My daughter once had a dream in which we (she and I and I believe some other people as well) were being threatened by a scary monster. "Don't worry," I said (in the dream). "I'll take care of it." And I went out and killed the monster, and we ate it for dinner.
I love this dream, because it so nicely expressed my approach to dealing with obstacles. Sure, it's good to overcome them. But ever better is to figure out a way to use them to one's advantage. In that spirit, I have been combing the web for grasshopper recipes (the insect, not the beverage).
One writer says (on a web page that includes Terminix as a sponsor) that her husband ate fried grasshoppers in Thailand and reports that their consistency was like that of Rice Krispeys and their flavor nutty, something like pecans. Wow! That sounds great!
The hardest thing this time of year (if I could overcome my culturally instilled revulsion at the thought of eating insects) would be to catch enough hoppers to make a meal or even a snack. They are young and spry, and small. I'm not sure what the ideal size would be for frying.
The one in the pic above might be just about right, but it's one of the largest ones I've seen this year. Most are only about half an inch long. The one in the pic is eating a bull nettle flower. The one part of the bull nettle flower that is nice for humans (the flowers are very fragrant and mature into delicious edible seeds), and that horrid creature destroys it.
A guy in Sydney got rat lungworm disease recently from eating a slug. He's in a critical condition - which apparently is not usually the case with rat lungworms. I imagine one of those large leopard slugs you see streaming across the concrete porch in the night on it's way to the cat food.
ReplyDeleteHe ate it on a dare.
Your daughter is a fine dreamer.
ReplyDeleteI've been sitting here thinking about eating grasshoppers...and I can come up with ways that would be palatable, even good (or great if you drank a good bottle of wine first). But who has the time to gather a pound of grasshoppers (and how many are in a pound?), put them in a covered pot in the oven to dry-roast, then grind them into meal to be added to stews and muffins?
Huge thanks for your lovely comment on my blog.
ReplyDeleteYuk to eating bugs....I know, protein and all...
I thought the dream was really interesting - in Jungian thought, a monster in a dream is trying to show you something (Latin monstrare = to show) so it's always worth asking the monster what it wants to tell you!
jxxxx
Hey, you live in Texas....my new novel may necessitate my heroine visiting your wonderful state!
I read your post to my husband, because he has this same sort of opportunistic mentality ... and I don't disagree with him. I'm not saying we eat bugs (yet), but if that's what was available ... ;).
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
I planning to go to Altamira this Autumn or next Spring. But it would be travelwise, like you going to the Hopi kiva.
ReplyDeleteOn the grasshoppers, have you thought on a cloth dye. Or a plant fertiliser/soil conditioner.