The summer seems to be passing quickly. There are barely enough weekends to work in all the reunions, weddings, homecomings and anniversaries.
Because of the slow start to the growing season, harvest in our area will be later than normal. That extends the summer holidays so we can attend even more festivities.
Now we hope Jack Frost will stay away from our gardens and crops.
There are risks associated with reunions and homecomings. When someone walks up to you and asks if you know them and you haven’t got a clue, what do you say? My brother guessed one woman’s mother, who looked like her 40 years ago.
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No doubt both were startled by his answer. I also had an embarrassing moment at our town’s 100th anniversary homecoming. I saw an old school classmate and thought it was the classmate’s sister.
I gave Mike a hug and then said hi to Shirley and asked if she had been at the choir practice. A choir from the 1950s era was regrouping and singing together again.
Shirley was wearing a straw hat and dark wrap-around sunglasses, with little face showing.
Shirley politely told me he was Bill, another former classmate. I could have dropped dead. Once the mistake was made, it was too late to do anything but laugh it off.
Even with the risk of embarrassment, reunions are great. Never miss a chance to attend these events.
On another weekend, we had a family reunion with descendents of three brothers, Jim, Bob and Bill, who homesteaded together in the early 1900s.
Bill was my grandpa, so I was part of that arm of the family tree. Cousins Ross and Carol organized fun activities.
After supper, we formed a circle from the oldest at 95 years old to the youngest at six months. Bill and I were number three and four in line, so that was unsettling.
Later we lined up from tallest to shortest.
A contest with family trivia was fun and highlighted our history. Questions included who is the youngest member of the family, who was the first family member born in the homesteaded area or where did someone originate from in those early days.
We divided into three teams, representing the three arms of the family tree. About five people were picked for each team, which had a captain and a person to step off our progress during the race for first place.
Teams consulted with one another before choosing their answer and then the team representative moved ahead one step with each correct answer.
Cards displayed true or false or A, B or C for multiple-choice questions. Some questions were a spoken answer.
We were all winners, having fun and learning more about our family’s history.
Hamburger safety
Dear TEAM: Why is it safe to cook steaks and roasts to medium-rare or medium but not ham-burger meat?
Dear reader: During cutting and wrapping, meat may come in contact with bacteria that is on the butcher’s knife, counter, hands of the handler or anything that it touches. We can help prevent this by keeping all surfaces clean and sanitized.
The bacteria will be on the outside of a steak or roast. Bacteria cannot chew through a cut of meat so cannot get inside a roast or steak unless we let them hitchhike on a fork, knife, thermometer or grinder. Cooking or grilling the surface of the meat until well done will kill the bacteria there.
If we are careful, there won’t be any bacteria on the inside and it is OK to cook the inside to a less than well done temperature.
With ground beef, the grinder will spread bacteria to the inside of the meat from the outside.
It is especially hazardous because of the many surfaces in ground meat, each of which may carry bacteria. That is why ground beef must be thoroughly cooked all the way through to the centre to a temperature that will kill the bacteria, which is 170 F (77 C).
Patties are too thin to accurately measure with a thermometer so should be cooked until the juices run clear. Cut them open to see inside. If they are pink, cook longer.
Other meat safety tips:
- Using tongs or lifters to turn the meat, instead of a fork that pierces. This will keep dangerous bacteria on the outside until the heat of cooking destroys them.
- Roasts that have been boned, rolled or stuffed may have bacteria on the inside because of the butcher’s knife or skewer transporting harmful bacteria to the inside. These cuts need to be cooked thoroughly to the well done stage.
- Thermometers can carry bacteria to the inside. Sanitize the thermometer before using it and insert it after the heat of the oven or grill has destroyed the bacteria on the surface of the roast.
- Partial cooking followed by a finishing stage at a later time is risky. Partially cooked food may feel hot on the surface when we touch it. But, in fact, we have warmed the inside to the bacteria’s favourite temperature and softened it. This allows bacteria to grow to dangerous levels. If a roast is started in the oven or if ribs are parboiled for finishing on the barbecue, they should be placed on the barbecue immediately after coming from the oven or pot.
- If you use a brush to baste raw meat at the beginning of your cooking period, the brush becomes contaminated with the bacteria from the surface of the raw meat. If you baste the cooked, ready-to-eat meat with that same brush, you will re-contaminate the cooked meat. Use a clean brush for cooked foods.
- Platters and utensils that carry food to the barbecue will be contaminated from the raw meat. Do not use them to carry cooked food off the grill. Use a clean platter and utensils.
Source: Everybody’s Food Kitchen.
Iron consumption
If you are taking an iron supplement, Health Canada advises you to read the label carefully. The information on the labels is correct but confusing.
On Jan. 1, 2010, all products containing iron on the Canadian market will be required to have consistent labelling information on daily dosage.
The maximum daily dosage for elemental iron is 45 milligrams per day for adults and youth ages 14 to 10 years, unless a medical practitioner advises otherwise. For children ages one to 13, it is 40 mg per day.
Consuming too much iron can cause constipation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. At high doses, iron may cause serious harm, especially in children.
For more information, contact Health Canada’s public inquiries line at 613-957-2991 or 866-225-0709.
Alma Copeland is a home economist from Elrose, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
