A Summer Project

Special Fork is on summer hiatus from August 5 through Labor Day. Each Monday, while we’re on vacation, I’ll present another facet of Special Fork and highlight some features you might have missed.

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Like going on vacation, the start of summer seems to stretch on languorously, with the bright promise of many leisurely days ahead. But about the midpoint of a vacation – and of summer – the days begin to quicken, flying by so briskly that the second half seems shorter than the first.

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Our Best Cooking Tips and Tricks

Special Fork is on summer hiatus from August 5 through Labor Day. Each Monday, while we’re on vacation, I’ll present another facet of Special Fork and highlight some features you might have missed.

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

A sensible way to learn to cook is to just do it, one simple recipe at a time. By following instructions in a recipe, you’re rewarded with something good to eat, and you’ll begin to learn cooking techniques along the way.

After more than three years of blogging, Monday through Friday, Special Fork bloggers have produced a rich collection of recipes, all taking no more than 30 minutes of prep time. And, embedded in many of the blog posts, are useful cooking tips and tricks that I am highlighting for you today.

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What to Cook Tomorrow?

Special Fork is on summer hiatus from August 5 through Labor Day. Each Monday, while we’re on vacation, I’ll present another facet of Special Fork and highlight some features you might have missed.

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

Special Fork is on summer hiatus from August 5 through Labor Day. Each Monday, while we’re on vacation, I’ll present another facet of Special Fork and highlight some features you might have missed.

If you know our story, you know that our site, whether you visit via smartphone or computer, is meant to be used at the end of day, when you’re faced with deciding what to cook for dinner, and don’t have a clue. All our recipes take 30 minutes of prep or less; cooking time may be extra. The place to search for recipes is in our database.

For this week’s post, I’d like to introduce you to Special Fork’s Pinterest page. We have all kinds of fun and useful food-related boards including Food Humor, one of my favorites.

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Deep Freeze

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

If the temperature shoots up to 90 degrees in San Francisco, we melt – so rarely are we hit with sweltering weather here. But everywhere else, it’s turning into a red-hot summer and food must accommodate.

I understand why they say eating spicy, hot foods will make you sweat and cool you down. But I don’t care. When it’s hot, I want something cold.

So I was thinking about those frozen bananas we used to make as kids in Hawaii. You’ve probably made them, yourself. You put a stick through a peeled banana , pop it in the freezer, and you have a healthy banana “popsicle.” If you want it fancier, you dip it in melted chocolate and refreeze. That’s the recipe.

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A Quick Chinese Meal

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

One of the first Chinese dishes I learned to cook was Ma Po Tofu. I was introduced to this recipe by my sister Judy, newly married to a young scientist from Taiwan and living in Berkeley, California.

Through the years, I’ve stripped down the recipe so it doesn’t require a trip to Chinatown for any special ingredients, making this dish a good dinner choice when you’re time-pressed and don’t know what to cook. You should be able to bring this dish to the table in about 20 minutes.

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