My Favorite Summer Meals

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I don’t do any serious cooking during the summer. Much as I love my kitchen, I avoid standing over a hot stove when the weather in sweltering.

So what to eat? Here are some easy summer ideas:

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Before the Barbecue – a Time to Remember

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Last September, we took my mom’s ashes to be buried in the Matsukawa family plot in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The graveside memorial service was a wistful gathering of my many cousins, my aunt and mom’s friends.

While in Hilo, we put flowers on my uncle’s grave at the Veteran’s Cemetery. Hiroshi Matsukawa fought with the Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion that merged with the 442nd Infantry Division, considered the most decorated infantry regiment of World War II. Uncle Hiroshi died in combat in Italy before I was born, but as kids, we spent every Memorial Day at the Veteran’s Day service at this cemetery.

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In Love with Lentils

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Lentils have so much going for them. They cook fairly quickly, they store well and they’re good for you. But I never think of making anything with this versatile legume.

The last lentil recipe I cooked was Mejadra, a traditional Arab comfort food of rice, lentils and spices from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Jerusalem: A Cookbook. Part of the deliciousness in that recipe comes from frying sliced onions until they turn into aromatic, caramelized strings that are stirred into the dish and also sprinkled on top. It’s not a difficult recipe, but not one that I’d whip up on the spur of the moment, when I’m hungry for dinner.

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Looking Back: Food Tips I Learned from my Clients

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Like most bloggers, I’ve always had a day job. And if you’ve followed my posts, you know what it is: doing PR for food clients. It’s a job I’ve loved, that has sustained me over decades.

My client list over the years reads like a supermarket shopping list – agricultural commodity boards like mushrooms, raisins, dried plums walnuts, almonds, strawberries, iceberg lettuce, avocados, limes, papaya, fresh ginger, garlic, turkey, duckling, beef…. And brand accounts like Fleishmann’s Yeast, Spice Islands, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Glad Press ‘n Seal Wrap, Kikkoman, Ghirardelli, Progresso and Kerrygold. I’ve also worked on wines, liqueurs and more.

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Have Cold; Need Soup

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I’ve been in the mood for soup these past few days. And hot tea with lemon and honey.

I caught cold on Thursday and warm liquids seem to suppress my incessant cough. Being sick over the weekend was all the more painful because the weather in San Francisco was simply glorious; bed was the last place I wanted to be.

With soup on my brain, I’m sharing some good recipes from Special Fork’s database. These aren’t stick-to-the-ribs, hearty winter soups. They’re quicker-cooking and especially useful choices when you need a little warmth and sustenance and don’t have time for long simmering, or when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen.

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