of fried cashew nuts, chilis, ginger, salt, and sugar. Still haven't found out how to make this combo myself!
Directions
Banana Chocolate Muffins with Belgian Chocolate
- Preheat oven to 350F or 175C.
- Butter muffin cups if not using non-stick material. I used a silicon muffin tray.
- Combine flour, desiccated coconut, cacao powder, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
- In another bowl, combine egg, palm sugar, yogurt and coconut oil. Mix with a spoon or fork until incorporated.
- Add banana and chocolate chips. Gentle mix again, some lumps remain.
- Fill muffin cups for ¾ with the mix and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Or until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the meatballs
- Combine all the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Make small bite-size meatballs.
- heat cooking oil in a pan and cook meatballs until browned and cooked through.
Veggie sticks and black sesame seed red beet hummus
- First blend black sesame seeds and olive oil to make tahini.
- Add hummus ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Seve with veggie sticks
Fruit skewers
- Cube all the fruits and add them to the skewers.
Hmm apparently I forgot to take a picture of these at home.... but you'll see them in the pics below
ALT sandwich (Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato) with red beet hummus
- Top one half of the bread roll with hummus, lettuce, avocado, and tomato. Close and add to a lunch box.
Happy picnic and watch out for cheeky little monkeys! They love picnics too it seems!
big thanks to @woman-onthe-wing, @smooth, and @sirwinchester to organize and sponsor this wonderful weekly event!
ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL!
PICTURE(s) TAKEN WITH FUJI X-M1 AND OUKITEL PHONE C5 PRO