Hosting a Get-Together to Be Safe

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Do you know your neighbors? In city life, people come and go, and it’s easy to lose track of those who live around you. At least, that’s been the case with us.

So this week, I’m hosting the kick-off for our first neighborhood safety group get-together. Having walked door-to-door with a flyer, we’ve already been able to build our contact list to alert each other to safety issues. And this group will also serve as our network for earthquakes and other emergencies.

In our first face-to-face meeting this week, our guest speakers will be our city and county district supervisor and our precinct police captain. They’ll give us an overview of any issues in our district and provide safety tips.

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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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A Preview of Cool Kitchen Tools

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Of all the food-related trade shows I attend, the International Home + Housewares Show at McCormick Place in Chicago is my favorite. Like a kid in a candy shop, I love to be able to preview all the cool kitchen tools and appliances before they hit the shelves of Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma and all the other cookware stores around the country. With more than 21,000 buyers from around the globe visiting 2,000 exhibitors, this is an annual show of consequence in the housewares business.

I used to cover the show, writing freelance stories for the Associated Press. After an absence of many years, last week, I happened to be in Chicago at the right time to check out the latest for Special Fork.

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St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I didn’t know anyone Irish, growing up in Hilo, Hawaii. And my only awareness of St. Patrick’s Day was remembering to wear something green to avoid getting pinched at school.

So there was definitely a learning curve when I started work on Kerrygold’s public relations ten years ago. And what a rewarding education it has been!

I have had the pleasure of traveling to Ireland four times, meeting the dairy farmers, the butter and cheese producers, and the chefs, TV cooking show stars, cooking teachers, and cookbook authors who personify Irish food today. And through these introductions, I have developed tremendous respect for the food culture of Ireland.

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