I had been wanting for months to visit this halal grocery store on Hobson and today I found myself in the neighborhood with time to kill. So, I wandered in. I was the only customer and the owner arrived at the same time as I, so we walked in together. (awkward!)
The store was small and I wandered down the only aisle, looking at the packaged dal and spices but not really finding anything I needed that I didn't already have. I didn't feel comfortable leaving so quickly without buying anything, so I asked the owner, "do you carry goat?"
"Yes. Come, I'll show you," he said to me and so I followed him into a back room. My whole family enjoys goat and it is difficult to find in Fort Wayne so I thought, great! If he sells goat, I'll buy a couple of pounds and make that for dinner tonight. I followed him back through a narrow hallway and then into a small room with a stainless steel sink and a stainless steel butchering table equipped with a saw. He opened a back closet and invited me in. The room was filled with a large chest-type cooler. He opened the cooler and I saw three goats, stacked one on top of the other. He grabbed the top one by its hind legs and with a grunt and a flourish, flopped it onto the butchering table.
The poor, skinless goat lay there with its eyes glazed over and its tongue dangling out the side of its mouth. For a moment, I stood there dumb-looking as the goat before me and couldn't think of a single thing to say. But the owner was obviously waiting for some sort of comment from me so I asked, "do I have to buy the whole thing? Or can I just take part of it?"
"What you say?" he asked.
"Well, I mean will you cut it up for me?"
"Oh! Sure! Sure!"
So, that's how it happened. I stood there watching him as he sawed off the poor creature's head and then rolled it onto its back and sliced it straight down the middle. By then, I had regained some of my wits about me and told him my freezer only had room for half the goat. He asked me how I wanted it cut and I said in 1 to 2 inch pieces.
As he sliced up my goat, he told me the story of how he arrived in Fort Wayne from Pakistan, by way of New York and then Van Wert, Ohio. He had been living in New York and working as a limo driver until 9/11. After 9/11, life became very difficult for Muslims living in New York and he moved with his wife and children to Van Wert were he purchased a gas station. For six months he tried to make a go of it with the gas station, but month after month he found himself deeper in the red. Turns out, his gas station had three underground tanks, all of which had leaks. The previous owner had not disclosed this information and he was losing money into the ground with each passing day.
After six months, he called a friend of his, who lived in Fort Wayne and told him that life had beaten him up and he was going to have to cut his loses and head back to New York. His friend insisted that he come to Fort Wayne instead; promising him a house and money to start a business. So... here he is three years later, running his little store. He has been able to pay his friend back for both the house and the business and life is good once again.
As he finished cutting up my goat, he decided to make me a gift of the liver and testicles. My mother raised me to be polite, so I thanked him enthusiastically. (Note to self - must google +recipes +goat +testicles)
After leaving the Halal grocery store, I decided to have lunch at the Asian Restaurant. (Yes, that's really the name!) This is a little whole-in-the-wall restaurant on State Street owned and operated by an immigrant from Burma. I was the only customer. My host explained that his waitress had not come in today so he would be waiting on me and cooking for me. The menu has Thai, Burmese, Indian, Japanese, and Chinese dishes. I asked him to recommend something spicy and delicious and he suggested I order the Thai salad. So I did and it was, indeed, spicy and delicious!
My host brought me a mug of Burmese tea which he told me goes well with the Thai salad. The tea was incredible! It was a lot like Indian Chai but different enough to make me feel like I was trying something new.
After lunch, I drove to my friend Rebekah's house. Rebekah is an amazing woman. Her oldest daughter (now nine years old) was born blind. A few years later, her second child was born with spina bifida. A third child was born healthy. A couple of years ago, Rebekah and her husband began the adoption process for a blind toddler from Haiti. And just last week, Rebekah returned home from China with her newly adopted blind daughter, Angelina.
Angelina is nine years old and is an amazing child! She speaks fluent Mandarin, English, and French. She reads braille in all three languages. She's funny, friendly, and delightful. I had a great time making friends with her and when it came time for me to leave, she grabbed my arm and begged me to stay!
After arriving home, I began cooking my goat. I was pounding spices at the kitchen counter when a rukus outside drew my attention to the window. By the time I had grabbed my camera, most of my guests had flown away, but here's what I was able to capture....
Now, with my goat gently simmering on the stovetop and the aroma wafting enticingly through the air, I think I'll go pour myself a glass of wine and wait for dinner.
What did you do today?
