Where does YOUR chicken come from??

Food has always been a big issue for me here in
Pakistan. It's probably one of the biggest issues for me. I'm just not used to the way it's handled here. I mainly eat chicken here and that is the same in the U.S. as well for me. However, chicken is handled a heck of a lot differently here in Pakistan. On my first trip here in 2004, I only stayed for 2 wks, got married and I really didn't pay attention to a whole lot of what was going on around me. I guess you can call it marital bliss. :-) The second time I came here was in 2005, I spent 5 months. So yes, I did learn a bit more while here and I noticed a hell of a lot more about what's going on!

I'll never forget when I told Shakil that I needed some chicken and some other items. I had planned a dinner to make and it called for chicken. He went to get the chicken and when he came back with the chicken it was warm. Now I don't know about you guys but I really don't want my chicken to be warm when I buy it unless it's already been cooked. That wasn't the case with this chicken. The chicken was still raw and as Shakil would say, "It's fresh honey". Yeah, it's fresh alright but I just couldn't eat it or even cook it for that matter. Call me crazy but I just couldn't do it. You see the cheaper chicken is available right on the side of the road, hence the name I call it "side of the road chicken" (you can see "side of the road chicken pic up above). It's not really on the side of the road (wait, yes I've seen it) but most is available within the bazaar. You just walk up to the guys selling the chicken and you pick out which one you want, it's weighed and they slaughter it right there in front of you, feathers out by their hands, cut up and ready to go for you. Uhhhhhhh....no thank you. Call me spoiled if you want but I'm just used to my chicken being nice and clean on a foam tray wrapped in cellophane and available at my local supermarket.

After that chicken experience I told Shakil that I never wanted the "side of the road chicken" anymore. He started getting what is called "K&N Chicken". K&N is known for having clean chicken that has been hygiencally handled. On the front of the package it says "Clean and Healthy Chicken" and on the back they have proper handling guidelines for chicken. It is clean chicken and in comparison to what you can get "on the side of the road" or in a local market it is very clean.

K&N'S Chicken
After that chicken experience I told Shakil that I never wanted the "side of the road chicken" anymore. He started getting what is called "K&N Chicken". K&N is known for having clean chicken that has been hygiencally handled. On the front of the package it says "Clean and Healthy Chicken" and on the back they have proper handling guidelines for chicken. It is clean chicken and in comparison to what you can get "on the side of the road" or in a local market it is very clean.

So here I am with my 3rd visit here and I've been here over 9 months now. I came here in September of last year and I was in in my 4th month of pregnancy. I was even more contientious about the chicken and other food items. I did go out to restaurants to eat and out of the 3 times I've been here I've only gotten sick with the food 1 time but it was a really bad time. I was in the hospital getting an IV drip for dehydration and a really strong dose of antibiotics. It was horrible and I've never experienced anything like it in my life. I think one time of getting sick is pretty damn good though considering how they handle meat here.

After my pregnancy I told Shakil that I would start eating the chicken that came from a supermarket here. NOT the "side of the road chicken" but a supermarket where it's all handled and cut up inside. That was me making a compromise because the K&N chicken IS a bit more pricey and its been working ok. I don't know what is up with the beef here. It has a completely different taste and I can't eat it here. Anytime I've made beef here at home it has some strange taste and Shakil does agree with me. They cut up the beef on tree stumps and they even cut up other meat like mutton on there as well. If I see them doing it I get all weird about it too. I know this is how they do things here and I'm not "knocking it". I'm just not used to it - that's all.

Yesterday I had told Shakil that I needed him to get some chicken and some other items. I asked for chicken breasts. I was going to cook them up and make some chicken sandwiches. He told me he'd go to the local supermarket and get a whole chicken and have them separate the breasts. So yeah, that's fine. I told him when he got home to just toss them in the fridge because I was going to cook them in a while. Well he immediately put the chicken the freezer and Tara's red flag went up. I opened up the freezer, pulled the chicken out and the chicken was HOT. Yes, raw HOT chicken. I went downstairs and told him that I couldn't eat that chicken. Here we go again...with the "it's fresh honey" that's why.

Chicken that comes from the supermarket is not HOT. I was telling Shakil that if I didn't know any better I'd think that he got "side of the road chicken" and just put it in the shopping bag from the supermarket because he got some other items as well from the supermarket. I see a smirk on Shakil's face and I immediately ask to see the receipt. He hands me receipt that is like a month old - nope that didn't work. I asked again for the receipt and he handed it to me. There was no chicken breasts or whole chicken on that receipt. I asked him again "did you get that chicken from the supermarket"? He says "yes" right to my face when he was LYING!!! I was soooooooo pissed. He had gotten the "side of the road chicken" and put it in the supermarket bag to cover up what he'd done. All because it was just a little cheaper!! Argh!!!! I was furious because he lied about it. Why couldn't he just be honest??? His answer, "because you wouldn't eat it". Well shit all I want is some honesty. Can you believe that? An argument over CHICKEN!!!!

Later that evening he got the K&N chicken and all is well here! ;-)

Ok, I've blabbed enough about chicken....

Until later...

Bye for now.