Fresh-Picked Seattle

Seattle Spells Let's Eat: Food Events & Resources Around the Sound

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Good Food Fast

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Image via Flickr: Kables

I hope this section doesn't end up with me being sued by Wendy's for the "Good Food Fast" thing but I wasn't really sure what else to call the focus of this page, which is how to make quality food when you don't have a lot of time.

When I first started learning to cook, one of my biggest challenges was how loooooong it took me to make everything. I was mainly making entry-level vegetarian food, and all the vegetable cleaning & chopping, bean/lentil/rice cooking...it was often hours between the start of dinner prep and the actual eating. Needless to say, my learning curve was extended by the many times I said "To heck with this" and ate some frozen veggie buffalo wings instead.

I've gotten better at it and now have more options for faster meals. That said, I could always stand to learn a few new tricks. If you are in the same boat, check out the resources and events on this page for new ideas.

Ideas from the Seattle Food Blog World

I put out a call on Twitter for quick meal ideas from fellow Seattle food bloggers and got some great suggestions. Check them out. If you're a Seattle food blogger and have a favorite fast meal strategy, I'd love to add a link to your site and recipe! Contact me!

Frank Guanco of the Going for Seconds blog had the awesome suggestion of Kale Chips. If you have never had kale chips, they basically give you much of the experience of a tasty thin crispy potato chip without the later regret.
Pasta and salmon or vodka or both! Variations on this were a popular submission, so it seems clear you cannot go wrong with some combination of these ingredients.
- Amy of the Dish suggested a super-quick & easy meal of pasta, pesto and salmon burgers.
- Keren Brown of Frantic Foodie cooks a Sexy Vodka-Tomato Pasta for her special Friday night dinners.
- John and Patricia Eddy of the great Cook Local and Seasonal Cornucopia sites offered up the delicious-looking Pasta with Smoked Salmon Vodka Cream Sauce. "15 minutes from chop to chomp" as they put it.
A couple of my own personal quick meal strategies from my blog Three Bowls.
- I generally keep a jar of what I call Condiment Crank (scallion pancake dipping sauce) in the fridge, and veggies and cooked brown rice in the freezer. Heat up the veggies and rice, toss in some protein and pour on the Crank.
- I also like to do what I call Slow Fast Food: more time-consuming big batch cooking on weekend that I keep in freezer and can eat off of for weeks. This Red Lentil Soup with Harissa Paste and Smoked Paprika is my absolute favorite freezer staple. I have to ration it out so I don't just eat up the entire batch that first week.
Also browse the Seattle Food Blog Feed for more ideas.

Other Ideas

Shannon Galusha of Bastille offered up a week's worth of quick meal ideas on StarChefs back in 2005.
The Seattle Times also has a list of quick meal strategies, with a focus on families with kids.

Image via Flickr user Constantin B

Seattle Good Food Fast Cooking Classes & Events

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Quick Fried Rice Video via Cookus Interruptus

Check out local food site and video producer Cookus Interruptus for more quick meal ideas.

Still Hungry?

Contact

Contact me if you have a Puget Sound-area event to submit to this calendar or Puget Sound-based blog/site to add to the resources. This page also has limited advertising opportunities for local businesses, contact for rates and details.

Looking for a restaurant? See here.