Chocolate Covered Insects Day

Ueh... Ok this is going to be fun, here we go.... Today I wanted to blog about (October14) National Chocolate Covered Insects Day. But to kill 2 birds with one stone I also wanted to post my recipe choice & cookbook choice for the cookbook party at "Months of Edible Creations." (her rules)
Here ya go Louise... giggle~ I'm entering a Crispy Crickets recipe that can accent any fabulous recipe from "The Eat A Bug Cookbook!" And the best part is... it fit's into ALL the food holiday categories.

Eat-a-bug Cookbook: 33 ways to cook grasshoppers, ants, water bugs, spiders, centipedes, and their kin

Recipe: Crispy Crickets
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Strip the antennae, limbs and wings (if any) from 20 to 30 clean, frozen adult crickets, or 40 to 60 cricket nymphs. Spread the stripped crickets on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place in oven. Bake until crickets are crisp, around 20 minutes. Yield: one cup. Sprinkle these on salads or put them through a coffee grinder to turn them into bug "flour." You could even combine the crickets with Chex Mix for a protein-rich snack.

• Sprinkle in chili for Chili Month!
• Fold in cookie dough for Cookie Month!
• Surprise the kids by serving for Cool Food for Kids Month!
• Bugs are nutritious! Serve for Eat Better, Eat Together Month!
• Sprinkle on pizza in honor of Pizza Month!
• Stir in pasta salad in honor of Pasta Month!
• Popcorn is Popular in October so mix them in!
• Cook in sausage recipes to add more ump!
• Pork is plumper with protein crickets!
• Spinach is spectacular with crunchy crickets.

 Now Since this recipe is a recipe to be added to other recipes... I say let's also honor National Chocolate Covered Insects Day & dip them in chocolate! Remember this idea for Halloween too!

Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers
 2 Squares of semisweet chocolate
25 dry-roasted crickets and/or grasshoppers with legs and wings removed.
 Melt chocolate as directed on the box. Dip insects in chocolate place on wax paper and refrigerate.
 
Chocolate Covered Grasshoppers
baker's chocolate
candied crickets
 
Cookbook Summary
The book has recipes that are organized by bug and it says how to store the insects. Some of the insects are crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, termites, ants, and bees. There is also a list of references, places to purchase insects, and organizations that put on insect events at which bugs are available to sample. The book says that U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows as many as 56 insect parts in every peanut butter and jelly sandwich, up to 60 aphids in 3¹⁄₂ ounces of frozen broccoli, and two or three fruit-fly maggots per 200 grams of tomato juice.

Amazon.com Review

David George Gordon, author of The Compleat Cockroach, says eating protein-rich bugs is good for you ("Crickets are loaded with calcium, and termites are rich in iron), and good for the earth ("Raising cows, pigs, and sheep is a tremendous waste of the planet's resources, but bug ranching is pretty benign"). After all, what's inherently more disgusting about eating a grasshopper than, say, an oyster? Gordon enthusiastically provides recipes for terrestrial arthropods gleaned from the entomophagic appetites of people around the world, telling you which insects are most delicious and which to avoid, how to cook them, and which wine to drink with your many-legged meal. The recipes themselves are clear, easy to follow, and quite educational, with sidebar tidbits about the bugs you're about to eat. Gordon divides the recipes into sections by type of insect, be it grasshoppers, social insects, or "pantry pests." And, of course, he provides a list of places where you can order your edible insects and tips for catching your own. The Eat a Bug Cookbook is a sure kitchen conversation piece--even if you never try Three Bee Salad or Chocolate Cricket Torte, you'll laugh out loud, squirm uncomfortably, and lick your chops while taking this deliciously creepy culinary tour. --Therese Littleton

 

When I was about 10 years old.... I remember my Uncle Carl coming to visit and as a treat he brought the family a big box of chocolate candy. Mother made coffee for the adults and served glasses of milk to us kids as we ate the whole box of candy. At the time we didn't understand why Uncle Carl wouldn't eat any chocolate because he loved chocolate. He just told us, no I brought that chocolate for yall to eat. After the whole box was devoured he busted out laughing then flipped the empty box over to show us the writing on the bottom. It said... "Chocolate Covered Insects."

There ya go! Chatting about eatin' bugs was a bit of fun for today. I could never bring myself to eat bugs knowingly but more power to those who can. If you've ever at bugs before or plan on eating chocolate insects in honor of chocolate covered insects day, let me know. :)

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Grasshopper Recipes

Chocolate Covered Insect Day - Bug Appitite

The Wall Street Journal: The Six legged meat of the future.

Where to find creepy crawly cuisine

Wikipedia

The eating of insects at wikipedia

E-How How to make chocolate covered ants

E-How How to make chocolate covered insects 

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