Shrimp with Feta on Couscous topped off with Fast Track, martha cheves

Fast Track - John DeDakis, Author

3:49 PM Posted by MAC

Shrimp with Feta on Couscous (Quick & Easy)
A favorite recipe of John DeDakisServes 4
1 lb. fresh or frozen (thawed) medium shrimp
1 large or 2 small zucchini
2 jars of your favorite salsa (about 12 oz. each)
8 oz. crumbled feta cheese
olive oil
enough couscous and chicken broth for 4 servings

Halve and slice zucchini and sauté in olive oil. Add shrimp to pan and sauté until almost cooked through. Add salsa to pan and simmer until shrimp is cooked. Cook couscous in chicken broth according to package directions. Serve shrimp over couscous and sprinkle with feta cheese.

Fast Track - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

"I prefer to see the world not in blacks, whites and grays, but in rainbow colors. The contrasts can be stark, and there can still be room for individual expression, but there are boundaries, too. Choosing the right colors for the painting of your life can be an adventure..... But what if the painting gets messed up?... Color over it. Try something new. Don't just let the problem sit there. And for God's sake, don't destroy the canvas. Rework what's on it."
(This is a quote from Fast Track that I feel we can all learn from.)

Lark Chadwick grew up knowing that her parents had been killed in an auto accident but no one would talk to her about the accident. So, when her aunt Annie, who had raised her, died of what the police decide to be a suicide, Lark goes on a quest to find the truth about not only her aunt's death but also the story behind the death of her parents. To her astonishment, she learns that they were killed when hit by a train and that she had been in the car too. Her escaping the accident left her with the nickname "The Miracle Baby." But how did she escape and why were her parents sitting on a railroad crossing with a train coming full speed ahead, lights and horn blowing? These are the questions that lead her to the truth and whys of the accident.

As I read Fast Track I didn't have the feeling that I was reading a book, but Lark's personal story was being told to me by Lark herself. It was as if she was sitting with me, telling me everything that happened to her as she searched for her past. I could feel her emotions and sense her fears. She became a person that I felt I actually knew.

The format of Fast Track in paperback is different due to its magazine size. I wasn't sure that I would like this concept at first but as time went along, I found it to be very practical and convenient. It stores nicely and is easy to slip into my bag without being bulky. I've grown to actually like the style and really loved the story within. But for the more traditional-minded readers, Fast Track also comes in hardback.

John DeDakis is a Senior Copy Editor at CNN in Washington where he edits and writes on "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." It has been a pleasure to read and review his book Fast Track and I've just learned, through an email from Mr. DeDakis that his next book "Bluff" which is a sequel to Fast Track, is due to be published soon. Follow the progress of this next release through John DeDakis's website. I, for one, am glad to hear that he will continue with more stories featuring Lark. And I hope you will all enjoy his recipe for Shrimp with Feta.

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com