Life is a picnic

Are you feeling a bit indoorsy? A bit cooped up? A bit hungry?

You need a picnic.

It doesn't take much. A blanket. A basket. Food and drink for said basket. It does require a relatively flat, dry patch of land. Ideally with grass, trees, you know, the whole great outdoors thing.

You don't need a huge menu for a picnic, keeping it simple and tasty is the way to go. Try this out and see what you think:

Tapenade

White Bean Mint Dip

Grilled Veggie Sandwiches with Goat Cheese

Olives

Fresh berries

Rosé

Pastries

Not a bad way to spend some time in the park.

Pick this up for your little adventure for two:

1 tin of white beans

2 tins of pitted black olives

1 small jar of capers if you're low

olive oil if you're low

1 lemon if you're out

1 package of goat cheese or 200 grams

1 fresh baguette

1 package of crackers – go for something interesting, not just saltines...

1 large or 2 medium tomatoes

1 medium zucchini

1 medium eggplant (the long ones)

1 onion if you're low

1 bunch of fresh mint

1 small hot chili pepper

1 bulb of garlic if you're low

1 package of fresh berries - Strawberries, Raspberries...something like that

1 large container of assorted olives

A couple of nice little pastries – don't pick things that'll melt or go all soft if it's a bit warm

1 bottle of Rosé wine – French is good but there's also Australian, South African and more. Just don't get some kind of hideous, awful White Zinfandel or the like. Seriously. Don't.

A couple of good, easy reading, enjoyable books

A blanket

Sunscreen

Clean, empty plastic bags

2 medium sized plastic containers for food

aluminum foil

A large tote bag

Some kind of container for the wine (many places frown upon you enjoying adult beverages in the great outdoors, so be discreet – the trick here is if you behave like an adult and keep things on the down low, you'll be left alone – if you start drinking right out of the bottle in front of the playground , you're probably going to be talking to someone with a badge shortly).

Okay. You've done the shopping, selected where you're going to establish your base camp, now it's time to do a spot of cooking.

Chill the wine. That's very important. It's crucial. In fact, I can't stress how critical it is. Unless of course you don't drink. In which case, pick up some juice. Something exotic perhaps. Or some really nice sparkling water. Water's always good.

Get out the following:

cutting board

chefs knife

paring knife

scraps bowl

large mixing bowl

knife for spreading

baking sheet

food processor

olive oil

salt

pepper

herbes de provence

smoked paprika

It'll take you about an hour to prep, make and tidy.

Set the oven to 250º.

Wash the tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini under cold water.

Cut the ends off the eggplant and zucchini and ditch'em. Then cut long strips, not too thick, less than ½”.

Slice the tomatoes, about ½” thick.

Slice the onion about ¼” thick.

Put the veggies in the large bowl. Add a teaspoon of salt and pepper and smoked paprika, along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir it around so everything is coated. Then lay them out on the baking sheet in a single layer. Put the sheet in the oven, set the timer for 30 minutes.

Clean the bowl and set it aside.

While things are cooking, you can make the Tapenade and White Bean Mint dips.

Do the tapenade first – open the cans a bit and drain off the water in them, then put one can into the food processor.

Grab 1 clove of garlic and add that.

Get your capers and add a teaspoon of them to the mix.

Cut a third of your hot chili and add that.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over top and then put the lid on, hit the button and watch the magic happen. Put the mixture in one of the medium bowls.Taste it. Does it need anything? Salt? Spice?

Do the same thing for the next can, same amount of garlic and chili and capers, or more, or less, to your taste really.

When you're done, put the Tapenade into one of the plastic containers and squeeze the remaining half lemon over it. Keep the lemon, you'll need it.

For the White Bean Mint dip, open the can of beans and empty it into the strainer, run the beans under cold water to rinse them off.

Wash the mint off and pull about 2 tablespoons worth off.

Once the beans have drained, put them and the mint into the food processor along with a clove of garlic and 4 tablespoons of olive oil, then press the button.

When it's smooth, squeeze the lemon half in and add about ½ a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Check the taste – do you want more mint or salt or lemon or anything in it? When you're satisfied, mix it for another minute of so, then put it in the other plastic container.

Check on the oven, by now things should be ready. Take the baking sheet out and let it cool.

