Have you ever seen a dead chicken fly?
You would have seen one if you had been here the other day.
One of my prayer requests has been that I can figure out how to cook for Paul here in Thailand. Last time he lost weight like crazy. I’m not a good cook at the best of times. When I can’t find food he likes to eat and which doesn’t cause an arthritis flare for him, and when I have nothing much to cook on — it moves into the impossible category.
Things are looking up, though. I bought some equipment, including a hot plate and a crockpot.
The crockpot is interesting-looking, with gilt Chinese characters and designs. I also found a nice, fat chicken. It was packaged up in plastic wrap on a foam tray, just like you would get in the U.S. (As opposed to lying out in the open, covered with flies.) I gratefully seized it and put it in my grocery cart. Roast chicken in the crockpot for dinner!
But when I was ready to cook it, I ran into trouble. How do I wash it? The filter on the bathroom/storeroom faucet gives good, clean water, but the faucet is too short and close to the sink to allow me to rinse a chicken there. I asked Paul for help. I would hold the chicken and he would pour bottled water over it to wash it. I carried it outside, thinking how I hate the feel of cold, raw chicken skin on my hands, as we walked to the end of the porch to do the chicken-washing. I glanced down — and screamed!
The chicken had a head. A whole head — complete with eyeballs and beak. It must have been tucked inside the body, but come loose as I carried it. Now it swung down grotesquely by it’s broken neck. I also realized that it had feet. It was repulsive, so much so that I instinctively got rid of it. I threw it as far from me as I could, screeching all the while.
Paul jumped in surprise as a dead chicken flew past him and landed with a thump on the porch floor.
Bless his heart! He retrieved the horrible thing, scrubbed it up and cut off the nasty-looking head and feet. Soon it was reposing in the crockpot, just a like a well-behaved American chicken. We had roast chicken and vegetables that night and chicken and vegetable soup for the next couple of days.
I resolutely blanked from my mind the sight of that featherless, pathetic-looking head. I am a city girl and not accustomed to eating food that has a face! I’m so thankful for Paul. I don’t think I could have done the required surgery to amputate the unwanted body parts.
Frozen, chopped beef from New Zealand is thawing for dinner tonight. I am sincerely hoping we have no surprises!
Blessings from Thailand,
Susan
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