Summertime, as an adult, has become fraught with even more danger: sunburn, rip currents, heat waves, drought conditions, beach traffic gridlock, the electrical grid, deer ticks, carpenter bees, and the largest cyclospora outbreak on record. It used to be enough to have to worry about waiting a whole hour after lunch before getting back in the water. The very idea of man-eating sharks in the shallow water brought a delightful frisson of risk to another day at the beach. Now we have to be afraid to eat salads and fruit. Our mothers would despair.
Luckily, you gentle readers are regular patrons of the farmers’ markets, where we get delicious and nutritious (and safe) fruit and veg. But what about hapless folks who do the bulk of their grocery shopping at chain stores which are supplied by just a few mega-food sources? Yikes. Or, to make it all about me, what about the take-out Italian hero I wolfed down yesterday, before realizing that it had a layer of shredded, unidentifiable-farm-factory-source iceberg lettuce? Luckily, 22 hours later, there is still no sign of explosive diarrhea. Phew. But, upon reading further, symptoms could still appear in up to two weeks from that very sandwich. Cyclospora Cases
This is the summer of a microscopic parasite: cyclosporiasis. As of last week, there were about 11,500 cases nationwide. Domestically Acquired Cyclosporiasis
We are used to washing our hands multiple times a day now, thanks to COVID. We need this new health emergency to re-learn safe food handling protocols. This is a handy refresher course: Food Safety
These are minor inconveniences compared to great white sharks at Amity Island beach. I would rather wash my fruit and veggies a few times than succumb to the cyclosporiasis alternative.
And the best way to protect yourself from cyclosporiasis and still eat all your summertime faves is to cook them. The CDC says that the best way to prevent cyclosporiasis is to cook the produce. And cook we shall. Below are some cooked food alternatives — how about some cooked lettuce?
Stir-Fried Lettuce with Crispy Garlic and Fried Eggs
This isn’t as much fun as sitting on the back steps, eating watermelon, and spitting seeds at your brother, honestly, but few things are. Watermelon
Zucchini season is nearly upon us: Zucchini Casserole
Ah, kale. For those of you reconsidering your wastrel ways: Roasted Kale
Again, a fruit best consumed on the back porch, with long, juicy drips running down to your elbows, but these are trying times: Roasted Peaches
You can grill practically everything: Grilled Cantloupe
Local fruits and vegetables are best for so many reasons, and you should still wash everything carefully, because local is not perfect, and even the CDC is not positive where cyclosporiasis will pop up next. Be careful, wash your hands often, wash all your produce, say hello to strangers and wear your sun screen. Summer comes but once a year.
“I’ve long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we’re talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime ‘associates,’ food, for me, has always been an adventure”
― Anthony Bourdain
Jean Dixon Sanders has been a painter and graphic designer for the past thirty years. A graduate of Washington College, where she majored in fine art, Jean started her work in design with the Literary House lecture program. The illustrations she contributes to the Spies are done with watercolor, colored pencil and ink.Jean Dixon Sanders has been a painter and graphic designer for the past thirty years. A graduate of Washington College, where she majored in fine art, Jean started her work in design with the Literary House lecture program. The illustrations she contributes to the Spies are done with watercolor, colored pencil and ink.
