Sorry to say, but this site has been so depressing for a few days. I thought I'd ask an average, everyday question....to make us all feel a little more normal today.
I made Eggplant Lasagna, and my BIL and SIL are coming for dinner. They leave for Cali tomorrow to see their beautiful grand daughter.
Sorry, sometimes we just need some REGULAR conversation.......or at least THIS caregiver does.
I have some weird quirks too! I hate if someone puts the same knife in the peanut butter jar and jelly jar. 😆 I use two separate knives because I don’t want peanut butter mixed in my preserves or preserves mixed in with my peanut butter.
So, I'm not for any public bathing facilities at all.
Ball pits and jump pits at the trampoline places are both guaranteed to make you sick. So happy to see other fun things brought in that can be cleaned.
I reluctantly let my kids in a ball pit a few times but it was an outdoor one . I rationalized it by saying the sun killed germs .
Not a fan of hotels to begin with . I say that as I’m staying in one on the beach right now. But since I no longer live on an island or near the coast and love the beach , I have no choice . 😬🙄. .
You can tell which kids weren’t exposed to germs because they miss more school.
Do you remember those ball pits that kids played in? Oh gosh! They were germ pits! I hated those things! LOL 😆
This is gross 🤮, but I heard stories of kids throwing up in those and they weren’t cleaned.
How would you keep those things sanitized?
Yep! Have seen that. I had one child who loved her pacifier and the other one who didn’t want anything to do with it. Neither were thumb suckers, but some kids love to suck their thumbs.
Need, I see that too and it doesn't bother me as much as mom picking it up off the floor inside, maybe sucking on it and then returning to baby. But, all the minimum exposure really does build immunity.
Science has proven that there are organisms in the soil that build our gut health and immunity, so the dirt is actually healthy. Here's to more children having the opportunity to bake and taste mud pies. 🎊
And if you are a good mommy you put the soother in your own mouth first before you hand it back to the baby!
I think anything can be taken to extremes. Unless we live in a bubble, we are going to be exposed to germs.
That’s interesting about the boiling water in food. I didn’t know about that.
I have seen moms pick up pacifiers on the playground and wipe off the dirt and stick it back in their child’s mouth! LOL 😆
I remember that we didn’t even have air conditioning in our schools or churches when I was a child. People would fan themselves in church. Occasionally, someone would faint.
We had a gas refrigerator when I was a kid. Not sure why my parents bought a gas refrigerator but when hurricane Betsy hit, I was 10 years old. We were the only family on our street that had refrigerated food.
The power was out for weeks and we kept food for our neighbors. We had a gas stove too.
Open kettle canning? Does this mean no lid on the food being cooked or no lid on the hot water bath? I do both, so I am curious.
I agree with grandma, much illness comes from lazy cooks, it's like disease spreading because people don't wash their hands, should be common sense but...
I read an article that said 80% of people DO NOT wash the fruits and veggies they consume. I didn't believe it until I started paying attention and ohmyyuckyuckyuck!!!!!! It was/is true. So you know they aren't cleaning up after handling raw meat.
I do have to say, that's how fermentation starts, leaving stuff out and that actually makes many things healthier.
Personally, I think it is good for our immune systems to not be overly pampered. We have the latest and greatest, yet, we are the sickest nation on the planet, hmmm?
Now I need to plan some chili for this week's menu.
1/Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold
2/Avoid cross contamination
Some might think reusing a measuring cup while prepping a recipe is cross contamination but it's not because it's all part of making the same food, it's only cross contamination when you are carelessly using items to prepare or serve different dishes, especially when mixing both raw and cooked dishes.
And while cooking does neutralize many causes of food poisoning bacteria the toxins they produce can be impervious to heat and remain in the food. If you need to cool down a vat of chili it's best to divide it into smaller containers, putting the container into a sink of cold water is also a way to cool it down more quickly.
My nephew had left sbout 4 quarts of chili setting on the stove for about 3 hours when he should have put it in the fridge as soon as it cooled enough. He boiled kit as directed and they consumed the chili with no one experiencing any bad effects.
