Shaun Smith is a writer, journalist and former chef in Toronto. He is the author of the young adult novel Snakes & Ladders. Spread an old blanket on the grass, lie in the sun counting clouds as the ants make off with the cookie crumbs, tip your hat down over your eyes and have a snooze. The pleasures of the picnic are simple, and that's what makes them so wonderful — especially in financially tough times, when a summer picnic with loved ones can be a perfect recession buster. So this month, I checked in with three authors whose recent cookbooks are filled with great recipes that seemed perfect for putting together picnics.

From his book 'wichcraft, Tom Colicchio offers up a different take on the traditional tuna-salad sandwich.

Julie Van Rosendaal, author of Grazing, acquaints us with the pleasures of Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls.

And Elinor Klivans, author of the Cupcake Kit, helps answer the question: What's a picnic without a cupcake?

My own recipe this month is for an easy salad, which I was inspired to make after a friend served blanched asparagus at a party to dip in hummus, the garlicky chickpea puree. I'd never thought of combining chickpeas and asparagus, but as soon as I tasted them together I immediately knew a salad was waiting to be born of that combination. I felt a fully pureed hummus would be too messy in a salad, so I devised a sort of deconstructed hummus that retains much of the texture of the chickpeas while bringing together all the good flavours with the asparagus and some fresh herbs.

Asparagus & Chickpea Salad with Fresh Basil & Parsley

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (540 ml)
• 1 bunch asparagus (about 25 spears)
• 1 loose handful each of fresh basil and Italian parsley leaves, washed, dried and roughly chopped

Dressing

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
• 1 medium garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 10 turns of the black pepper mill
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Put the chickpeas in a large bowl. Using the back of a fork, roughly mash about three-quarters of the chickpeas, leaving the rest whole. Don't mash the chickpeas too finely. You just want to crush them into a crumbly texture. Add all the dressing ingredients and mix well.

Holding each asparagus at its middle, snap off the lower section of the stem where it naturally breaks. Discard the lower stems. Wash the asparagus well in cold water, then blanch them by plunging them into boiling, salted water. When the water returns to a boil, remove the asparagus and plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking and preserve their bright green colour.

When the asparagus cools, remove spears from the water and pat dry with paper towel. Laying four or five asparagus at a time on a cutting board, cut the spears at an angle into lengths of about one inch (two centimetres), being sure to keep the tips fully intact.

Add the asparagus and chopped herbs to the chickpea mixture and toss well. Adjust seasoning as desired.

Serves 4 to 6

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(Clarkson Potter)

Tom Colicchio's Sicilian-style Tuna Salad Sandwich

From 'wichcraft: craft a sandwich into a meal – and a meal into a sandwich, by Tom Colicchio with Sisha Ortúzar (Clarkson Potter)

"The secret to a great sandwich comes down to the ingredients," says Chef Tom Colicchio. "You can't take processed cheese and bad turkey roll and make a great sandwich," he insists, speaking over the phone from New York City.

Colicchio is best known as the head judge on the TV cooking show Top Chef, but he also owns a string of noted American restaurants, including his flagship eatery, Craft, in Manhattan, which won the coveted James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant when it opened in 2002.

"The idea behind my restaurants is about the craft of cooking as opposed to the artistry," says Colicchio. "When we first opened Craft, you could order a simple plate of peas, with a little butter and salt and pepper. Or a piece of roasted fish with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. It wasn't about making complex dishes. It was about showcasing the ingredients."

Colicchio has since spun that philosophy into a mini restaurant empire, with more than a dozen similar restaurants in cities such as Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

In 2003, he teamed up with one of his sous chefs, Sisha Ortúzar, to launch a chain of sandwich shops in Manhattan called 'wichcraft. This spring, the two men released a cookbook of their sandwich creations under the same title.

For a picnic, Colicchio recommends their Sicilian-style tuna salad sandwich.

"It's Sicilian in style because there's no mayonnaise or celery in it like a traditional North American tuna salad," he states, emphasizing the importance of using the highest quality yellowfin or albacore tuna you can find. "We add some fennel, lemon confit, oregano, olive oil and red onion, and it makes a really great dish even by itself before we make the sandwich."

