Whether your Memorial Day meal will be at home, or on the road, here are three things you might want to include.
Hemp-infused tea
You need tea for your Memorial Day picnic, right? And, it’s fun to see what’s happening in the world of canned tea these days. Real Good Tea from Atlanta-based Portfolio Beverages is the creation of Gregg Cohen, Seth Ninger, Jason Santamaria and Chris Doyle. The company launched a line of four hemp-infused functional teas in December 2021. Rise Up is brewed with yerba mate and lemon, and provides an energy boost with its 50 milligrams of slow-release caffeine. Also, there’s Stay Well, made with green tea, elderberry, ginger and turmeric — all ingredients said to be good for your immune system. Destress is brewed with rooibos herbal tea, passion flower and a hint of lavender. And, Wind Down is chamomile tea, steeped with rose hips and valerian root. All are lightly sweetened with clover honey, and we enjoyed each one. Mix or match in your picnic cooler, depending on the energy you want to bring to your day.
$23.99 per four-pack of 12-ounce cans, available at realgoodtea.com. Single cans available at Stout Brothers, Nuts n’ Berries and Never Enough Thyme, or check the store locator at the website to find a location near you.
Credit: Brian Urkevic Photography
Credit: Brian Urkevic Photography
Bacon-wrapped sea scallops
If you can’t be at the beach this Memorial Day, you can bring the beach to your kitchen, with fish and shellfish from Massachusetts-based City Pier Seafood. We tried the bacon-wrapped scallops — pristine, large sea scallops wrapped in bacon that we enjoyed as an easy appetizer, and as a topper for a fresh green salad. Everything is shipped frozen. When you’re ready to serve, thaw them in your refrigerator, and follow the easy directions for cooking on the grill or baking in the oven. The City Pier Seafood folks say a 12-piece tray should serve three, but you might want to order extra, since these were pretty irresistible. We can’t wait to try the bacon-wrapped shrimp with pepper jack cheese next.
$29.99 for a 12-piece tray of bacon-wrapped scallops, $89.97 for four dozen scallops. Available at citypierseafood.com.
Credit: Ellen Dutton
Credit: Ellen Dutton
Cement pickles
What’s a Memorial Day meal without pickles? And, what in the world are “cement pickles,” you might be asking. It’s the name chef Trey Dutton has given his old-fashioned pickles, made super crisp with pickling lime. Fun fact: Pickling lime is calcium hydroxide, which is an ingredient in cement! Dutton is the owner of Southern Keep, a maker of small-batch pickles and preserves in Charleston, South Carolina. His cement pickles are based on his great-grandmother’s recipe, and he said it takes three days to prepare each batch properly. The pickles definitely are sweet, there’s a bit of spice, they are very crunchy, and they are just plain addictive. In fact, we finished off an entire jar at one meal. Dutton also makes cement pickle relish, which is just what you need for those deviled eggs you’re planning to serve.
$16 per 18-ounce jar of pickles; $15 per 10-ounce jar of relish. Available at southernkeep.com.
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