Memory Making Day in May

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. ~William Penn

     We didn't plan on it but we visited five different cemeteries today.  In between we had a picnic, flew a kite, practiced shooting a blow dart gun at tin cans and went to the sporting goods store, Scheels to ride the ferris wheel and have an ice cream cone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     My father died 27 years ago and my sister passed away almost seven years ago so it's good to go and visit their gravesites to not only remember them but to share those memories with our own loved ones who are too young to remember them on their own.

 

 

Here are a few recipes that are perfect for a nice Memorial Day picnic.  Each recipe includes a unique ingredient--root beer.  I made all three recipes with one 2 liter bottle of root beer.

 

 

 

Root Beer Baked Beans

Adapted from myrecipes.com

6 bacon slices                                                              ½ cup hickory-smoked barbeque sauce

1 medium onion, diced                                               1 tsp. dry mustard

4-16 oz. cans pork and beans                                     ¼ tsp. hot sauce

1 cup root beer

Cook and bacon in skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove and drain on paper towels.  Reserve 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet and sauté onion until tender.  Stir together all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on medium for about 4 hours.

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1-2lb. pork tenderloin                                     1-18 oz. bottle barbeque sauce

1 ½ cups root beer                                          8 hamburger buns 

Salt and pepper the pork and put it in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat.  Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily; about 6-7 hours.  Drain well.  Stir in barbeque sauce.  Serve over hamburger buns.  Makes 8 servings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Root Beer Float Cake

Adapted from Taste of Home

1 package white cake mix                                          ¼ cup canola oil

1 ¼ cups root beer                                                      2 eggs

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, root beer, oil and eggs.  Beat on low speed for 2 minutes or stir by hand for 3 minutes.

Pour into a greased 9x13” baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Cool completely.

For the topping combine two envelopes of Dream Whip topping mix in a medium bowl with 1 cup root beer.  Beat until soft peaks form.  Frost cake.  Store in the refrigerator.  Yields 12-15 servings.  For a more intense root beer flavor, you may want to add about a tsp. of root beer concentrate to both the cake mix and the topping.

     The book I'm recommending this time is called All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor.  It's about a Jewish family of mostly cute little girls growing up in New York City in the 1920s.  I enjoyed learning about the Jewish Holidays and customs and foods they prepared to celebrate each one.  I learned that girls in families act the same no matter when and where they live and what religion they practice.

 

 

     Here is a wonderful quilt made by a woman in my quilt class for a friend who had lost her husband.  They made it using some of his favorite shirts.  What a wonderful keepsake for the wife to cherish and remind her daily of her loved one.