As if coming home to find David Hasselhof climbing the charts weren’t bad enough, Germany also welcomed us back with a bit of an E.coli pandemic. At first I didn’t pay it much mind; the outbreak was small and happening in Hamburg, which is about as far away from Munich as one can get in Germany. But instead of the cause being discovered quickly and us all living happily ever after, the outbreak is only becoming worse, and spreading all over the country. As of today all we know is that the E.coli culprit is suspected to be lettuce, tomatoes, or cucumbers, and that the numbers of infections and deaths keep rising.
As a vegetarian living in the center of Porkistan, I generally fill the meals I prepare myself with as much fresh veg as possible. I eat a giant salad for lunch almost every day, and I snack on cucumbers regularly. I buy most of my produce at local farmers markets, where the vendors are putting up pleading signs promising that all of their veggies are grown locally on their own farms, with the unspoken corollary being that you can trust their food. It won’t make you spend the summer jockeying for position on a dialysis machine, really it won’t.
The thing is, the poisonous veggies are being grown local to somewhere. Just probably not here. And I believe this. I believe that the culprit being a Munich-area farm is probably really, really unlikely. And I’m usually pretty good at not getting all worked up about risks that are really, really remote. But, well, have you read about what these infections are like? It sounds most unpleasant. And this visceral reaction is making it harder for me to stomach raw veg these days, even though I know I’m being irrational. What can I say? I really enjoy my fully-functioning kidneys.
So I’ve been channeling my irrationality into creative cooking, as heat is not E.coli’s friend. A couple days ago I made a most interesting cucumber and lentil curry. Last night’s pasta salad contained some quite flavorful roasted tomatoes. Today’s lunch was served with a side of lettuce sauteed in olive oil and garlic. Problem solved?
What about you? What precautions (if any) are you taking in the midst of this E.coli catastrophe?
Hi! Firstly, welcome back. Sorry about David Hasselhof, I don’t know what that’s about either. It is a terrible shock.
Secondly, on the poo in the food front, I’m a bit like you. I considered it a local problem for the Hamburgers and went about my day eating salad with gay abandon. Now that it is more alarming, I have been changing our meals to avoid fresh salad and include more cooked veg. I find asian style and flavours appropriate for the warmer weather. I’m not a vegetarian – so it is not so dire for me.
Well, I am German but not in Germany and still I find myself staying away from raw veg at the minute – so I think I am weirder…
Like you I am vegetarian and raw veg features heavily in our snacks, but also I do only use cooked veg at the minute. Lots of mezze style dishes here taking inspiration from Lebanese and Morroccan cuisine. Thankfully, my 4 year old is fairly adaptable but she still misses to nibble on crunchy lettuce and raw peppers.
I’ve definitely been cooking all our vegetables, although this is really a crappy time of year to not eat raw veggies!
The fact that they STILL haven’t identified the source makes me wonder if they’re actually barking up the wrong tree…
Seriously, how have they not found the culprit by now? With thousands of infections you’d think they’d be able to extrapolate some data and pinpoint somethingorother.
Mmmm mezze.
Yeah, this totally creeps me out. We tossed our salad greens and have been cooking everything else. I fried up our tomatoes and then used them as my tomato sauce substitute on some homemade pizzas.
It’s totally a sucky time of year to not be able to eat raw stuff, but better safe than sorry. At least it’s making me try my food in new ways. I honestly can’t remember the last time I fried toms!
Yes, the timing is not great. It’s so hot this weekend that I’d rather not be using my oven at all. Cooked fresh tomatoes can be delicious, though!
Things looked good at the farmers market this morning. At least as many people as on a ‘normal’ morning, and people didn’t even seem to be avoiding the lettuce or tomatoes too much. Being surrounded by other vegetable eaters increased my confidence (although for all I know, they’re all going home to bleach and cook the devil out of everything, while I’m just washing it and popping it in my mouth).
But if a cuke can make you puke
And lettuce give you the runs
I’ll take my tomato with a slice of potato
And hope it don’t ruin my buns
Even on the other side of the globe that outbreak scared me as I have been eating tons of veggies since being diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.
I was just making sure that I washed things really well!!
Happy ICLW
#96
I’m glad things are finally calming down here, although new cases are still trickling in. At least my level of concern has calmed down to closer match my actual risk level. Whew, panicking is hard work.
Not a problem for me. I tend to over cook almost everything, and probably eat less fresh fruit and veggies than i should. Thanks for bringing up an important topic though. Tracey ICLW #118