The greatest Father’s Day gift: sharing a memory
Ingredients:
5 pounds baby back ribs Sauce: 1 cup ketchup ½ cup hoisin sauce 4 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons grainy mustard 3 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDPOINT
1 tablespoon ginger Grated zest of an orange Salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat the grill to medium and turn down to low. Prepare ribs for grilling by removing the membrane from the underside of the ribs. Prepare several foil envelopes and place two strips of ribs into each envelope, with ¼ cup of water and seal tightly. Cook for 2 to 2 ½ hours on low (300 degrees F) with the lid closed. Check the thermometer on the front of the grill lid frequently and adjust the cooking temperature accordingly. This may require turning one or two burners off and cooking indirectly.
To prepare the sauce: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and set aside until the ribs are ready to remove from the foil. Gently heat the sauce on the side burner for 10 to 15 minutes before using.
Carefully remove the ribs from the foil and place on grids. Baste generously with sauce, and grill for 10 minutes per side, leaving the lid open, turning several times and basting with sauce after each turn.
Heat remaining sauce to a boil and then allow it to simmer for five to 10 minutes. Serve on the side as a dipping sauce.
Find additional recipes and grilling tips online at www.broilkingbbq.com.
Article courtesy of BrandPoint
It had been almost exactly a year since I lost my Dad (June 28), when I was approached last year by my editor, Lisa Mitchell, about writing a Father’s Day article for a special insert. I was unsure if I would be emotionally ready. It hadn’t felt like a year since he has passed, as I can still remember crystal clearly tucking him in bed for the night, taking for granted I had another day; a fallacy most of us believe in, that there is always another day, taking life and time for granted as if it is an endless supply and an inevitability and luxury that we all are due to live a full and lengthy life including those around us we love, not accounting for or acknowledging possibilities of tragedy, accidents, lifealtering mishaps. Perhaps ego, but not us.
It has been the most testing three-and-a-half years I can ever remember, as I lost my endearing Grandmother first (“Nana”), a best friend and her son (fortunately only in distance, as I love, felt, and treated that boy as a son, that one hurt the most), followed by my Dad, and most recently a close Aunt (Dad’s sister) unfortunately to death. The latter two all lived together in childhood and retirement years with my Nana there in Fleetwood where I grew up, forever my hometown. I, at first thought, wanted to dismiss writing a personal article, but I battled deep depression in this time, because I had lost five of the closest people to me in my life story in such a short span, seemingly back to back to back every few months and individuals whose advice, time, and love were integral to me.
I did find solace in prayer and staying busy in coping, but something remarkable had happened to me that made me feel I was transitioning from
When it comes to watching the game, the next best thing to the stadium can be your home. And sometimes home viewing can be even better. This season, take your spectating more seriously by bringing your entertainment center to the next level.
Whether you’re hosting the whole crew or just watching the game solo, these tips can make you feel like you’re really there:
Food and Drink
Replicate the ballpark or arena with the right food and drink. Whether you go with classics like peanuts and Cracker Jacks, or you serve the updated gourmet fare found at many stadiums today, give your guests something delicious to snack on while cheering for their favorite team. Serve up frothy drinks and some team spirit in etched glasses with the team logo.
Consider creating a satellite kitchen or beverage area in your entertainment room. This way, you don’t have to wait until the commercial break for a refill.
Some avid fans even set up popcorn carts and turnstiles in their viewing rooms to replicate the stadium feel.
Upgrade Your View
You don’t need to pay through the nose to do better than the nosebleed section. The best seats for never missing a play can be right at home.
Replace an ordinary TV with a projector for a larger viewing area. For example, consider Casio’s new lineup of LampFree projectors. A LampFree projector generates high brightness, without compromising color, clarity or performance. It’s a cost-effective solution for sports fans who want to optimize their at-home viewing experience. And since they’re compact, they can be moved easily from room to room or even outdoors. For more information, visit CasioLampFree. com.
Big Sound
To create surround sound, you will need at least four speakers and a subwoofer. Create an equilateral triangle, with the right and left front speakers as two points and your primary seat as the third point. Meaning, if you are seated seven feet away from the screen, your speakers should be seven feet apart from each other and angled toward you. Place them at the same height as ear level.
To enjoy the game like a seasoned fan and host the best viewing parties around, take steps to improve your entertainment set-up at home and you’ll never miss a play.
Courtesy of StatePoint the split role of son, now solely to DAD, when I was asked to fill in for a softball game. Unexpectedly, a friend (Joe) asked if I could help out, and after a few minutes, also requested about getting another player. I immediately thought of teammates from basketball or softball, but upon consideration, the answer was obvious, and I remembered one of those dreams I held on the back burner for quite awhile. I thought of my then-16-year-old son who doesn’t necessarily like sports, but I always retained in the back of my mind conversations I had with an old coach/former teammate telling me the greatest feeling he ever experienced was playing with his son on our competitive Church softball team some time ago.
Playing on a different team now the past five years or more, I witness a new father and son combination and with a little envy, but appreciate the wonderful dynamics shared between the two. Even though my archaic view believing sometimes a roster spot for an aging Dad or “not there yet” son might sacrifice win(s), I’m learning more as a growing human being that the fierce competitive spirit I have, blinded me of the most important thing of all. That the experience and opportunity to play with father or in my case, son, was far more greater, infinitely better and rewarding than the victory, itself. Because as much as my son complained about how much homework he had that night or issues he was having with making gamer tutorials for YouTube and/ or equipment failures, I kept reassuring him and planting seeds to “Enjoy the present; and that one day you/we are going to wish we could go back to this day,” and the like.
But in reality, I was speaking to myself and soothing my own conscience and guilt, somehow being regrettably reflective with not making more time for both, and pondering what emotions I was dealing with and what I was thinking about; wishing I could go back in time and roller skate with my Dad or especially fish with him again!
We ended up getting crushed that night like 162, at least, but I can’t tell you the joy I had in watching him bat and get a base hit, and glancing over at him next to me in the outfield. I was proud at how well he played, and against full grown adults no less, the lack of fear, and the athlete he is, despite and knowing sports is far from his favorite hobby, probably something many fathers dread and something myself can’t fathom as a multi-sport enthusiast. But this was something unique he did for me, because I think he realized the gravity of importance it brought and how timely “this dream” was to me.
That softball game flew by way too fast, as always, and I think one day he’ll think about it more than a fleeting thought randomly bouncing around his teenage mind and appreciate it’s significance one day, as I hold certain memories of times with my Dad when his smile was just a little wider than usual, and that sparkle in his eye a little brighter; but to me that was the greatest Father’s Day gift I could have had at this particular moment.
Subsequently, I could not help but to think of my Dad during the game, visualizing how he would be smiling down upon us, that I had bridged the gap
in our personal interests, like he and seemed night and day in ways but really more alike; but smile bigger that my son, his grandson, turned out to be a wholesome boy who did this for me and the thoughtfulness that being my teammate that day meant everything for me!
Dad, I miss you, and I think about you every day, and I hope to see you again someday. I love you! Your son, Rick.
I also want to thank my editor, Lisa Mitchell, for thinking of me as I found this very therapeutic, and I wish I had a picture of my son and me playing softball that night, but I didn’t even want to stop to take a picture and miss a moment. Thank you Joe Buss for making one of my remaining dreams come true, but furthermore being the good Christian, big-hearted, very likeable friend you have been to many of us!
Richard L.T. Orth is assistant director of the American Folklife Institute in Kutztown.