The bread is also very important, he adds.

"It has to be fresh, and you look for different textures to match different sandwiches," he says. "The tuna salad is soft, so we went with a nice crusty baguette.

"I do a lot of boating," says Colicchio. "That's where I like to picnic, out on the water. It makes for a nice outing on the boat to take a picnic lunch with some really good sandwiches like this."

Recipe: Sicilian tuna with fennel, black olives, and lemon

What self-respecting sandwich shop doesn't carry a tuna sandwich? We admit that we almost didn't.

But when a magazine wanted to do an impromptu photo shoot before we opened, we had to improvise with ingredients already on hand at Craftbar. We seized a can of Sicilian tuna and added a few other items — and when we tasted the sandwich after the shoot, we realized we had a winner.

Let go of the traditional tuna with lots of mayo — the mayonnaise masks the taste, a pity when using good tuna. Instead, use just a bit of lemon-flavoured mayo on the bread, and season the tuna with lighter ingredients, such as fennel fronds, similar in texture to dill but lending a fresher flavour to the fish.

For the tuna salad

• 2 (6-ounce) cans yellowfin or albacore tuna, drained
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried Sicilian oregano
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the marinated fennel

• 1 medium bulb (about ½ pound) fennel
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 baguette
• 3 tablespoons Lemon Mayonnaise (see recipe below) (optional)
• 4 tablespoons pitted and chopped Niçoise olives
• 12 slices lemon confit (see recipe below) Makes 3 to 4 sandwiches

To make the tuna salad, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Adjust the seasoning as necessary and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the marinated fennel, remove the stalks from the fennel and reserve the fronds. Using a mandoline slicer or sharp knife, thinly slice the fennel crosswise starting from the top. In a bowl, toss the fennel slices in the oil, lemon juice, and reserved fennel fronds, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature to marinate for 10 minutes.

Split the baguette lengthwise. Spread the mayonnaise evenly across the bottom slice and layer with the tuna salad, fennel, olives, confit, and fennel fronds. Drizzle some of the oil from the confit on the inside of the top slice of the baguette. Close the sandwiches, cut into three or four equal pieces, and serve.

Lemon mayonnaise

• 1 large egg yolk, preferably from a pasture-raised egg
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/4 cup oil from lemon confit (see below), or 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus grated zest from 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Place the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, cayenne pepper, and the lemon juice in a food processor or blender. Add the lemon zest, if using. Start the blender and slowly start adding the grapeseed oil in a thin, even stream. When about half of the oil has been added, add 1 tablespoon water. Then slowly add the remaining grapeseed oil and blend until fully incorporated. If the mayonnaise looks a bit thick at this point, add a drizzle of water. Slowly add the lemon oil (or olive oil), season with salt and pepper, and blend until you have a smooth mayonnaise. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for two or three days.

Lemon confit

• 12 lemons
• 5 shallots, peeled and minced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup kosher salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• About 4 cups extra-virgin olive oil

Makes about 4 cups

Plunge the lemons into a pot of boiling water (this softens any outer layer of wax). Drain, rinse, then wipe the lemons clean. Dry the lemons, then slice them very thin. Discard the ends and remove and discard the seeds. In a small bowl, combine the shallots with the garlic. In another bowl, mix the salt with the sugar.

Arrange a layer of lemon slices in the bottom of a medium container with a lid, making sure not to overlap the slices. Sprinkle the lemons first with a little shallot mixture, then with some salt and sugar mixture. Repeat, layering lemons in stacks and sprinkling them with the shallot and salt mixtures until the final lemon slices are topped with the last of the salt and shallot mixtures. As you carefully layer the lemons, layer in stacks. Cover the container and refrigerate for 3 days, flipping the stacks halfway through the process, allowing all the lemon to cure evenly.

Remove and drain the lemons in a strainer for 15 minutes or so. Discard the liquid. Pack the drained lemons tightly in a jar or other clean container and top off with oil, making sure to cover all the lemons. The confit can be used immediately or kept in the refrigerator for at least a month.

