It’s that time of year. Lots of options for munching on local bugs which I think are the best. You won’t want to gather bugs if you or the neighbors are using pesticides or herbicides.
Maybe you are already seeing those pretty green cabbage worms. You can gather them, rinse them, and throw them directly into a hot skillet. Season to taste. They will taste much like cooked cabbage. You can also put them in a jar and keep them for a time in the freezer– maybe until you gather more.) Here is a previous blog about the delectable cabbage worm.
I always called them June bugs, but they are more accurately called May Beetles. You can easily collect them when they gather around your porch light. I like to remove the hard out wing cover. Then, like the cabbage worms, you can collect them, rinse them and throw them directly in the skillet. Or you can keep them in the freezer. They are mild flavored like their “cousins”, the shrimp. So, like the shrimp, you can season them with Old Bay or experiment with other spices.
As ear corn develops, you may be lucky enough to find corn silk worms. The native Americans prized the worms above the corn. Not surprisingly, they taste much like cooked corn. Again, collect them, rinse them, throw them in the skillet, or keep them in the freezer. There are now many bug cookbooks available. But I would encourage you to experiment and share your successes. (I tend to try to hide my bug failures, but it would probably help if people would share the flops as well.) I think I have had the most success with incorporating bugs in sushi and burritos. For folks who don’t want to SEE their bugs, there are delicious flours for making brownies, pepperoni rolls and pancakes.
Crickets and grasshoppers later in the season are delicious. Ants are virtually always available. I previously mentioned you can put a couple layers of fabric next to a big ant hill. Then disturb the ant hill. If you are lucky the ants “deliver” the eggs (escamoles).
Maybe you are interested in trying insect based products. Here is a list of some products. And maybe you notice larger orders qualify for discounts and free shipping. If you want the discounts, but don’t want to order large quantities, Why not check out the Bug Co-op. (More info.)
For the folks who want to try buggy foods, but they don’t want to prepare the bugs, you could visit one of the many restaurants that serve bug dishes. Here’s one that I really enjoyed: Oyamel Cocina Mexicana serves Chapulines in D.C. Here is the related blog.
If you are new to this blog, and you wonder why in the world would anybody want to eat bugs, maybe you would check out my first blog.
I promise I don’t take a commission, but I’d like to share a recent offer from Cricket Flours. They wrote:
“We wanted to send along a sneak peak at one of our latest recipes for our new edition of our published cookbook (and a $10 coupon too on any products).
This week we wanted to try out one of our new recipes at our family picnic and this appetizer sure turned a lot of heads…and they loved it too! We used some of our favorite Oregon cheeses from Tillamook like an extra sharp cheddar cheese and a pepper jack cheese, but try playing around with some of your own favorites too! We chose to use our Cricket Bites: Roasted Original for this recipe since it was for the whole family, but next time I think we will turn up the heat and pair it with some of our Spicy Cayenne Pepper flavored crickets.
Click here to read the full recipe and ingredients for the Cricket, Cheese & Cracker appetizer…
We also put together a special thank you too for being part of our Cricket Club with a $10 OFF coupon. This code is good through the end of the week and can be used on any order of $60 or more. Just make sure to use the coupon code12534-FKG12-RCS32-93421 on your cart before checking out (rules and restrictions may apply).
Best, Charles, Founder & CEO”
Anybody want to initiate a Bug Co-op order? A $60 order from Cricket Flours split 2 ways would only cost $25. Orders over $45 also get free shipping. A $60.80 order could consist a 1/2 lb. of roasted crickets ($24.95), almost a lb. of cricket brownie flour ($8.95), and a lb. of all purpose baking cricket flour ($28.90). If 5 people split an order, each could pay $10, etc.
So, as always, “Bug Appetit!”
Ento Treats 