Cut two pieces of baguette, large enough for a sandwich each. Cut those pieces in half sandwich-style.

When the veggies cool, wrap them in aluminum foil – putting them on the bread now will just make the bread messy and soggy.

Spread some goat cheese on each piece of bread, give it a good coating, then put the bread into one of the plastic bags.

Wash the berries, keep them in the container they came in and bag that.

Okay, time to pack up and hit the road. Here's your list of essentials.

Bag

Blanket

Books

Booze

Booze opener

Booze glasses

Plates

Fork

Spoon

Napkins

Sunscreen

Water

Empty plastic bag

Shades

Salt

Pepper

Pack everything up, wrap the blanket around the wine to keep it cool and hit the road. Find the perfect spot, set up camp and enjoy. Assemble the sandwiches when you're ready, that way they'll be nice and fresh.

Bear in mind that you can eat pretty much anything on your picnic, this menu is just a suggestion, an idea, a hint. Make what you want, bring what you want, eat what you want. Just make sure you do it yourself...

So You Got Yourself Some Fire

Burn baby burn.

Sometimes it's too hot to cook inside, and sometimes the satisfaction of putting things on a fire is needed. So get in touch with your roots and fire up the barbie. It doesn't matter what kind you're using, a hibachi, propane, gas, a hole in the ground with some twigs you've gathered, just as long as you can introduce fire to the following ingredients.

Hunt and gather the following for your fiery adventure – this'll feed four of you:

4 medium eggplant – the long slender kind, not Japanese and not the massive weapon-like ones either

3 large ripe tomatoes

onions if you're low – you'll need at least 3

garlic if you're low

1 jalapeno pepper

300 grams of feta cheese

100 grams of parmesean or a small container

olive oil if you're low

1 ½ kilos of either ground veal or chicken or lean ground beef

1 bottle of dry white wine

1 bottle of stout beer (if you can find it, Royal Extra Stout is perfect)

4 fresh kaiser buns or other large fresh buns

breadcrumbs if you're low

aluminum foil if you don't have any at home

whatever condiments you like on your burgers

And some wine. You'll need some wine. For drinking. A nice rosé or something light and dry. Perhaps a bottle from the south of France or South Africa.

Back home, get yourself to the kitchen and get this out:

cutting board

chefs knife

scraps bowl

2 mixing bowls

a plate

small bowl

olive oil

onion

garlic

fork

spoon

spatula – metal

Here's the plan – burgers, roasted eggplant and a dish of baked diced tomatoes and onion with feta. Not bad eh? All told it'll take about 90 minutes for prep, cooking and cleanup.

First, wash all the produce and put it aside to dry. Open the beer and the wine you bought to cook with. While you're at it, open the wine for drinking too, this is thirsty work.

Open up the meat and put it in the large mixing bowl. Now wash your hands.

Dice up a clove of garlic and put that in the mixing bowl along with a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of the dark beer and 2 tablespoons of the wine and 1/3 cup of the breadcrumbs. If you're in the mood for some spice, add a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Now mash it all together with your fingers. Get right in there and mix it all together, then wash your hands again.

Put the bowl in the fridge.

Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds and watery innards – we don't want'em. Dice the tomatoes up into smallish chunks and put them in the other mixing bowl.

Now dice 1 medium or large onion and 2 cloves of garlic coarsely and put them in the bowl.

Mince the jalapeno and add that.

Add 1 teaspoon of the Herbes de Provence and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the mix and stir it all together.

Take the feta and crumble it in to the bowl, stir it around again. Add 2 tablespoons of the cooking wine.

When it's all mixed together, take a piece of aluminum foil about 18” long and lay it out on the counter. You're going to pour the veggies out onto it and then fold it around to seal it so it can go on the bbq.

Make sure the seams of the package are tight, don't want anything spilling out. Put it aside for now.

Make a very small (a nick really) cut on two sides of each eggplant and put them aside.

Cut a large onion into four thick rings then oil them up – they're going to grill and crown the burgers.

Wash the knife, the bowl and the cutting board.

Time to make fire, so get to it.

When the 'que is hot enough (medium on a gas or propane, when the charcoal is glowing and hot otherwise), pour a small amount of olive oil into a small bowl and get a spoon.

