Wish you were Here…

By Sandy Hu

All this week, Special Fork bloggers are thinking vacation and sharing their best vacation cooking ideas, as we head towards Memorial Day and summertime.

In anticipation of summer outings and leisurely picnics, Special Fork will be holding a sweepstakes for a Newbury Picnic Basket by Picnic Time. It’s the kind of English-style basket I imagine getting tucked into the “boot” of a roadster by the butler and the contents (prepared by the cook, of course) getting laid out on a blanket in the countryside. This basket, fitted with service for four, has an estimated retail value: $144.95. To see a picture of the basket and to enter our contest, click here. Contest begins today and runs through May 27.

If you’re going on vacation – English countryside or elsewhere – and plan to rent a cottage or condo where you’ll have a kitchen or kitchenette, you don’t need to pack a cookbook. Just go to the Special Fork mobile recipe website, www.specialfork.com, on your smartphone to access our database of recipes.

All Special Fork recipes take no more than 30 minutes of prep time (cooking time may be extra). So they’re perfect for vacation cooking when you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen while the family is having fun in the sun.

Each recipe is introduced with cook time and prep time, level of difficulty (1 to 3 with 1 being easiest) and tools required beyond basic pots and pans (if you don’t have a food processor in your condo you can skip recipes that require one). You can save recipes in your recipe box and generate an automatic shopping list to make it easy to pick up the groceries on your way home from the day’s outing.

And, as usual, every weekday offers a new blog post to keep you entertained, with a how-to video blog posted every Friday.

Here is a sampling of Special Fork recipes ideal for vacation cooking:

From out bloggers:

• Cheat it Pizza from our One or Two Bites blogger, Lori Powell, who blogs every Wednesday about cooking for singles
• Sloppy Joe Tacos from our Cooking Newbie blogger, Katie Barreira, who blogs to educate beginner cooks; she posts every Tuesday
• Super Bowl Chili from our Family Table Blogger Andrew Hunter, who blogs every Thursday to provide cooking help for busy families

• Croque Monsieur from our Family Table Blogger Marilyn Hunter, Andrew’s wife and co-blogger

From our Special Fork recipe database:

• Southwestern Couscous with vegetarian option
• Beef and Parmesan Pasta, a one-skillet meal
• Fish Sticks in a Flash, dinner on the table in 30 minutes
• Walnut Pesto, to toss with pasta or top pizzas
• Spicy Black Bean Burgers, a delicious burger option for vegetarians

All of us at Special Fork wish you a wonderful summer!

Special Fork is a recipe website for your smartphone and PC that solves the daily dinnertime dilemma: what to cook now! Our bloggers blog Monday through Friday to give you cooking inspiration. Check out our recipe database for quick ideas that take no more than 30 minutes of prep time. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Related posts:

1. Happy Chinese New Year
2. Some Quick Meals to Survive the Holiday Frenzy
3. Andrew and Marilyn Provide Help for Busy Moms and Dads every Thursday
4. Make Ghostly Halloween Treats in Minutes
5. Eat More Veggies – These Recipes will get you Started