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Gobble Gobble; Take the Annual Thanksgiving Safe-Cooking Quiz!
By Gig Conaughton, County of San Diego Communications Office
SAN DIEGO, CA -- The Thanksgiving Day -- it’s the biggest day of the year for home cooking. And you don’t want to ruin it. Which can happen if you serve your friends and family heaping helpings of salmonella, listeria or other dangerous bacteria in your turkey, stuffing, vegetables, salads and desserts by not prepping, cleaning and cooking right. Fortunately, there are some very simple rules to keep you, your family and friends safe. Bone―(appétit)―up by taking our annual Thanksgiving safecooking quiz! Thanksgiving feasts start with the thaw! Do you know the best way to thaw frozen meat? A. OK. So, when you buy your frozen turkey and bring it home, just set it out on the counter. Yes, you’ll have less counter space. But after a couple days, when the outside is soft, it should be all thawed and ready to cook. B. Woa—days?! Just run it under hot water! Until the outside is soft. C. Why thaw? Have a turkcicle… Just think of the Tik-tok challenges! D. Please, plan ahead and let meat defrost in the fridge. Meats, poultry and fish should be defrosted
HOME COOKING ANYONE? Thanksgiving-it's the biggest day of the year for home cooking and this article provides valuable tips and rules to make your family and friends are safely served . Take the quiz and learn how much you know about preparing, cooking food as safe as possible (Courtesy photo) in the refrigerator. If you’re cooking a big turkey, you should allow at least 24 hours for every five pounds in weight. Answer: D. Thawing meat in the
refrigerator is absolutely the best and safest method. That’s because a refrigerator allows meat to thaw slowly and evenly, rather than leaving parts of defrosted meat to
Filipino Community Leaders paid tribute in honor and celebration of life of late GREG MACABENTA Who is Greg Macabenta? NATIONAL CITY, CA -- Greg B. Macabenta, has experienced and accomplished more in his multiple careers in Communications than most individuals with Masters or Doctorate degrees. Yet he never finished college. He was born in Tacloban City, Greg began his “communications career” at age 8 by ghost-writing puppy love letters for his classmates. Moving to Manila in his early teens, he became a radio talent before he could speak passable Tagalog, was an actor on Manila TV during the medium’s infancy, worked as a reporter and a magazine associate editor at 16, wrote his first story and screenplay at 17, and went on to write some of the biggest box office hits in Tagalog movies. He also produced a daily TV satire that helped elect a future dictator, wrote, directed and produced the first action serial on Philippine television, and produced and narrated special reports on Filipino roots in America for U.S. T.TV. In Advertising, he created campaigns that are considered marketing classics by his peers, some of them applying guerilla marketing tactics before the term was in vogue. He was president and CEO of one of the largest advertising agencies in the Philippines, before immigrating to the U.S. where he set up his own agency in California, literally starting from scratch. His creative works have won international awards including the Gold Effie for the most effective non-English campaign in the United
States. Greg co-founded and served as national chairman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations )NAFFAA), the biggest Filipino community organization in the U.S. He is also a recipient of two presidential awards for outstanding overseas Filipinos. In view of his contributions to NAFFAA and the San Diego community and beyond, Ms. Nicanora Montenegro, Regional President of NAFFAA in the San Diego and Imperial Counties led a tribute event in honor and celebration of life of the late Greg Macabenta in
National City on October 31, 2023. Opening Prayer was led by PASTOR PHOEBE of Peoples Church as well as giving the spiritual tribute, San Diego, Welcome Remarks by Ms. Montenegro, Special Tribute in Honor of the Life of Greg Macabenta as well as the important contributions to the Filipino community of San Diego was highlighted by Susan delos Santos of the Filipino Press, who have worked closely with Greg with regards to Seafood City's the Fiesta Filipiniana Mexicana Karaoke Competition, See MACABENTA on 6
stand at room temperature where bacteria can multiply exponentially. Note: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that you can also thaw meats
in cold water. But—and this is important—the water must be cold, under 40 degrees, and should be changed every 30 minute to keep it cold. Thawing in the fridge is easier!
