The Great Rooster Controversy of 2010

So, this may not seem like a food-related post, but hang in there.

At our new house, we were 'blessed' by the presence of about 20 chickens, which included 19 calmly clucking hens and adolescent pullets, and one incredibly loud, obnoxious rooster. Scratch that. Initially, there was "The Wiz". The Wiz was the largest rooster I'd ever seen- handsome, tall, shiny-feathered, broad-breasted. He performed his roosterly duties with grace and for the most part, silence. He did let out the occasional jubilant "cock-a-doodle-doo" but for the most part he was the silent sort. We were big fans of the Wiz.

However, about a week or so ago, he disappeared. We have our suspicions as to where he went (dinner plate of the neighbors?). He was immediately replaced by a smaller, gimpy, shabbier rooster. (We never named him.) This rooster was the rooster from hell. He crowed loudly, painfully, at the top of his rooster lungs, beginning at 3:45 am and continuing until about 5 pm. I woke up (every morning) at 3:45 and lay in bed seething with hatred. The rooster stood outside our window and aimed his crows in at us. During the daytime we threw rocks to chase him away, cheered the neighbor's rooster on when there were cock fights, and even chased him around the yard with a broom (ahem... Nathan.)

This went on for a long, sleepless week. At the end of the week, I cracked. (This isn't to say that Nathan was dealing well with the noise, either, but I was definitely the first to crack.) What followed was perhaps a series of cultural faux pax,  but perhaps (hopefully?) also a bonding experience between us and our Masai guard, Ezekiel.

Initially, through our assistant, Geemi, we conveyed to Ezekiel that we would like the rooster removed from the premises. Perhaps Ezekiel could transport the rooster back to his village? Ezekiel agreed, but several days later the rooster was still here, crowing. We asked Geemi to take the rooster away, so the rooster moved several houses away for a sleep-over. He noisily found his way back in the morning. Then, finally, we told Ezekiel that we would feel honored, delighted, and humbled to be allowed to purchase the rooster from him. (Nathan gave a little speech at this point.) We would love nothing more than to share the rooster with him and his visiting Masai friends. We could all share in a feast! Hooray! We brought out 500 shillings (about $6) which is about 150 shillings more than market price for a rooster. This sealed the deal. Ezekiel agreed.

With joyous relief, I boiled a large pot of water. Nathan sharpened the knife. Geemi and Ezekiel captured the rooster.

The rooster was kindly dispatched. I managed to keep my enthusiasm hidden and calmly took pictures while Nathan and Geemi plucked, gutted, and butchered him. The Masai looked on, probably thinking that we were the craziest muzungus  that they'd ever met.

I peeled my way through about 10 lbs of potatoes and made a large pot of mashed potatoes, Nathan pan-fried the rooster parts (there was a decent amount of meat on the evil rooster) in garlic and olive oil. Geemi helped us take the feast over the Ezekiel's hut to share. The Masai (there were three men and two women, plus a cute baby) seemed happy enough with the unexpected feast and I think were really amused by having the white people serving them. The rooster tasted pretty good- the meat was darker than a hen, and gamey and tough, but flavorful and pretty edible. (The garlicky mashed potatoes were a perfect side.)

The next morning, I slept solidly until 10 am. Best sleep-in, ever.