Take the eggplant and the foil pack to the bbq, take the meat out of the fridge.

Put the foil pack on with the seams facing up. Spoon olive oil over the eggplant and put them on. Set the heat down to low / medium and get back to the kitchen. The veggies will take about 20 minutes.

Get a large plate out and put it next to the mixing bowl.

Scoop up some meat mixture, a little smaller than a tennis ball. Now press it between your hands to make burger patties. Do this for all the meat. Make four large patties. When you're making them, put a little dent on one side of each one so condiments stay where they're supposed to, not too deep, just a nice little area that'll hold things on top. Wash your hands.

Check the barbecue – turn the eggplant so each side is on the heat.

Take the olive oil and spoon and drizzle a bit over the top of each one. This is to keep them from sticking to the grill when the meat meets the heat. Spread the oil around with the spoon.

Now, carefully slide each burger onto the grill. When they're on, turn the heat up to medium. Leave them on for 4 minutes a side and don't press them down with the spatula while you're cooking. Slide the onions on too.

Get out the buns, cut them in half, put out whatever condiments you want.

Check the burgers for doneness, you don't want them really pink or raw but you don't want to overcook them either.

When they're done, take them and the onions off the heat and put them aside for a few minutes. Turn off the gas and take the eggplants and the foil package off.

Take the eggplants and cut each in half lengthwise. Plate them and drizzle some olive oil and a light dusting of parmesean over top of each.

Take the veggies and carefully open the foil – watch out for steam, don't burn yourself. Portion them out on each plate and drizzle any juices over top.

Buns on plate, burger on bun, onion on burger, bun on onion, food in mouth.

Decorate your burgers, have some wine and dine under the sky.


A few notes for you:

* You can also oil the grill just before you light it by pouring some olive or vegetable oil onto a paper towel and then wiping it onto the grill...just sayin'

* If you feel like it, you can cook the eggplant and then puree them with your hand mixer – just add 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a clove of garlic, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of Herbes de Provence. It's a great dip or spread for toasted baguette.

* Make sure that when you handle meat you don't handle knives or other items / surfaces. If you do, clean them too. You're wanting to avoid cross-contaminating anything, especially in the heat. Don't want to make anyone sick now do we?

* Make sure you've got enough propane if that's how you bbq. The same goes for charcoal if that's what grills your meat. There's nothing like getting all excited about grilling something only to find you can't get the flame up. Big disappointment all around. It does happen to everyone at some point, but it's kind of embarrassing and everyone has to eat the meal raw, which just ain't right.

So You Want It Bad

How bad do you want it?

Sure you eat healthy. Sure you eat well. Sure you never find yourself wrist deep in an empty bag of chips wondering where they all went.

But sometimes you just need to cut loose and eat something wildly unhealthy. Something involving frying and cheese and grease. Something like this menu. Grab a couple of bags and make sure you're not doing much tomorrow, you won't be able to move too far.

You're going to sit down and enjoy some Jalapeno Poppers, some Chili Cheese Dogs, some Garlic Bread and for dessert, you're going to chow down on Smokey-Bacon-Chocolate Chips. This is for two people, or one person with a serious desire to do some damage to themself.

Pick this up – you should probably walk while you do it, you'll need the exercise.

6 jalapeno peppers

eggs if you're out

500 grams of cheddar cheese sliced

200 grams of parmesean cheese

1 package of all-beef hotdogs, the big ones

Small package of lean ground beef

2 cans of kidney beans

1 onion

1 bulb of garlic

1 tin of tomato paste

1 bottle or tin of dark beer

1 package of hot dog buns

1 loaf of white bread sliced

breadcrumbs

butter

1 large bar of dark chocolate

1 large bag of smokey bacon flavoured potato chips

Once you've endured the stares from people at the store when you're paying for all this really wholesome and healthy food, get over to someplace that has beer. Get a six pack, you'll need something to accompany this marvellous meal.

At home, get this out:

cutting board

chefs knife

paring knife

medium pot

large pot

large nonstick pan

fork

spoon

scraps bowl

grater

baking sheet

2 mixing bowls

small bowl

plate

vegetable oil

wooden spoon

spatula

strainer

Let's roll.

In the medium pot, drop in a tablespoon of butter and set it on a low heat.

