FOOD- PART 2: I am being introduced to new food every time I turn around. While talking with Nate on the phone a couple weeks ago, I was unpleasantly surprised by larvae-like things with tissue-thin wings flying in through the slit underneath the door. Actually, they weren't so unpleasant as much as the little ants that started congregating around them to devour them. (A wad of toilet paper stuck under the door solved this problem, and we returned to our conversation.) Wait, you're thinking, I thought this was a food post and Marissa is telling me about flying bugs? Exactly. The next day I learned that the larvae-like things with wings are called white ants, and fried without the wings make great eating. I was offered some last week unexpectedly, and after looking at the pile of critters in the tupperware container, decided to give it a go. They are surprisingly good. Taste kind of like roasted nuts (slightly oily, full flavor, crunchy) but with a soft center.

On to part two of this story. While speeding at night from my mini-kitchen to Nneka' main house a few nights ago (speeding in order to avoid the white ants that were clamoring around the outdoor lights) I noticed a huge 3 inch long bright green insect that looked a lot like a walking stick. I meant to mention it to Nneka, and then forgot until a couple hours later, when I walked into the kitchen to see Osa, her 3 yr old daughter, holding said insect tightly between her fingers. She was excited by this "grasshopper". Now, for weeks I've been hearing about how late Nov-December is the height of grasshopper season, and that bags and bags of grasshoppers are sold as a delicacy. I'd been imagining small cute 1 inch long grasshoppers, and thinking that I might like to try them. I never thought they'd be 3 inch long, 1/2 inch wide huge enormous insects of biblical proportions. I'm not really sure how they'll fit in my mouth. Are they cut up? do you double them in half before putting in mouth? I'll keep you posted.