Happy Father’s Day

By Lori Powell

To all the dads out there who love a barbecue...this one’s for you!

I grew up in a small cape house on Long Island with four brothers. Even the dog was a boy. So it’s funny that whenever grilling was involved, and especially protein, I was the go-to grill girl!

Even if I wasn’t technically manning the grill, one of my brothers would be yelling for me to come over and do the finger test to see if the meat was done. I had the magic touch to see if a steak or chop was cooked to perfection. In the case of steak, medium rare for most of the crowd and then…yikes, well done for my dad.

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Doing Breakfast Justice

By Lori Powell

We are in for a ton of rain this weekend…some folks would not be very happy with that forecast. Not me, as it gives me license to stay in the kitchen all day and cook up some delicious grub.

Also, the weekend is when I have the luxury of time to really do breakfast justice. No eating a hard-boiled egg on the run, my favorite go-to breakfast (especially when hand- picked from my own chicks).

Speaking of chicks, 10 more came in the mail this week to add to my diminishing brood from two years ago. So in honor of the new chicks, the rainy weekend and doing breakfast right, here’s my take on salsa and eggs, where the eggs are actually baked in salsa and served with corn tortillas, mashed avocado and with lots of chopped cilantro sprinkled on top for a fresh hit.

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A Feast for One

By Lori Powell

I have always enjoyed feasts big or small, no matter what the number in courses or number of guests. Tonight I’m celebrating a feast for one!

When I first lived in New York City, I shared a two-bedroom apartment, #13 (apparently this building had not gotten the notice that this was an unlucky number), in a fourth- floor walkup with a lovely person I knew from high school.

While she was out training for the next marathon, I was home making a three-course dinner for myself. Table set with candles burning.

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The Charms of Rhubarb!

By Lori Powell

Get it while you can…as rhubarb is only with us for about 1½ months and is a true signal of spring. The first harvest begins in late May or the beginning of June.

Rhubarb has grown in popularity over the years since it’s easy to grow (it is a perennial), is pretty to look at (jewel-like color when red) and is versatile, since can be used in sweet as well as savory recipes.

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable but is treated more like a fruit. The tart celery-like ribs contain a good dose of vitamin C, K, calcium, potassium and manganese. However the leaves are poisonous so if they are still attached when purchased, remove and discard them before using.

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Vacation Chowder

By Lori Powell

All this week, Special Fork bloggers will be sharing recipes for vacation cooking. And to celebrate summer vacations, Special Fork is giving away a beautiful, English-style picnic basket fitted with service for four by Picnic Time. It’s easy to enter the sweepstakes.

Lucky me, I get to spend a couple of weeks each year in Mid-Coast Maine at a house on a cove that I have rented now for the past six years. It is my Northeast Oasis where I fatten myself up with all that Maine has to offer, including all the seafood, berries and great produce that I can consume in that short period of time.

Of course, all of that cooking (yes, I love to cook on vacation with the indigenous ingredients that surround me), eating and then reading need to be combined with a lot of hiking so that I can do more of the first two things.

Maine, to me, screams seafood and Seafood Chowder in all its glorious forms… whether it is lobster, scallops, shrimp or even clams. To me it generally involves some shellfish, vegetables, herbs, sometimes pork and a creamy, slightly thickened base.

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