peace corpse chicken…epitome of oxymoron
this is a story about my first ever attempt at cooking thanksgiving…and of all places, in malawi! how did i get the honor? well, i’m pretty sure i’m the only volunteer in country with an oven.
first, we were on a turkey hunt. my friend carrie was also looking for a turkey, but they were very expensive in the capital city. and they usually come from Brazil. the word for turkey in chichewa is “nkhukudembo” (which loosly translates to elephant trunk chicken). carrie thought she was pronouncing in correctly, however she kept saying “nkhuku mtembo” which after some days, she was told she’s been saying “corpse chicken.” as we say here in malawi “chimodzimodzi”…basically the same thing.
so my friend ben who lives in a village with many turkeys bought one for much cheaper, cleaned it and brought it to zomba where we cooked it up, along with all the fixins: garlic mashed potatoes, caramelized sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cornbread, cranberries (the $10 can, which cost more than the dang turkey) and of course pumpkin pie! i impressed myself. it was a lot of work but the fruits of our labor were worth it! my fellow volunteers now call me “Marla Stewart.”
(will try to post photos but i have had trouble lately uploading them to wordpress)
