Advertisement
Published: December 20th 2011
Edit Blog Post
The recent rains have caused bugs to swarm. The Swahili word for bug is "mdudu." And all sorts of interesting
wadudu (plural), some poisonous, have been in and around our house lately; flying, jumping, and crawling creatures. We leave a nightlight on at the back door, and in the morning there are piles of wings that have been shed by the ones attracted to the light.
Yesterday Joy and I spent some time cleaning around the rear steps, because we had an infestation, yea a breading-ground, of "Nairobi" flies. These tiny little critters have a segmented body of alternating black and red. If one gets on you, be sure to flick it off - don't smash it upon yourself. According to Wikipedia: "The beetles neither sting nor bite, but their haemolymph contains pederin, a potent toxin that causes blistering and Paederus dermatitis."
Grasshoppers have also been swarming. Grasshoppers were considered
clean to those following the Mosaic covenant. "Yet these may ye eat of all winged creeping things that go upon all fours, which have legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat: the locust after its kind, and the bald
locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind" (Leviticus 11:21, 22). You might remember that Jesus said: "Among them that are born of woman there is none greater than John" (Luke 7:28). "Now John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4).
We found out that Editha just loves grasshoppers. Yesterday morning when she opened her door, she saw them all over. Excitedly she called for Charles to come help her catch them. By evening they had a great number collected. You can see the picture of Editha sitting on the steps with her charcoal cooker and a pot full of fresh ones. Preparation is quite simple - pull off the wings, legs, and antennae, wash in water, then drop into a hot pan. She likes to add a bit of onion and salt, then near the end of cooking add a touch of oil. I prefer mine cooked to a nice crunchy brown.
We were all standing around watching the cooking, and when they were ready we took turns trying them and taking
photos. I anticipated trying just one so I could say I tried. However, they had a mild flavor, were nicely crispy, and their exoskeleton was not too thick. I tried a few more, and a few more when we got back to our house. In anticipation of your question - No they don't taste like chicken! The Samford children just kept reaching up to get more out of the plate. Bonnie looks quite hesitant in the picture, but had no gagging at all. And Carey, who from time to time has been called "Dr. Doolittle" because of his love of animals, had no problems. After all, when we were last in Dar Es Salaam, he was eating octopus which he had purchased from a street vendor.
When we got back to the house, Lindsey summoned enough courage to try one, and so did Luke. However, after battling bugs for much of the day and cleaning them, Joy had no interest in subjecting herself to ingesting what might be less than palatable.
Reactions will surely vary by reader. Some might be amused, others repulsed, and some may even be willing to try if given the chance. But think about
it. Who would have thought to try eating thistles - artichokes? What about humans purposefully consuming snails - escargot? And one of the most universal dishes is the incredible edible egg. It seems that our childhood dishes are rarely rejected. But remember the words of Paul. "For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer" (1 Timothy 4:4, 5).
Enjoy! Bon Appetite!
George
November 2011
Advertisement
Tot: 0.158s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 11; qc: 66; dbt: 0.1065s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Porposely at Home
non-member comment
A-MAZING!
I've always wanted to know what it would be like to live like John the Baptist. :D Go out and catch some grasshoppers...y'all should have added a tad of honey! Too funny!