Turn Carrot Tops into Tempura

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

In this season of plenty, it’s easy to overbuy fruits and vegetables, and to think nothing of wasting perfectly good, edible parts that are peripheral to the produce. Like carrot tops.

With the growing movement to avoid food waste, these leafy greens are now being regarded with new interest—to make into pesto, add to salads and to simmer in stocks.

We buy beautiful organic baby carrots at the farmers’ market and I admit, I’ve been dropping the green tops into the compost bin. It always seems like such a waste because surely, as a dark green, leafy appendage to the carrot root, they should be highly nutritious.

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Recipes for the Fourth of July

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

For the Fourth of July, I’ve always stuck to the traditional dishes–burgers and hot dogs, ribs, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans…. Like Thanksgiving, many families have certain menu items that are sacrosanct.

This year, I’m taking baby steps to branch out. I’m adding Sriracha Deviled Eggs to introduce some new flavors to our holiday celebration. With its hot, sweet and slightly tart flavor profile, sriracha gets along companionably with the creamy egg yolks, and adds a bright, spicy sass to this traditional summer favorite.

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Turn Corn and Tomatoes into a Summer Salad

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Steve and I came back from the Alemany Farmers’ Market on Saturday laden with summer’s bounty. I feel so deliciously rich when my counters and fridge are piled high with the freshest, farm-picked produce.

Having tasted them at the market, I knew the cherry tomatoes we bought were especially sweet. And the corn kernels were plump and juicy. When nature gives us such perfect flavors, it’s best to do the least to them, to let their inherent attributes shine.

So I decided to make a simple Grilled Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad.

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Butter Mochi: A Scrumptious Gluten-Free Dessert for Everyone

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

The last time I lived in Hawaii, I was food editor of a statewide daily, the Honolulu Advertiser. Always on the search for the best Island recipes, I knew that local people loved food, loved talking about food and loved sharing recipes.

That included my mom, then living in Hilo, who was always copying recipes on index cards in her neat handwriting. I never paid much attention to them because we had different culinary interests. But since she passed away two years ago, I keep encountering her recipes and I find myself trying them, as a connection to her.

In cleaning out a few of her things last week, I discovered a recipe for Butter Mochi that is especially intriguing these days, when positioned as a gluten-free dessert. It’s perfect for summer, when bar cookies and cakes made in sheet pans fit the casual way we like to cook and eat.

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It’s Time for California Figs

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

It there’s one cookie I dislike, it’s Fig Newtons…which is interesting because I LOVE figs! I love fresh figs eaten out of hand, fig jam with cheese, dried figs wrapped in bacon and broiled, and any other conceivable way of eating this remarkably delicious morsel of sweetness.

Last month, Steve and I bought a Mission Fig tree for our atrium and a handful of teeny nubs of baby figs have sprouted. The figs are supposed to be especially sweet, so we have our fingers crossed that they’ll stay on the tree long enough to mature and ripen. In the meantime, unable to wait and unsure of our gardening skills, I am buying figs like crazy to celebrate the season.

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