Cookware

You didn't have to be in the market for a Stingray or a Donzi powerboat to enjoy the Canton Boat Show and Fishing Expo yesterday. Merchants were also selling kayaks, cookware, teak furniture and hot tubs. For those with a smaller budget, there were hammocks, sunglasses and fish-shaped paper-towel holders. But the best attractions were free - a breeze, and a cloudless sky so blue it practically announced that spring had arrived. And while the warming temperatures didn't quite scream summer, many people walked around the Baltimore Marine Center on Boston Street in shorts.

RICE TO RELISH Trying to meet the daily recommended servings of 3 ounces of whole grain per day? Brown rice is one way to get the nutrition you need in dishes you will enjoy eating. Get your rice, as well as fruit and nuts, with the Tutti Frutti Rice Salad recipe from USA Rice Federation. Combine 3 cups cooked brown rice, 3/4 cup dried cranberries, 1 chopped mango, 3/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 cup raspberry vinaigrette dressing, 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley in a large bowl.

Tight on space? Weber-Stephen's new Baby Q grill will let you cook out almost anywhere. The Baby Q, like the Weber Q the company introduced last year, is a portable gas grill with a futuristic design, only the Baby Q is even smaller. This new model weighs 35 pounds (vs. 41 for the Weber Q) and is only 14 inches high, 27 inches wide and 16 inches deep. It has a cooking surface of 189 square inches. Although it is small, it is a true grill with a P-shaped burner that emits open flames under a porcelain-enabled, cast-iron cooking grate.

Gourmet FestSavor gourmet cuisine, take home a cooking tip from a famous chef and pick up autographed cookbooks at the fourth annual Gourmet Fest this weekend at the Artworks Expo Center in Ephrata, Pa.In addition to tasteful gourmet food exhibits and cooking demonstrations, you can also purchase cookware, gadgets, gourmet products and meet celebrity guests.Julee Rosso, author of the Silver Palate Cookbook Series, will give demonstrations and sign books from 1 p.m to 1: 45 p.m. Saturday. Philip Silverstone, wine connoisseur, author and radio and television host, will discuss "Wining About the Good Life" at 12: 45 p.m. to 1: 30 p.m. Sunday.

Orders for American-made machine tools rose 6.4 percent last month from January's level, in another sign of renewed economic growth, according to a report to be released today by an industry trade group.The Association for Manufacturing Technology, calculated February's orders at $231.4 million, up from $217.4 million in January. The amount of February orders was down 5.6 percent, however, from the $245.2 million of February 1991.Together with January's figures, year-to-date orders for machine tools totaled $448.

New Positions Connelly operations chief for Security Square Mall Security Square Mall announced the selection of John Connelly as operations manager for the 120-store shopping complex in Woodlawn. A graduate of Catonsville Community College, he supervises all maintenance and property management functions and advises on and coordinates tenant buildout and construction. The Catonsville resident formerly was a project engineer for Constellation Building Systems. Piferoen is R&D director for Vulcan-Hart Vulcan-Hart appointed Geert Piferoen director of cooking equipment research and development for the Baltimore-based commercial cookware manufacturing division of Illinois Tool Works.

Automatic bread makers started to appear in American kitchens in 1988. Last year Welbilt, which calls itself "the leader" in the market, sold more than 500,000 of them, and expects to do likewise this year.A couple of brands make not only the bread, but also the jelly to go with it, though not at the same time. (You do have to slice the bread and spread the jelly yourself.)Although it's still not an inexpensive item, bread makers have come down in price somewhat. In stores around Baltimore, they range from $150 to about $400, depending on what brand and model you buy and where you buy it. Catalog shoppers and those who patronize television shopping services will find prices even lower, said Kimberly Rawn, director of communications for the National Housewares Manufacturers Association in Chicago.

Fresh vegetables are naturals for grilling. In summer, grilling becomes the fastest, easiest way to cook dinner. It usually involves advance preparation, quick results and minimal cleanup. The key to tasty grilled vegetables is the marinating and basting mixture. I use a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a combination that gives a rich flavor without too much fat. Most vegetables marinate well, and the mix can be adjusted to the weekly bounty from garden or farmers' markets. My best success has been with thick slices of eggplant, halved cooked artichokes, thin slices of raw sweet potatoes, quartered Vidalia or Maui sweet onions, halved cooked red potatoes and sections of corn on the cob. I place my selection of cut-up vegetables in a freezer-weight, plastic, self-sealing bag along with the marinade, then seal the bag and shake well to coat the vegetables evenly.

Services for William Raymond Lyons, a retired automobile parts manager who enjoyed boating around his native Eastern Shore, will take place at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the Church of the Brethren on Stewart and Harrison streets in Easton.Mr. Lyons died suddenly of suspected heart failure yesterday at his Easton home. He was 91.Born on the family's Huckleberry Hill farm outside Easton, he worked there after completing the eighth grade. At 18, he "went to town" in Easton, where he sold waterless cookware and Aladdin's oil lamps.