Shopping for some unusual ingredients

Crickets.  Yes, you heard me right.  I've decided to take the leap and try eating some bugs.  Bug eating is actually fairly prevalent in many non-western societies.  Though it's not widely found here in the USA, go South into Mexico or Central and Southern America and you're sure to find some bug on the menu.  Insects are also common ingredients in Asian and African countries and for good reason.  Bugs are plentiful and highly nutritious.  Not to mention they're far more green than a lot of the foods we find on our plates nowadays.

For my first foray into eating insects - also called "Entomophagy" for those who prefer not to simply refer to themselves a bug-eaters - I decided to try out something that's simple and easy to find in a safe environment: crickets.  Crickets are easy to get - averaging about 11 cents each for a large cricket at a pet store.  It's fine for trying out a couple but a bit steep if you plan to make crickets a common menu item.  You can find them online in larger quantities for less money.  I found a place that sells 500 crickets for under $10.  Crickets are also easy to breed and grow yourself once you have a starter group.  But that's a different matter altogether.

There is a series of stages one goes through when one is out trying to find crickets to eat.  The first reaction upon asking about buying crickets and then being questioned on the type of pet you have is this moment of awkward silence.  Then comes the part where you try to explain to your flabbergasted pet store employee about the nutritional benefits of insects.  Then there gets to a point where it's just fun to watch the kind of fascinated horror on their faces.  Occasionally you may find someone working at a pet shop who actually knows something of entomophagy, as happened to me today.  It was pretty fun discussing the relative benefits of eating mealworms vs crickets.

Needless to say, today was a learning experience in regards to crickets.  I'm going to be setting up my cricket living quarters soon so I can keep crickets prior to trying to cook them.  I'll be posting more on this venture soon.