Dice up the onion and 3 cloves of garlic and drop those in to cook. Dice up 1 of the jalapeno peppers and drop that in, wash your hands after.

Take half the ground beef and crumble that in to the mix, and wash your hands again.

Now stir it all around, adding a pinch of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder and cumin.

In a small bowl mix half the tomato paste with water.

Open the beans up and empty them into the strainer, rinse them off.

After the stuff in the pot has cooked for about 8 to 10 minutes, add the beans and the tomato paste mix. Set the heat on medium/low and put it on the back burner.

Now, wash the remaining jalapeno peppers. Cut the tops off, then cut them into thirds. Trash the seeds and whatnot in there.

Crack 2 eggs into one of the mixing bowls and whisk it with your fork till it's combined.

Fill the other bowl with the breadcrumbs.

Take one piece of sliced cheddar and roll it around one piece of jalapeno, then drop it into the egg bowl. Take it from the egg bowl and dredge it in the breadcrumbs, coating it well – put it aside on a plate. Do that for each piece of jalapeno.

When all the pieces are done and ready, pour vegetable oil into the nonstick pan to a depth of ¾” deep.

Check on the chili, how's it looking? Open the dark beer and pour in half, turn the heat up to medium.

Fill the other pot with water and open the hotdogs. Set the water on to boil.

Turn the oven on to 350º.

Mince 4 cloves of garlic to a fine mince.

Butter four pieces of bread, then put a clove of minced garlic on each piece, then add a nice covering of the parmesean. Put them on the baking sheet.

Check on the chili, reduce the heat to low.

Turn the heat on for the nonstick pan, set it high, you're about to deep fry your jalapeno.

Get out another plate and put a couple of paper towels on it.

While you're at it, get out large plates and a few napkins.

When the water boils, add 4 hot dogs and let them cook, make sure you pay attention to how much time they need to go in for.

Put the baking sheet in the oven.

When the oil is hot enough, carefully put in 4 or 5 jalapeno pieces, turn them to cook evenly, then take them out and put them on the paper towels, keep doing that until they're all done.

The hot dogs should be done by now, turn off the water, the garlic bread should be ready too, so turn off the oven.

Here's the plating, put a few jalapeno poppers on each plate, then a couple of hot dogs in buns, ladle the chili over top of them and then add a few slices of cheese, put 2 slices of garlic bread on each plate to soak up the excess chili.

Open up a couple of beers and clean your plate.

If (and it's a big if) you still have room and the ability to move, it's time for dessert.

Clean off the cutting board and dry it, do the same with the baking sheet.

Open the chips and spread them out in one layer on the baking sheet. Turn the oven on to 350º.

Using the grater, shave down about half the chocolate bar or more, then take the chocolate and put it on the chips, like you're making nachos. Give each chip a good bit of chocolate. When they're covered, into the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, then take'em out, put'em on a plate, open another beer and have some dessert.

After that, you're probably going to need a nap.

*You can substitute veggie dogs and tofu for the meat should you feel that going all out might be unsafe.

So It's The Cocktail Hour

Look out liver.

It's funny how adding A to B and mixing in a dash of C, then shaking or stirring it can result in something so wonderful.

Cocktails are more than just something to hold at parties. They're something that can lend you an air of sophistication, something that can help you get through brunch, something that can help you transition from a beer-drinking, wine-spritzer ordering youth to Manhattan-drinking, vodka-tonic ordering maturity. Except Cosmopolitans. They're wrong no matter how old you are. Don't order them. Ever.

Cocktails are famous too. From James Bond's martini to the gin & tonics that helped the British handle the stresses of colonizing India. From the Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel Long Bar in Singapore to the Bellini at Harry' Bar in Venice, cocktails are destinations. They're celebrities in a sense, with fans and followers the world over.

A properly made cocktail is sublime. A badly made cocktail is a crime. You should learn the difference, both how to make them and how to order them when you're out and about. It's not just about mixing one thing with another in a glass and adding ice – it's about the process, the ritual, the whole experience. Anyone can make a cocktail – so let's make it well.

You can find cocktails the world over. Walk into a bar almost anywhere on the planet and you can get yourself a mixed drink. It might involve things you've never heard of, and it might be highly flammable, but a cocktail is a cocktail. Bottoms up.

