Lorrae
Cook
My mom is famous in the family for using baking soda and baking powder interchangeably, and putting a frozen pizza in the oven upside down. (Whats that burning... oh my gosh!)
I believe that TV has made germ-a-phobes out of all of us. Mayo has been touted as a dangerous food if left on the counter to get warm. Commercially produce may, that's purchased in the store has plenty of vinegar and salt in it to stop most microbial action, at least for a couple hours on the counter.
I'm sure that one or two cases of mild food poisoning took place in my life time (running to the bathroom frequently), but within two hours, all symptoms were gone. And my immune system is probably stronger for it.
Besides, have you ever seen a tiger cook its meat before chowing down. or a lion, or even a house cat? I didn't think so. So why don't they get food poisoning from eating raw meat. And then there are the northern Eskimos, who never ate cooked meat. In fact, it was placed in the igloo, in an out of the way corner for several days, in the 45 to 50 degree range, and allowed to "tenderize" through natural biological action. And that's what they eat, every day of their lives. And with all the clothing they have to wear to keep warm, I would think a case of the runs would be seriously challenging.
Seeeeeey; Goodweed of the North
Okay this is gross, just warning you. My mom used to tell a story of the day she was very mad at her brother. They were sitting down to eat a breakfast of corn flakes. Mom watched as his vacination scab (they were large in those days) fell off his arm and into his bowl. She just sat there and watched him eat the whole thing. Now you know why I am the way I am.
I grew up similar to the same way you did, LPBeier. Each Mom had a distintive way to call their kids....My mom had a bell, another used a whistle, one just yelled, and another could make that real shrieky whistle with 2 fingers (which always impressed me and I've tried lots of times to do it but failed)...Good memories!
Mom would let us lick the beaters when she was making cookies. That was always a good thing. Now however, can't do that. The raw eggs will give you salmonella! She would also thaw frozen meat in the sink and keep bacon grease under the sink. We were also big on tasting everything using the same spoon for everyone and using our fingers to scrape off the spatulas and then licking our fingers.
Real SNOW cones! a great memory for me too. I think I need to do that again next time it snows, although maybe not with the right soda pop. I hear that you can get the pop with real sugar in it in Mexico (not that I would be going there soon).
If you have any Mexican stores or a Mexican food section in your grocery store, check there too. I know our local grocery stores and Super WalMart have them.You can actually buy it here! At least in some places in WA state. I'm not a soda drinker but just remember the big yellow signs as I dashed down the soda aisle at the store a few weeks ago. I am pretty sure there was Pepsi, Coke and Mt Dew made with real sugar sitting next to the regular kind. There are probably more brands and flavors available that I've not seen.