No feeling for food

There is a saying that a bony hen makes a good broth and this was the hope Katina and Eleni clung to as they stood in the steaming laundry plucking chickens. But Vassili’s bargain birds looked so much worse without their feathers, it seemed a vain hope that these runty creatures would yield anything edible. ‘We could try an avgholemono,’ said Katina when she saw the despairing look on Eleni’s face. ‘My God, Katina, we would need a bigger miracle than the marriage at Cana.’ She picked up a chicken by its neck. The goosy flesh swung limp and pallid. ‘Let’s simmer them for a couple of hours to see what kind of a broth they’ll make.’