The yummy lobster and corn on the cob meal happened at Port Clyde in Maine last summer. Highly recommended!
My home, however, is nowhere near an ocean, unless you consider the ocean of corn stretching for miles across the heartland. It holds its own beauty. Just like the salty ocean, the wind whips it into undulating waves, and it, too, yields a bounty of food.
I'm a big lover of cold foods in summer, but some cooking must be done to make a great pasta salad (see recipe below) or potato salad. For many years I avoided baking anything in the summer, but there is this great invention, the grill, that takes the heat out of baking - or at least takes it outside!
Two weeks ago I catered two days at two different venues for one event - 100 people a day. We cooked 18 feet of pork loin on the grill in 2.5 hours. That would have taken 8 hours in my oven. (I'll give you this recipe, too.) It was fabulous. The day we served it, the temperature at noon was 95 degrees. We served it cold. Ah, the happy faces of well-fed people.
I find my characters to be happiest when they're fed, too. And many of them are interested in food - growing it, cooking it and eating it. They show their pasts in the choices they make, their openness to try new things, their disgust or their joy through their reactions to flavors, and best of all, they reveal their passions in the way the eat - or in the way they feed each other. Whether its a couple licking icing off their fingers in a picnic seduction scene, or a mom feeding her family at a table crowded with fried chicken and all the fixin's, the message gets through because of our common love of food.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
For a family or pot-luck dish - cook one pound of pasta, add one each of vegies, one can of artichoke hearts, and mix vinaigrette in a pint jar.
Cook up some rotini - I like three-colored spirals
A little more than al dente - then rinse thoroughly in cold water to stop cooking
Vinaigrette
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar or Rosemary Balsamic or any other Italian-style flavor (basil would be good)
The proportion of oil to vinegar is usually 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar --- try less vinegar to start and add to taste.
I prefer 4 or even 5 to 1 so the herb flavors come through.
Herbs and Spices - I use all dried or powdered for stronger flavors
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Basil - crushed leaves
Rosemary - crushed leaves
Tarragon - crushed leaves - about half of other leaves
Marjoram - crushed leaves
Thyme - crushed leaves
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Vegetables
Onion - chopped fine
Red pepper - chopped fine
Artichoke hearts - chopped fine
Cucumber - chopped fine
Nuts - if no one is allergic
Pine nuts
Mix up vinaigrette with herbs and spices in a jar. Shake well.
Add chopped vegies to cooled pasta in a large bowl. Toss with vinaigrette. Add nuts if desired.
This recipe keeps well for several days. Best if made one day ahead for melding of flavors.
Grilled Pork Loin
Grill a big pork loin and freeze part for another meal or two. Reheats beautifully - or eat it cold!
Wash and dry pork loin. Cut off excess fat. There should still be a sliver of fat on one side.
On the lean side crush and sprinkle herbs:
Garlic powder
Marjoram
Onion powder
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
In a large (steam table size) aluminum pan, place meat fat side down and place on grill. This pan keeps the meat really moist. You can grill it directly over coals, but you'll get a lot of shrinkage. There is virtually no shrinkage with the pan -- if your grill is big enough. You could also make an aluminum pan with foil.
Bake at 400 degrees (hopefully your grill has a thermometer) until instant-read thermometer says 155 degrees. Remove from grill, but let it set. The internal temperature will continue to rise. Cool before cutting. Eat warm if you want, or chill and eat later.
These two recipes together with a green vegetable (grilled green beans? yum!) make a wonderful meal.
Happy Eating! Happy Writing!
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