I have never experienced food poisoning at home. I did experience it once at a taco bell when they had a buffet; apparently something wasn't kept hot enough. It was perhaps the most awful 2-4 hours!
I consider that I keep a clean residential kitchen. I acknowledge that reusing a measuring cup for a different ingredient may not work in a commercial kitchen with multiple cooks but even when I have the boys cooking I keep track of how and when utensils are used.
It’s your kitchen and if you haven’t gotten sick by now, looks like you’re okay. So, cook like you want to.
Blueberry pancakes are my favorite! I do like banana pancakes too. My mom sprinkled powdered sugar on top of banana pancakes when we were kids.
I am a clean freak in my kitchen. So were my mom and her mom. I don’t cross contaminate anything.
My cousin wrote a letter to Paul Prudhomme when he was giving cooking lessons on television. She told him that he shouldn’t stick his fingers in the pot to taste or taste with a spoon and then stir the pot!
LOL 😆 She’s super fanatical! Hey, she’s 100 years old, no walker, lives in her own apartment and everything! So, she’s definitely doing something right! Although, I wish that she would stop driving.
I haven’t heard of putting two cups of water in food that was left out before and bringing it to a boil. Have you tried that? How long was the food sitting out? I would be afraid to try it.
I have never had food poisoning. My brother had food poisoning from oysters in a restaurant. He said that it was awful.
Happy Birthday on your Dad's July 11th birthday.
TNTechie,
If the milk and blueberries are going into the same recipe, you are good!
Just do not dip the measuring cup into the milk to get it; or do not dip the measuring cup that had milk into the blueberries source. Maybe wipe the measuring cup dry with a clean paper towel?
Maybe between recipes, you should wash all the utensils used and dry them before using.
You've been cooking like forever? Try to keep your confidence up and not start to doubt yourself.
Everyone knows someone that cooks really great recipes in a chaotic kitchen.
(is chaotic kitchen the right code word for a dirty kitchen?) and people do not get sick, we hope. The best chefs dip their fingers in for tasting, don't they?
Stricter rules for cross contamination and unsanitary practices can be found. Cooking Kosher, or in a restaurant or food service requires higher standards.
Maybe you and the foster children would enjoy a food service certification course together?
Edit: I get it maybe. You scooped the blueberries with the measuring cup that was into the milk prior, into the blueberries source. Can you just dump out some blueberries, or spoon them out into the measuring cup?
I would be happy to have blueberries from your kitchen anytime, whichever way you do it.
bowl again and use it to melt the butter...
Like my mother, I have 2 sets of measuring spoons/ cups and I use one for wet ingredients and one for dry during any single cooking period, then wash them by hand and leave them to dry in the drainer.
I have recently been informed this habit is unsanitary; I should wash the measuring cup between its holding milk and blueberries - a rinse with swift water is not enough. While I agree microscopic particles of milk might remain in the cup, I don't think there's enough to "contaminate" my frozen blueberries, particularly when the frozen blueberries are heated before serving.
I know my cooking methods are shaped by what I learned from cooks who were accustomed to wood burning stoves and cool diaries instead of refrigerators. My grand-nephew left a pot of chili out after lunch and I told him to add 2 cups of water and bring it to a rolling boil for 5 minutes and it would be safe to eat for supper - a technique my grandparents used daily when a large meal was fixed for dinner/lunch and leftovers were reheated for supper. Just because we (usually) have fridges and microwaves available doesn't mean the old ways don't still work too. Or am I just not hip with "modern" kitchens.
A very special loved one.
Thanks for asking Cwillie.
My Dad's birthday was July 18th, now deceased.
I am just really loving celebrating my loved ones lives.
And so proud of each and every one of them.
It gives me courage to keep going strong.
Happy Birthday to anyone else celebrating in July!
Going to have some ice cream now.
So, I will go open up the fridge and stare for about five minutes to see what I can cook quickly. Maybe a stir fry. I have some chicken and veggies in the fridge.
There is special help by phone for Seniors!