From: 'wichcraft: craft a sandwich into a meal – and a meal into a sandwich, by Tom Colicchio. Copyright ©2009 TC Enterprises. Food photos ©2009 Bill Bettencourt. Reprinted by permission of Clarkson Potter. All rights reserved.

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(Whitecap Books)

Julie Van Rosendaal's Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

From Grazing: A Healthy Approach to Snacks and Finger Foods, by Julie Van Rosendaal (Whitecap Books)

When Julie Van Rosendaal was just 12 years old her chili recipe took first prize in a blind taste testing at the Calgary Stampede.

"I pissed off a few Texans that day," she tells me by phone from Calgary. "It was all grownups, except for me. When they called my name, they tried to shoo me off the stage," she adds, explaining that no one believed a little girl could be the champion.

"Cooking and recipes have always just been my thing."

Today, Van Rosendaal is the Tuesday morning food and nutrition columnist on Calgary's Eye Opener on CBC Radio One. She is also co-host of the cooking show It's Just Food on VIVA TV, and is a food video blogger on GoodBite.com. She wrote her cookbook, Grazing: A Healthier Approach to Snacks and Finger Foods, after losing 165 pounds.

"I wanted to create healthy food that isn't boring and that you could snack on without adding too many extra calories," she says.

The book includes recipes ranging from savoury parmesan biscotti to chicken satay to low-fat chocolate fudge.

For a picnic, Van Rosendaal suggests trying Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls.

"These are so easy to make and they are great for picnics," she says.

"You can put anything in them, mango, shrimp, chicken, cucumber, whatever you have on hand. They have no gluten or dairy or eggs, so they are great for people with allergies or for vegetarians. To transport them, just put some wax paper between layers of rolls to keep them from sticking together."

"I love picnicking," says Van Rosendaal. "When I was a kid we used to go on picnics all the time, just because my parents were broke," she laughs.

"These days, my three-year-old daughter loves picnics so much that sometimes we have to have them on the floor of the living room."

Recipe: Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

Also called "summer rolls," rice paper rolls are wonderful to learn how to make. They're cheap, portable, perfect party food, and very low in fat and calories.

Stuff them with anything you like-thinly sliced red pepper, pea pods, lettuce, crabmeat, blanched asparagus, bean sprouts, chives, jicama, and mango are all delicious. They are fantastic made with shreds of leftover cooked chicken or pork in place of the shrimp, or leave out the meat altogether for vegetarian rolls. All the measurements are approximate — you just need enough to stuff.

15 small to medium rice paper wrappers

Filling

• A handful (about 4 oz) of thin rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar or lime juice
• 15 cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Half a cucumber, peeled if necessary and cut into thin sticks
• Small handful fresh cilantro, mint, or Thai basil leaves, torn up or left whole
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts or cashews (optional)

To prepare the filling, place the noodles in a bowl of boiling water and let stand for about three minutes (or as the package directs) to soften. Drain well and place in a medium bowl. Add carrot and rice vinegar and toss to combine. Cut the shrimp lengthwise in half.

To assemble the rolls, fill a shallow dish (I use a pie plate) with hot water and lay a clean tea towel over your work surface. Soak one rice paper round at a time in the water for about 10 seconds, until it's pliable, and lay it on the tea towel. Pat the surface with the edges of the towel to absorb any excess water. Place two shrimp halves (cut side up so you can see the pink through the wrapper), a stick of cucumber and some noodles down the middle of the round. Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts (if using). Fold over one long side to cover, then fold up both ends. Roll the whole thing up as tightly as you can without tearing the wrapper. Serve with bottled peanut sauce or any of the easy dipping sauces below.

Makes 15 rolls.

Ginger-Mango Dipping Sauce

Combine 1/2 cup mango chutney, 2 tablespoon water, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, the juice of one lime, and a bit of grated fresh ginger.

Sweet Lime Dipping Sauce

Combine 2 tablespoons each lime juice and fish sauce and 1 tablespoon each brown sugar and water.