We're introduced to cocktails at a young age – Shirley Temples, Virgin Mary's, and then we progress on to the teenage era of adding anything alcoholic to anything, and by the time we've reached adulthood, it's cocktail time.

To make the right cocktail you need the right tools. Things like the right glasses, the right booze, the right mix, ice and ideally a Tiki bar right on the beach.

Odds are you don't have a beachside Tiki bar, so let's focus on the other stuff.

Glasses – you want good glasses for your drinks, and there are a few kinds to get, but to begin, pick up a set of what are usually called tumblers or 'rocks' glasses. They'll get you started.

Shaker – you'll need one of these, as mixing drinks in your hands or your pocket is considered rude in certain circles. Pick up a good, solid shaker, either metal or glass, with a strainer built in.

Shot glasses – you can't guess when it comes to measuring, so pick up a couple of shot glasses so you know how much gin you're slipping into your martini.

Ice cubes – yes you can buy them, but make your own. The recipe is quite simple. Get a couple of ice cube trays and follow the directions that come with them.

Now the important part. The booze. You'll need to spend some money here, and remember, when it comes to buying liquor, you get what you pay for.

Pick up a bottle of each of these:

Vodka

Gin

Dark rum

White rum

Whiskey (Irish, Scotch, Bourbon, Rye – it's your choice)

Tequila

You don't need to spend a fortune on them, but try to pick up something good. Ask around, see what people like, not what's popular, but what people actually enjoy drinking. Sometimes they're quite different. Do not pick up Jagermeister, flavoured cream-based bottles, anything premixed with a cutesy name and above all, do not buy anything that you'd be embarrassed to order in public.

So there's the main cocktail food groups. There are many other ingredients out there, but you can add those as your tastes progress. These five will give you a good base to drink on.

You'll also need the mix. Because if you're just drinking the booze without the mix, then you're in trouble, but when you drink the booze with the mix, you're sophisticated.

Grab the following:

Club soda

Tonic water

Vermouth if you like martinis and manhattans

Ginger beer

Cola

A small bottle of Angostura bitters

Ginger ale

Limes and lemons

Sugar syrup (Sugar syrup can be made at home by combining equal parts of sugar and water and cooking until the sugar has completely dissolved. It is much easier to use this for cocktails as sugar can be difficult to dissolve in alcohol and you can up end up with grains in your cocktail. When using sugar syrup, you can substitute one for one.)

There are other things in your fridge and cupboards that you'll be able to add and mix with, so keep an open mind.

And now it's cocktail time.

Here are a few cocktails, do not try to make them all on the same night. You've been warned.

Dark & Stormy:

2 oz dark rum

4 oz ginger beer

Lime wedge garnish

Moscow Mule:

1 ½ oz vodka

4 oz ginger beer

Lime wedge garnish

Manhattan:

1 oz vermouth


2 oz whiskey


1 dash angostura

Martini:

½ oz vermouth

2 oz gin (or vodka)

Gin & Tonic:

2 oz gin

5 oz tonic water

1 lime wedge

(vodka or dark rum can also be substituted)

Mojito:

1 1/2 oz white rum

12 mint leaves

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 oz lime juice

2 oz soda

Margarita:

salt, for rimming the glass (optional)

Ice

1 ½ oz tequila

1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

½ oz Cointreau (not Triple Sec)

Cocktails are easy to make, easy to drink and hard to recover from. Go easy. You can always do the rum and cola, the vodka and orange juice, the scotch and soda and the tequila and breakfast, but try to mix things up a bit.

Bear in mind that everyone has a cocktail they like, every bar makes them differently and every time you have one, you're enjoying something that had some effort put into making it. These are just a few of the thousands of cocktails out there, so do some research and find out what you like. Then stick with it.

There are many fine cocktail bars around the world, find out which ones are near you, put on something nice, get a couple of drinking companions and order yourself up something.

If you're in Toronto, check out the Toronto Temperance Society, they'll be making some classics, some new inventions and generally bringing the cocktail back to where it should be, right up at the front. Whatever you do, don't order a Cosmopolitan, you'll be asked to leave...

And if you're a non-drinker – try these.

Make me a Sammich!

