The Calvin students came to the flat for dinner this evening. Tyler made fajitas for us.
Sounds easy, but it wasn’t. Tortillas and fajita sauce had to be purchased from MaxMart near 37. Chicken, spices, and other ingredients were obtained from Shoprite at Accra Mall. Green peppers, tomatoes, and onions were bought at the Night Market.
With all ingredients finally in hand at noon, Tyler began to marinade the chicken. What’s that smell? Ohhhh. Meat for 23 people had gone bad. Bad, as in rotten. Bad, as in stench. (Same story, by the way, for three pounds of ground beef that I purchased for the family at the same store on the same day at the same time.)
We have two theories why it happened. (1) The A/C in Shoprite doesn’t work, and the coolers may not be functioning entirely correctly. Tyler grabbed the chicken from the top of the pile, where it would be most sensitive to the air temperature in the store. (Same for my hamburger.) So, theory number one is that the meat was bad when purchased. (2) Sunday afternoon was very hot, the car is a very dark color, and all groceries were stashed in the boot for the 15-minute ride home due to six passengers. So, theory number two is that the meat spoiled in the trunk on the way home. Not sure which is correct, but it doesn’t much matter because there are no refunds in Ghana for these events. Calvin and the family are out ~75 cedis each!
To solve the problem, Tracy, with Michael, made an emergency run to the MaxMart in East Legon where fresh meat was purchased. All preparation was back on track by 1:30, and everything tasted great by 6:00. Tyler even made an “ice cream” from bananas and Top Choco!
Tracy invited leaders from the adult ministry at Legon Interdenominational Church to join us for the event. See several photos below.
—Matt
