| It's 10 am Sunday morning, Ted and
Jane are running around to get to the lake for a full day of
sailing. It's a perfect sunny day, 5 knot breeze and not a cloud
in the sky. The Hunter 34 is well maintained and they are both
in good health, but ...one of them will not make it to
work on Monday.
Jane says, "I pulled some burgers out of the
freezer for today, is that O.K.?"
Ted says, "What? I'm
looking for the charcoal".
"Burgers it is," Jane
thinks. "Let's see, lettuce, tomato, buns, Check.
Oh, grilled onions, they were great on those Hot Dogs the other day.
Mustard, ketchup. Got it! I'm ready. Did you find the
charcoal?" Jane yells.
"No, I think I left a bag
in the galley last time," Ted yells back.
"I hope
you're right,"says Jane. Off to the marina they go.
"Is the cooler heavy enough? It's just the two of
us," Ted bellows, as if his Captain's hat out ranks his wife's sun
visor.
"I put extra ice in because I want to make tea when we
get there. Just be happy I left a gallon of water on the boat last
time or it would be even heavier," Jane snaps back.
"Ready to shove off?" the Captain
asks.
"Go ahead, I'm just unloading the cooler and making the
iced tea."
Ted shouts from the helm, "All ahead full!"
A short while later, as they were roaring
down the waterway, Ted yelled down to Jane to
bring him some tea, when it was ready, because he was really thirsty.
"The tea is not ready yet!" exclaims Jane. "The
burgers leaked in the cooler so I had to stop and clean that up
first".
Ten a.m. the next
morning a concerned co-worker calls Jane at home knowing they probably
went to the lake Sunday. "Jane, this is Peggy from work,
are you O.K.?"
To which Peggy replied, "No, I woke up in the
middle of the night violently ill. Ted took me to the emergency
room and they said it was food poisoning. FOOD POISONING!"
Jane repeated.
"Oh my gosh how did that happen?" Peggy
replied.
"The doctor said it was Salmonella, but I don't get it." |
"Everybody gets it", says Peggy.
"No," snapped
Jane. "I mean we had burgers, not chicken."
"Is Jack
sick too?" inquired Peggy.
Jane quickly responded, "Who, the iron stomach,
no he's fine. And we ate together all weekend. We had the same
things. I just don't understand. I thought it was the meat, but
they were cooked well done, and I never made the tea because the
burgers bled into the ice and I knew not to use that."
"'How about
the lettuce or tomato?" asked Peggy.
"No, I had the
lettuce, tomato and grilled onions in my trusty Tupperware."
replied Jane.
Peggy squealed, "Grilled onions?"
Startled, Jane exclaimed, "Yes, we had some leftover from the
other night. I just threw them in. I thought it would be
easier."
"You should have just thrown them out!"
scolded Peggy. "Grilled onions contain salmonella," she
added.
Slowly Jane acknowledged "Aha, that's why Ted's not
sick. He doesn't like onions on his burger".
"That's
probably it," said Peggy. "When
did you get so smart Peggy?" a humbled Jane asked.
Proudly
Peggy admits "After I attended the Windsong Sailing Academy's
Gourmet Cooking Afloat class. There I learned the basics of food
preservation
and spoilage prevention. The do's and don'ts you might say on
preparing storing, and transporting food. You could
really use something like that Jane as much as you guys are on the
water, it's probably the most hostile environment I could think of to
handle food" she added. "Perhaps
I'll take your suggestion Peggy. This past weekend might have
been memorable for more pleasant reasons
had I taken the time," Jane concluded. Jane
was surprised to learn that the Gourmet Cooking Afloat class was
affordably priced at $99, because all classes are sponsored by the Parks &
Recreation Service. That may well prove to be her best
investment in her health she's ever made! It could be yours
too.
Call today to register for your class!
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