Pigeons

Photo from Google. I cannot take my own photo because I have not cooked any pigeon yet. Would not be able to slaughter a pigeon.

Did you know that my family used to rear pigeons for food? They were good for the nourishment of people who had suffered a long bout of illness. We did sell a few pairs but it was not really a good business. My father had two pigeon houses made. Their roofs were pretty and dainty, made from the best of belian shingles.

I loved to listen to the pigeon cooing, especially from the window of my bedroom on the eastern side of the house.

My mother used to kill a pigeon by using a slice of ginger to smother the tiny bird. After that she will slit the throat and allow the blood to drain. If the blood was not drained, the soup would be dark in colour. Several people said that that would also be very good for men especially.

In those days, no one actually talk about aphrodisiac openly. Unlike today,  the word viagra is mentioned like ice cream is mentioned by openly by the young and old, male and female.

After my father was discharged from the hospital (due to extreme grief because he was saddened by grandfather's death) my mother followed quite a lot of advice from our elders. One of the soups she brewed was pigeon soup.

there is a Chinese saying which goes like this "One Pigeon is Worth Nine Chickens".