Sandwiches are lovely things. Portable, easy to make, user-friendly and totally customizable. Make'em sweet, make'em savoury, make'em however you like. There's many shapes and sizes to play with – square, triangular, amphibious-landing-craft shaped, and you can make sandwiches as thin as an inch or backbreaking towers of delicious power that will take you all day to consume. So, let's make some sandwiches. Three of them. A veggie one, a meaty one and a sweet one. To keep things under control they'll be sandwich shaped and will keep their height limited to local building codes. 

For your veggie sandwich, pick up this:

1 good sized bun, ideally an italian one, or a nice fresh baguette – try to avoid going down the whitebread route
1 package of cream cheese, or if you're buying at the deli, pick up about 200 grams
1 or 2 fresh tomatoes, some lettuce and some red pepper
some mild curry powder
1 bottle of Sriracha hot sauce (quite possibly one of the best on earth and always useful in the kitchen) 

When you get home, do this: get out a cutting board and your chefs knife, and while you're at it, a bowl for scraps and one for mixing. Oh and while you're there, get out a fork and a spatula too. Look around till you see a baking sheet and keep it handy. Now where is the olive oil? Ah, there, good. And the salt and pepper? Aha!

Open the cream cheese and put it in the mixing bowl, put it on top of the stove to soften. Turn the stove on, set at 300º. Wash the peppers and tomatoes then slice them. Tomatoes about ½” thick, peppers into strips about ½” wide. Of course you'll be discarding the seeds and the white membrane in the peppers. Or else.

Now put a teaspoon of olive oil on the tray and spread it around to coat. Put the peppers and tomato on.

While the oven is warming, stir the cheese with your fork. As it softens, add a tablespoon of the curry and a teaspoon of the Sriracha. Stir it all in. As it continues to warm, keep mixing it, every few minutes.

Tray in the oven, timer set to 20 minutes. While you're waiting, peel off 2 or 3 leaves of lettuce and wash them, then dry them. Stir the cheese.

Tray out, put it aside. Cut the bread in half. If you're using a baguette, cut a piece about 6 o7 inches long and cut that in half.

Spread the cheese mix on half the bread, then layer the tomatoes and peppers on top. Add the lettuce, salt and pepper.

And now you eat. And you eat well. If you're not a fan of spice, omit the Sriracha. If you're not a fan of curry, well, I'm sorry.

And now for the meaty bit.

Get the same bread or bun, and this: 

• a wedge of brie
• chicken pate – either a package of it or a piece about 150 grams or so
• some mayonnaise
• some dijon mustard
• a tomato

Cut the bread, same way you would for the veggie sandwich, mix a teaspoon of mayonnaise and dijon together and spread that on the bottom, cut some thin wedges of brie to cover the bottom, then layer thin slices of tomato over top. Now spread the other half with some of the chicken pate and let the halves get to know each other.

Bon manger !

Should you find yourself in the mood for something of a sweeter bent, here's a fun little sweet sandwich that once made Queen Victoria weep with pleasure.

Go forage about the neighbourhood and bring home this:

• a bun – not just any bun, a light, flaky, pastry-ish bun 
  (ask at your bakery for something that meets those criteria)
• a jar of Nutella
• a package of fresh raspberries
• some icing sugar

Got it? Perfect. You might also want to pick up something to go with it. Perhaps a nice liquer or a dark rum. Hell even a strong dark beer will go with it. Or you can go with the tried, true and trusted and get a bottle of sparkling wine, a nice Cremant.

Now, carefully cut the bun in half. Turn the oven on to 200º. Slide the halves in and let them toast. Wash a couple of handfuls of the berries and let them dry. Open the Nutella and the icing sugar and the wine.

Take the buns out after about 5 minutes. They should be warm, slightly toasted and good to go. Spread each half with some Nutella, then drop on the raspberries and finish it with a dusting of icing sugar. Pour the wine and go to heaven.

Oh, and remember to turn the oven off would ya?

So, there you go. Three sandwiches. Mind you, that's three out of an estimated 10 x 10,000,000 possible combinations, so you should probably do some experimenting.

Some potential combos include:

Dark rye bread / old cheddar cheese / slices of granny smith apples / dijon mustard

Baguette / avocado / goat cheese / tomato relish

Bread / peanut butter / banana

Everyone has a favourite, ask around, you might find some you like.