Warm and pleasant greetings to all. We hope you are enjoying a good week.
Talking with neighbors this week, it’s been another busy week for many. Some have experienced challenges, as we all do sometimes, but reacting positively to the situation gives hope.
New Town Missionary Baptist Church served as host for the annual First District of Tallahatchie County Association and its auxiliaries Monday, July 13, through Thursday, July 16. All churches registered and represented. Attendance and participation both were good at each evening session. The 2027 Annual Association will convene with Poplar Spring Baptist Church, near Enid.
A few times during the last couple of weeks, residents in our community have been patient while maintenance is in progress with the water lines. Low pressure or no running water without notice made it inconvenient at times. Residents do understand maintenance is necessary to keep the system in service.
My family was pleased to have our young friend and her children stop by for a visit. Erin is Laverne Leigh’s youngest daughter from Georgia. She and her older sisters have always known us and visited since the times they were children and spent the summer with their grandmother. Erin’s children, Evelyn and Earl, spent most of the summer with their grandmother Laverne. Erin is bringing children back home to Georgia. It’s school preparation and fun week back home for Evelyn and Earl.
Usually, during the middle of July is when individuals and families are enjoying the peak season from the summer garden. Who doesn’t like corn, tomatoes and peas? The availability, abundance and appetite all go together for much enjoyment.
Our neighbor shared tomatoes and peas, giving us the opportunity to do a bit of food preservation. The time it takes to save tomatoes for later use is worth the time in skinning tomatoes and preparing them for the freezer.
Yes, you can freeze tomatoes without cooking them after removing the skin and green core. Tomatoes are 94% to 95% water, so when frozen it’s mushy and watery, which is why frozen tomatoes are not used for salads or as freshly sliced.
I like removing the skin, green core, cutting it into pieces and stew for about 20 minutes. This makes nice colorful juice.
When cooked tomatoes cool, place in freezer containers and freeze. Used frozen tomatoes for juice, soups, stews and sauces. Cooked tomatoes have more real juice, the texture is nice to combine with other ingredients and flavor is best.
Cyclosporiasis is a word heard several times in the news last week with an outbreak that has been linked to lettuce sourced from Mexico.
Thousands of people were infected across the USA, including over five states now. Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that can enter the body through infected food and water causing a gastrointestinal infection.
CDC and FDA have issued a statement to consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell located in the five states (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia). Taco Bell announced Friday it was immediately removing lettuce from the menu.
This outbreak makes many consumers leery of eating any variety of lettuce at this time. If you do experience any of the symptoms listed, it’s worth seeing your health care provider to feel safe. It takes up to 2 weeks after consuming lettuce and these are the symptoms to notice: explosive diarrhea, loss of appetite, nausea, cramping, bloating and fatigue.
I found fresh cherries in the refrigerator and had the task of pitting cherries. Reginald and I make a delicious fresh cherry pie! Have some?
Enjoy life today. Blessings.