From: Grazing: A Healthy Approach to Snacks and Finger Foods, by Julie Van Rosendaal. Copyright ©2009 One Smart Cookie Inc. Reprinted by permission of Whitecap Books. All rights reserved.

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(Chronicle Books)

Elinor Klivans' Sticky Pecan Upside-down Cupcakes

From: Cupcake Kit, by Elinor Klivans (Chronicle Books)

Elinor Klivans studied pastry making at the renowned Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne, in Paris, and worked as a pastry chef in the restaurant industry for 12 years before turning to food writing and cookbooks. Her articles and recipes have appeared in magazines such as Bon Appetite and Food & Wine, and since 1994 she has published 11 cookbooks on baking.

Earlier this year she published the Cupcake Kit, a boxed set born of her 2005 cookbook titled simply Cupcakes!

"I've always loved doing cupcakes," says Klivans, speaking by phone from her home in Camden, Maine. "I wrote an article about them for the Washington Post about seven years ago. I hadn't really noticed that cupcakes were becoming a real trend, but my editor saw the article and wanted a whole book. In the end we had so many cupcake ideas that we had to cut out some recipes."

The new Cupcake Kit comes with 250 colourful cupcake wrappers, a piping bag for applying frosting and a 64-page recipe book.

Klivans has some theories about why cupcakes are so popular.

"First of all, there's the memory," she states. "Your mom made cupcakes for your birthday party, maybe, or brought them to a school bake sale. So there are happy memories. And then, secondly, you've got something that seems much easier to bake than making a whole cake. And finally, you get to put a lot of frosting on top, so you get frosting and cake with every bite."

As for taking them on picnics, Klivans says they are ideal because they are so portable.

"When I have to take cupcakes somewhere," she says, "I just put the whole cupcake back in the cool clean baking pan so won't slide around. And if there's frosting or whipped cream, you can just take it in a separate container and put it on when you get where you're going."

As the perfect picnic dessert, she recommends her sticky pecan upside-down cupcakes, which she makes using sour cream for extra moistness. "Everything tastes better outside," she laughs, "I don't know why, but it's true."

Recipe: Sticky Pecan Upside-down Cupcakes

Makes 12 extra-large cupcakes

These cupcakes need an extra-large muffin tin with openings that have a one-cup capacity to hold all of their pecans, sticky topping, and batter. The glaze should stick to the cupcakes rather than to a paper liner, so I forego liners and line the bottoms of the muffin tins with circles of waxed paper. The pecan mixture bubbles up around the cupcake and glazes the sides with the honey coating. Whipped cream or ice cream is a good accompaniment for these cupcakes.

Topping

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons honey
• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

Cupcakes

• 1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canola or corn oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) pecans, coarsely chopped

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut 12 waxed paper circles that fit the bottom of extra-large muffin tin cups. Line 12 extra-large muffin tin cups with the paper circles. Spray the inside of each opening and the paper circles with nonstick cooking spray.

Make the topping. Heat the butter, honey, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter and brown sugar melt and the mixture is smooth. Take off heat and set aside.

Make the cupcakes. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg, egg yolk, and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about two minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.

On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Put 1-1/2 tablespoons of the brown sugar topping in the bottom of each waxed paper-lined cup. Spoon 2 tablespoons of pecans on top. Fill each cup with a generous 1/3 cup of batter, to just below the top of the pan.

Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes. (Insert the toothpick into the cupcake batter, not into the sticky pecan topping.) Cool the cupcakes for two minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

Use a small knife to loosen the cupcakes from the sides of the pan. Carefully place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. Protecting your hands with a pot holder and holding the pan and rack together, invert the pan and rack to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Remove the paper circles. If any pecans should stick, replace them on the cupcakes. Leave the cupcakes upside down to cool completely. Serve, pecan side up, warm or at room temperature. The cupcakes can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to two days.

From: Cupcake Kit, by Elinor Klivans. Copyright ©2009 Elinor Klivans. Cupcake Kit photos ©2009 France Ruffenach. Reprinted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved.