Best Fast Food For Busy Authors

You don’t have to be an author on deadline to want meals you can get on the table in super fast time. Other busy people appreciate the idea of fast food, too. But I’m not talking about the sort of meals you get in a drive-through in a brown paper bag. I’m talking about delicious farm fresh produce that you can eat almost off the farm stand.

Those are the kind of meals I’ve been preparing this summer once I decided to make my final big push to have a completed manuscript ready by August 26 for my beta readers (thank you UK bestie, Julie, for setting the date to visit for the US Open) and for  a professional editor who is waiting for my latest draft even as we speak.

Summer Bounty

Whether you’re an author or other busy professional working from home, I’m sure you know the sinking feeling you get when you’re just hitting your stride, and suddenly it’s time to get up from your desk because dinner time is approaching and well, hunger pangs!

Most evenings this summer, I’ve managed to produce a delicious meal, says my husband Joe. He is too kind, and anyway, it is not my cooking that makes the meals delicious. It is the fabulous good luck of spending the summer on the East End of Long Island where we are surrounded by farms, farm stands, fresh produce, a fish store that is located yards away from the second largest commercial fishing station in New York — and Scottos, the best Italian delicacy store outside of NYC where the fabulous Eataly Italian market is located.

Of course, you don’t have to be on the East End of Long Island to get the best of summer’s bounty. So, here are my go-to summer meals that hardly need any cooking at all, and mostly need only to be arranged prettily on a plate.

Salads Are #1

Super Caprese Salad : which as everyone knows is mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and basil. Our fresh mozzarella comes from Scotto’s Pork Store which makes the mozz and red roasted peppers daily. Tomatoes and basil  come from Densieski’s farms or Nurel’s Farmer’s Market. Densieskis is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and 75-80 per cent of the produce at its farm stand is produced in the surrounding fields.

I serve my Caprese salad with added proteins in the form of shrimp, hard-boiled eggs and/or thinly-sliced imported prosciutto. I top it off with a drizzling of extra virgin olive oil, and the best traditional balsamic ever (from Gourmet Blends.)

Mediterranean Diet

Living so close to Cor-J’s Seafood Store, we tend to eat a fish dish at least three times a week. Sometimes, it’s salmon which I just discovered how to grill on my Weber without having to soak cedar planks for four hours ahead of time! Sometimes, it’s sea scallops (which take literally three minutes each side, sauteed with shallots) or sauteed shrimp (also three minutes each side with added minced garlic, red pepper flakes and lemon juice) or our absolute favorite broiled flounder with baby boiled potatoes and corn.

Once Cor-J’s slices up the filets, there is nothing to do but lay them in a buttered broiler pan, salt and pepper them, sprinkle a little breadcrumbs on them, drizzle with a little more melted butter (and/or with lemon juice /white wine optional) and stick under the broiler for about three to four minutes if set on high, a little longer if broiler set on low.

Easiest Go-To Pasta Ever

Has to be cacio e pepe. It’s my favorite (Joe prefers to see sauce on his pasta!) Sautee a little minced garlic in butter and oil. Prepare pasta. While the pasta (I prefer thin spaghetti) is cooking (takes about 6-7 minutes for al dente) grate the parmesan cheese. I know pecorino is the “right” cheese for cacio e pepe, (but I always have blocks of ungrated parmesan on hand, not pecorino.)

When pasta is al dente, remove from water with tongs. transfer to skillet with garlic and butter. Sprinkle fresh black ground pepper and grated parmesan, and that’s my cacio e pepe pasta. Delicious with a glass of the best cab you have in house!

 

Curry in a Hurry

I have a fabulous recipe for hot curry sauce made from scratch with vindaloo or madras curry powder (which I buy at the Green Market in West Palm Beach) and with cumin and turmeric and coconut milk. It takes a while. But there are some ready made brands of curry sauce which are virtually unbeatable even compared to homemade. When I get that must-have feeling for a hot curry,  and I don’t have the time to make from scratch I have found that Kitchens of India produce a whole selection of pastes and sauces which are just the best for time-saving and taste.

For example, take a jar of Hyderabadi Korma ( a rich cashew and cumin cooking sauce) and add it to about 14 ounces of diced, sauteed chicken. Bring to boil, then simmer for about 35 minutes. It says on the jar it’s a medium heat dish, but it’s sufficiently deliciously hot for me, and I usually eat vindaloos in restaurants. I serve with mango chutney, basmati rice (sorry, I use boil in the bag, takes ten minutes) and nan (brand) which I pop from the freezer into the oven for five minutes while the rice is cooking. You can’t get a faster, more delicious curry than that.

Bon Appetit!