PERFECT PICNIC
Easy wraps and chocolatey brownies make for an ideal meal in the park
Warm enough for short sleeves, cool enough to ride your bike to a favorite picnic spot, May has all the temperate qualities to be elected my favorite month of the year. The days are long enough to get something done after dinner but cool enough so that you don't have to hide in the air conditioning.

My favorite place for an alfresco lunch is at the Dravo Cemetery along the Youghiogheny Bike Trail. In addition to covered picnic tables and restrooms, there is a hand-operated pump where you can draw fresh cool water from a well.

Click here for more information about the trails and facilities is available at
Here's a recipe for wrap sandwiches with a perky chipotle mayonnaise dressing that will have you pedaling back home at a good clip. And what's a picnic without some potato salad on the side and rich chocolate brownies for dessert?

Ingredients:
12-inch tortillas (I use jalapeno/cilantro-flavored)

Dressing ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon powdered chipotle peppers or
1 tablespoon canned
chipotles in adobo sauce*
Romaine lettuce
Shaved carrots
Slices of deli turkey and ham
Dill havarti cheese

* Powdered chipotle peppers and canned chipotles are available at Reyna's on Penn Avenue in the Strip District. You can also get powdered pepper at Pensky's Spices or McGinnis Sisters.

Preparation:
· Heat tortilla briefly in warm skillet to make more pliable.
· Spread with dressing.
· Add layer of lettuce followed by carrot shavings.
· Put 1 slice turkey and 1 slice ham onto each wrap.
· Top with one or two strips of cheese.
· Fold 2 sides of tortilla together, then roll up from bottom. Roll tightly and secure end with toothpick.
· Wrap sandwich in foil and refrigerate for at least an hour.
· Cut in half to serve.

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AND FOR DESSERT . . .

ICED BROWNIES
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup walnuts
1 cup chocolate bits

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with aluminum foil. Butter foil. Put chocolate and butter into large microwaveable bowl. Heat in microwave 2 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds, until chocolate is melted. Add sugar, mix well. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts. Spread into pan and bake 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and
sprinkle top with chocolate bits. Wait 5 minutes; spread melted chocolate to form frosting. Cool completely in pan. Use foil to lift brownies from pan to cutting board. Cut into 3-inch squares.

(This is my mom's recipe adapted from the one on the Baker's chocolate box.)