At a garage sale this weekend, I stumbled across a museum-ready relic: a wicker picnic basket, complete with handle--large enough to fit a light blanket, a bottle of wine, packages of delicious, portable summertime food to be eaten in the sun, lounging on the grass, flicking away the ants and licking your fingers and letting yourself drift off slowly with your head on your arms and your belly full and the heat on the back of your neck. And then later, Frisbee!

When was the last time you had a picnic? Isn't it time you had one? Even if you don't have the wicker basket (though everyone should really have a wicker basket), carve out the time, pick the day, and grab a handful of easy, light, wonderful recipes and a bottle of something sparkly, and get your butt out to the park. It's a beautiful day. (Don't forget the bottle opener.)

Some links to get you started:

The L.A. Times has got some all-time classic picnic food recipes for you, and the promise that you will, consequently, have the best picnic ever. Prove them right.

Budget-conscious recipes from famous chefs, plus shopping lists---The Washington Post does everything but pack your basket and toss the Frisbee at your head. You have no excuses left.

Mark Bittman is magical--he's got a full one hundred and one ideas for very easy, very fast picnic foods that lean more toward assembly than actual cooking, and all sound so very good. Now you really have no more excuses. Go picnic!