When Rob and I travel, we typically prefer to stay in a rental home so we can cook for ourselves. Cooking, for us, is relaxing, joyful, creative, satisfying—and we enjoy preparing dinners with local ingredients wherever we are, whether it’s at home or away.

I’ve refined my road-trip provisioning to a fine art, thanks to a standing list of food and kitchen items that we bring whenever we travel. The list includes happy hour essentials like roasted peanuts, pita chips, cheese and crackers; beverages including wine, vodka and mixers; dinner staples like arborio rice and canned chicken stock for risotto; and snacks like trail mix and homemade cookies.

To these brought-along provisions, we’ll add fresh bread, veggies and pasta purchased at a local farmers’ market. During a recent trip to South Carolina’s lowcountry, we pretty much gorged on local shrimp. Just a mile or so from our beachfront cottage was a seafood company whose shrimp boats we could see on the horizon at night. This was the sweetest, best shrimp we will ever eat, ever. It needed only minimal cooking and absolutely no fuss. We combined a pound of beautiful fresh shrimp with some local veggies for this simple pasta recipe.

fettuccine with shrimp, zucchini and bell pepper recipe

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 small (1 medium) zucchini, sliced
1/2 pound fresh fettuccine, cooked
salt, pepper

In a skillet, warm a bit of olive oil until it shimmers; add bell pepper strips and stir. Cook until they’re just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes, then add zucchini and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes more, until vegetables are crisp-tender; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and sauté quickly until the shrimp are pink. Toss shrimp and vegetables with the hot cooked pasta.

related recipes

fusilli with shrimp and chicken
cheesy pasta with arugula and mushrooms