Monday Memories--Mother's mixing bowl

Do you ever freeze any leftovers and then aren't quite sure what they are? That happened to me yesterday. I thought we were going to have spaghetti for supper, and when I thawed the package (unlabeled) it was chili. So I made chili-mac by adding some cooked macaroni and added two lonely slices of cheese. Quite tasty with the fresh blueberries topped with plain yogurt, and key lime pie later. Anyway, while we were eating my husband mentioned that tonight the artists are having their potluck at the home of the Rhein Center director. I'm in class until 5:30, pot luck is at 6. So what to bring that can be reheated? The chili-mac tasted so good, I decided to go to the little grocery up the street and buy the beans and a little hamburger. This morning I began looking through the cupboard for the right dish, and found this, which I'd forgotten I have since I'm not sure I ever used it--a covered vegetable dish in the apple pear design by Harker.

I bought it a few years ago from a local "antique" store because it reminded me of a bowl that my mother had for many years. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, and it was no longer in the kitchen after my dad died, or I would have asked for it. Maybe someone else in the family also has happy memories of pies and cookies from this mixing bowl?

I heard this morning that there is an e. coli outbreak from raw retail cookie dough. When I was cleaning the bowl and spoon from Mom's bowl, there was no danger because Mom carefully checked to make sure no cracked or damaged eggs went into her food. She was also careful about washing her hands and cleaning the counter top after handling eggs or raw meat. But these days, the salmonellosis passes directly from the chicken to the eggs, and no crack is necessary. So I don't think it is safe to eat anything with eggs uncooked.

Most types of Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of animals and birds and are transmitted to humans by contaminated foods of animal origin. Stringent procedures for cleaning and inspecting eggs were implemented in the 1970s and have made salmonellosis caused by external fecal contamination of egg shells extremely rare. However, unlike eggborne salmonellosis of past decades, the current epidemic is due to intact and disinfected grade A eggs. The reason for this is that Salmonella enteritidis silently infects the ovaries of healthy appearing hens and contaminates the eggs before the shells are formed. USDA

So, things change. Not everything in the "good old days" was safer or better, but some things, like memories of Mom in the kitchen and safe eggs were.