Books for Cooks : Marinated steak takes no time at all

With even the most-minimal amount of planning, and the help of the new collection “Mark Bittman’s Quick and Easy Recipes From The New York Times,” there’s little reason for pulling into the drive-through on a busy weeknight. You can whip up something much tastier (and healthier) in about the same time it’ll take you to sail under the Golden Arches.

Here are just a couple of the 350 recipes in Bittman’s latest book.

The Minimalist’s Marinated Steak

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon honey, molasses or hoisin sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless steak (such as rib-eye, skirt or strip) or 1 1/2 to 2 pounds bone-in steak (like rib-eye or T-bone)

Preheat a grill until hot and put the rack no more than four inches from the heat source. Mix together the first six ingredients; taste and add more of anything you like. Turn the steak in the sauce once or twice, then let it sit in the sauce until the grill is hot.

Turn the steak one more time, then put it on the grill; spoon any remaining sauce over it. For rare, grill for about three minutes per side for steak under an inch thick. For larger or more well-done steak, increase the time slightly.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.

Tomato-Melon Gazpacho

4 tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and seeded

One 3-pound cantaloupe

2 tablespoons olive oil

10 fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

Cut the tomato flesh into 1-inch chunks. Seed the melon and remove the flesh from the rind, cut it into chunks. Put a tablespoon of olive oil in each of two 10- or 12-inch skillets and turn the heat under both to high. Add the melon to one skillet and the tomatoes to the other and cook, stirring, until they become juicy, no longer than 2 minutes.

In a blender, puree the melon, tomato, 1 1/2 cups water or 1 cup water plus 1/2 cup ice cubes and the basil, along with some salt and pepper. Chill, then add lemon juice to taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 177 calories, 8 grams fat (1 gram saturated, 37 percent fat calories), 3.5 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams dietary fiber, no cholesterol, 180 milligrams sodium.