Yum!

This part is not for vegetarians: last night, I ate a part of a chicken that I had never eaten before! (Nor did I know that people ate this part.) So, it’s dinner time, and I am handed the serving dish with chicken. I’m full, so I pick out the smallest piece, which kind of looks like a small drumstick. After I have it on my plate, my mom goes, “Oh, you like THAT part?” Now, this was not a concerning question- my family comments pretty much every time I take food. They say things like, “THAT is all you like?” or “Only THAT?” or “You need more, take more!” So, at first I thought this comment was just one of those comments, and I assured them that yes, that part was the only part that I wanted. Well, it wasn’t a small drumstick. As soon as I tried to eat it, I realized it was… curved, and didn’t really have distinguishable bones, and it was kind of bendy. And, it didn’t really have much meat on it at all. So at this point I realize that my mom did really mean to ask if that was a part that I wanted, and I am super super curious. However, I’m kind of afraid to ask, because I seriously have no idea what it is that I’m eating. I’m thinking… is this a foot? Nope, I’ve eaten a chicken foot before (but, not in Uganda). Umm, is this a deformed foot? Nope, none of the chickens in our backyard have (or… had) deformed feet. Hmm. I really have no idea. Remembering a conversation that my Aunt Cindy and I had about adopting a don’t-ask-just-eat policy, I decide not to spoil my appetite, and I keep eating the tiny amount of meat that is on this mysterious part. Then, as I am finishing, my mysterious part breaks in two (it was sort of rigid, yet strangely flexible), and one of the parts has this spaghetti-looking strand hanging out of the center of it. And then, I know. Oh wow, I know, I know, I know. The spaghetti-looking thing? It’s a SPINAL CORD. It has to be. So, I finish my meal, and then I ask, I can’t help it, I have to know: “What part is this?” My mom’s answer: “The neck!” Who knew that you can eat a chicken neck? Well, friends, you definitely can. Just don’t break it in two until you are finished, because the spinal cord realization is a little off-putting.