Letter to Erin 20151007

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

I came across one of those dog meat farm videos on YouTube a couple of days ago.  I watched it aghast in horror....AAAAAAA!!!  Everyone knows I'm a cat person, but I love dogs too.  Muslims aren't allowed to eat dogs, and many of the learned and religious bureaucrats frown upon owning a dog.  There is no ban on dogs in the Qur'an, and I haven't found the specific hadith (order of the Prophet, peace be on him) that states the restriction.  Perhaps someone can enlighten me.  No, I don't want to eat dog.  I'm not even curious.  The rationale of people who eat dogs is that some dogs are for meat, and some for pets.  All animals belong to Allah, but Allah made animals subject to humans.  I consider some animals are for meat, and some are for pets.  I consider dogs to be as friends, someone to share food with, not to be food.  Someone to help protect us, and add to our awareness of the world and Allah.

But nobody could ever be friends with a mackerel.  Mackerel is for food, and no human can question that.  My Dad gave me a kilo of mackerel this morning.  My Mom said it cost RM10.  Only 4 years ago, I could frequently buy 2 kilos of mackerel for RM3.  Mackerel tastes great raw, so it makes great sushi and sashimi.  I use 95% of the fish myself, though I give the heads to the cats.  The soft roe is the best part, which I eat while gutting the fish.  I'll have to teach you how to process and fillet fish.  It's not fair that I have to do all the prep and the cooking.  Mackerel is a popular fish, not only with humans but also with other fish.  But as a species it is adapted to that, and repopulates quickly.  The price of this fish tells me that it is under pressure, also that every single fish but one had roe in it.  When mackerel was cheap, it was not easy to find soft roe.  However, I can still find mackerel for sale every day no matter what the price is, not like snapper.  So I made hand rolled sushi for dinner.  Hey, this rice isn't sticky at all!  I couldn't make rice balls.  This rice is Basmati rice, from India I suppose.  I also suppose Indians don't eat hand rolled sushi.  So I added some corn starch (I didn't have any rice flour) to the rice, and that made it sticky enough to roll.  Next time, I'll use seaweed sheets, or buy local rice.  I don't eat vinegared rice because it gives me heartburn, but otherwise it's pretty good and very filling.  You want some?  I love you, and I need you.