Five-Minute Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Spread

Coming off a four-week, super-intense editing of my next book, “The Welcome Home Diner”, a contemporary novel about two women opening a diner on Detroit’s east side. I get why writers isolate themselves during the process. I was assigned  a well-seasoned editor determined to squeeze the best book that she could out of me. The verdict will be in the hands of the readers. (If you’re interested in a free advance digital copy when available, please advise!)

So now it’s over and I feel as if I’ve been hit by a stun gun. Been invited for cocktails–everyone’s to bring an appie–and don’t  have the energy to get in the car to even buy a hunk of cheese. I do, however, have the energy to be with friends; I’ve been in the isolation tank too long. And have a drink. Not necessarily in that order.

Rummaging through the back crevices of the fridge and thar’ she blows! One-half of a jar of roasted red peppers saddled up to some feta are speaking to me.

Five minutes later I actually have something pretty tasty. I know there are plethoras of ready made dips to be found at local markets, but nothing–honestly guys–ever tastes as good as homemade. Even if homemade was made using short-cuts.

Quick little Mediterranean nosh.

If you’re lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s in your town, there are a few short-cut products I’ve found indispensable for making  last minute appetizers.

♥ Their olive tapenade (the one found in the refrigerated section). ♥ Bottled roasted red peppers (a shelved product pictured above) for a variety of uses. They’re as close to roasting at home as I’ve tasted. ♥ Their spinach-feta phyllo triangles (found in the frozen section of the store) ♥ Assorted cheeses (you can’t beat those prices).

To make the platter above, I purchased the tapenade, goat cheese and roasted red peppers. Then, I roasted a head of garlic by: cutting off garlic head, drizzling exposed cloves with EVO, and then roasting in a double thickness of foil until cloves are softened, about 40 minutes. Sliced avocado and a crunchy baguette yields a tidy little Mediterranean nosh in no-time.

Even quicker: Purchase a log of goat cheese along with the aforementioned tapenade, spread the tapenade over the goat cheese and serve with a baguette. A sprig of fresh rosemary placed atop the cheese is the perfect grace note.

By the way, “The Promise Kitchen” is on promotion–only $2.00! The reduced price has meant the book sales have been darting about in the top 100 Kindle books in women’s fiction this month; last week the book topped 900 in overall library sales. (Not sure of the amount of women’s fiction but there’s well over a million books in the Kindle library.) This two-buck-book-chuck may be cheating, but I’ll take it.