Everyone loves a cookout, but not everyone knows their way around a grill. For the best results, follow a few simple pro tips. If using charcoal, skip the lighter fluid and instead start your coals using a chimney, Country Living says. Keep the grill lid down whenever possible to seal in heat and moisture, and create zones of high and medium heat on the grill surface. Try a dry rub or marinade on meats, and start with a clean, greased grate. And finally, don’t poke meat constantly to check for doneness; either invest in a digital thermometer or take the meat off the heat early — you can always put it back on if it’s still too rare.
Tag: honoring fallen soldiers
Make a Dish to Pass for Memorial Day
Have you been invited to a Memorial Day cookout and need a dish to pass? Food & Wine has 10 suggestions for elevated, crowd-pleasing sides that travel well. Watermelon salad with mint and feta, green bean slaw and Thai cucumber salad offer refreshing light bites for the year’s first hot days, while apple pie bars and walnut brownies will round out the cookout. If you prefer to indulge with traditional comfort classics, make a potato salad or deviled eggs, but be safe — don’t leave those dishes to bake in the sun and risk a case of food poisoning.
Honoring Veterans on Memorial Day
Memorial Day was established to honor the nation’s fallen soldiers, but has expanded over the years to include all veterans of the armed forces. To honor their service, attend a parade, lay some flowers and a miniature flag at a local gravesite, or invite a living veteran to your cookout; you can also probably find a veteran charity picnic in the area and lend your support. And when flying the flag, keep it at half-staff in remembrance until noon, Homes.com says, then raise it to full-staff at noon to symbolize the ongoing fight for freedom.
Kids Can Help Celebrate Veterans Day
Veterans Day is Saturday, Nov. 11, and schoolchildren can honor veterans as they learn through a variety of activities, says Kids Thank a Veteran. Ask kids to write a letter to a veteran of Vietnam or another conflict, or invite a veteran to speak about their service at a school or event. Assemble a care package for a current service member, or plan a field trip to a VA nursing home or hospital, the site suggests; active troops and aging veterans alike will appreciate the consideration.
Celebrating the Fallen
One of the best ways to observe the nation’s fallen service members is to donate time, money, and supplies to (living) veterans programs. You can spend time with local veterans, buy a poppy to support the Veterans of Foreign Wars while you watch the parade, and contribute your old stuff to ClothingDonations.org to help fund veterans’ initiatives nationwide. Or—for maximum decluttering and incredible amounts of good karma—you can use the three-day weekend to stage a garage sale, give the proceeds to VVA, and donate whatever doesn’t sell.