Of Christmas and meat
was of course Christmas, which apparently isn't a huge deal around here.
Most families didn't do gifts, and of course there were no Christmas
trees. Also, Christmas eve means nothing. The day after Christmas is a
national holiday, but no one seems to know what its called, besides that
it is a day to spend with your family. We had mutton and various salads
for Christmas dinner, and zebra the next day.
Yeah, zebra. I'm not sure where the meat came from. I'm not sure
where any of the meat comes from around here. Except for that full kudu
that we loaded into the trunk of a 1980s Mercedes 300D and took back
from the family farm. Zebra tastes a lot like donkey, which tastes sort
of like gamey beef. All red meat tastes the same here since the meat is
always either boiled (uhg) or heavily seasoned and grilled. The best way
to guess the animal is by looking at how many bones you have to gnaw on.
Zebra and donkey generally have very few and are definitely the top pick
for cheap meat. Steak cuts are rare in families who butcher their own
stuff, but you can buy them at the grocery store in packages simply
marked "GAME".
Meat, as I've stated, is important here. Planning to serve fish or
chicken to Namibians? They're not considered meat, so get ready to be
asked the whereabouts of the meat. Want a pie or a donut filled with
fruit? Forget it, but you can take your pick of meat pies, and the local
SPAR (grocery store) has the equivalent of a jelly donut that has been
filled with curry beef. Thinking you'd like some potato chips? Why not
have yourself a bag of freshly chipped beef jerky? They call it
'biltong'. The beef filled donut, in all of its artery clogging glory,
is one of my favorite lunches...and I think its starting to show. Where
did I leave those carrot sticks?
posted by Rashid @ 2:57 AM,
1 Comments:
At 10:14 PM,
Anonymous said...
Dance like no one is watching.
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year.
Dad, Becky, Tariq and Sharif