How often should you wash your hands and cutting boards when preparing food? A. Before you start cooking. B. After you pet the dog—or the cat. Or pick up the kids. C. After you sneeze, blow your nose or have to run to the bathroom. D. You don’t have to wash your cutting boards. And if you’re wearing clean clothes, just wipe your hands on your shirt or pants. All good! E. The answer is A, B and C; but mainly, “OFTEN!” Answer: Definitely E. You should wash your hands and cutting boards before and after everything in A, B and C, and pretty much as often as you can in the kitchen. Handwashing is always a key part of safe cooking. So break out that soap and do it. Harmful bacteria, from E. coli to salmonella and staphylococcus aureus, as well as viruses, can be removed from people’s hands through proper handwashing. Here are just a few other things you should wash your hands after doing: coughing, handling money, eating, drinking, playing video games and handling or preparing raw food. Should you rinse off fruits and vegetables? See THANKSGIVING on 4
Titus Takes on World’s Best Junior Surfers By Adam Behar SAN DIEGO, CA -- What are you doing at 5 a.m.? Sleeping soundly, I hope. Titus Santucci, a proud member of San Diego’s Fil-Am community, has a very different routine. While it's still dark, Titus gathers his wetsuit, a bar of wax, maybe a banana, and one of his several surfboards, and heads to the beach – usually to Seaside Reef, his home break in Encinitas – for a surf session. While the rest of us are warming up with our morning coffee, Titus is dancing up and down the smooth, glassy waves, generating the kind of power and speed that most surfers only dream about. He’s that good. After getting his share of waves, he heads home for…a nap? No, not even close. He hits the books. You see, Titus is a different kind of surfer. Let’s just say, he’s no Jeff Spicoli, Hollywood’s version of the quintessential high school surfer, memorialized in the movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The San Dieguito Academy senior, who attends online classes, has maintained a 4.3 grade-pointaverage while establishing himself as one of San Diego County's most talented and impressive new surfers to come out of the ranks. How impressive is Titus Santucci? The 18-year-old was recently selected as a member of the USA Surfing Junior National Team. This means Titus, along with 11 other surfers from around the country, will represent America in the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championship. The contest, which features the best junior surfers, from more than 40 countries competing for medals, will be held between Nov. 24th and Dec. 3rd in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Titus Santucci Also consider this: although this is the 19th year that this contest has been held, Titus is making history by being the first Filipino American surfer to participate in this prestigious championship contest and possibly bring home a medal. So, it’s a big deal for San Diego County, for Encinitas, and especially for the Filipino-American community. Historically, many of the surfers who have competed under the World Junior Surfing Championship umbrella have gone on to compete in the Olympics. “It’s essentially the
Junior Olympics,” Titus tells me in a Zoom call. His mother Irene Navarro joins us. To earn a spot on the USA Surfing Junior National Team was an extraordinary feat in itself, requiring Titus to maintain a level of performance and consistency in his surfing throughout the year, from one contest to the next. Earning a spot on the 12-member National Team is an arduous journey, especially for surfers from America and Australia, where surfing is more popular. Unlike Finland, for example, where there are fewer surfers, Titus had to perform in a challenging, hyper-competitive environment. He had to compete in multiple contests against talented young surfers from all over the country, particularly California and Florida. As Titus’ mother, a surfer in her own right who’s worked in the action sports industry, points out: “It's hundreds and hundreds of kids all vying to get the three or so spots in their age category.’ How did he get to this point? By age nine, Titus had advanced from boogie boarding to surfing. By age 12, he was already competing in and winning competitions. “That’s when I was starting to really see what surfing had to offer,” he says. In our Zoom call, I notice in the background a row of surfing trophies on top of a cabinet. But none comes close to earning a spot on the 2023 USA Junior National Surf Team. “When we got the call, I was tripping out. I was super surprised. I was just blown away,” he says. Why so surprised? It wasn’t that he ever doubted his ability, but being a Filipino American, he worried, might work against him. “In all these See TITUS on
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