Because I do a fair amount of traveling during the school year, I am always asked again and again over the summer, "so, are you going anywhere exciting?" The answer is occasionally yes, but the summer months are frighteningly lean for a freelance classical musician, and so the answer is, quite often, a big fat NO. That's OK, because I live in a state other people save up to visit on vacation, and we have created a modest yet cozy habitat here in Northern Colorado, homemade patio, messy vegetable garden, and all. So while I spend my days at home writing, practicing, and teaching flute lessons, I would much rather mix up a cocktail and fix the quickest snack I can at the end of the day in order to maximize that precious patio time. With summer drawing to a close, I feel all the more impatient to hurry up and sit down without resorting to Doritos for dinner. Here are some ideas I've played around with this summer; perhaps you'll find something here to help you live the good life a little sooner, too.
Current lazy girl dinners at the DFT house:
- Finely chop cauliflower, garlic, and onion, sear in a lightly oiled pan over high heat, then crack in an egg and cook till set.
- Mix together chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, and black vinegar while you cook soba noodles. Toss noodles in sauce. Top with sliced green onion. Fry an egg and add it to the bowl.
- While you cook noodles, blend together avocado, lime juice, cilantro, and salt. Toss hot pasta with the sauce, top with freshly ground pepper, and chopped cilantro. Toss in some chopped tomato.
- Fry garlic slices in oil. Add a can of clams, chopped herbs, and butter. Then stir in cooked pasta, along with a spoonful of its cooking liquid, and a splash or white wine or light beer. Zest a lemon over top.
- Fry up leftover bits of any cured meat or a lone breakfast sausage with a little sliced bell pepper, stir in greens, dump in a container of takeout rice or leftovers form the freezer, and warm through. Splash in some rice vinegar and soy sauce before serving.
- Mix canned tuna with canned chickpeas or white beans, diced red onion, olive oil, and lemon. Plop onto salad greens or toast.
- Warm a can of black beans and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes together on the stove, seasoning as you like. Spoon over a pile of tortilla chips. Top with avocado slices and a fried egg.
- Dip slices of bread into beaten eggs seasoned with a salt, pepper, cayenne, finely grated Parmesan, and chopped chives or scallions. Fry like French toast, then eat with hot sauce.
