We grow Lemons but never make Lemonade

[Allan Balliett]

Friends,

I guess it was Sally Fallon who first drew my attention to the sorrow of unrequited wastefulness. Sally pointed out that the great Hindi culture that everyone believes is strictly vegetarian actually gets a substantial amount of animal protein from the weevils in their grains. Later, a book I picked up at BIONEERS, "MAN EATING BUGS," showed people all over the planet joyfully consuming traditional dishes made from everything from grubs to tarantulas. I realized at that time that there were cultural boundaries that I have not been able to transcend, that invisible shackles restrict my freedom to fully harvest my garden. That although I made great efforts to gather anything biological for the compost pile and square knotted short strands of salmon colored bailing twine together to make tiedowns for the truck, I was letting precious organically produced protein go to waste in my garden; although pests are seldom a chronic problem in my garden, it's undeniable that buckets of bean beetle and potato bug larva were going untilized and, some seasons, there must be BUSHELS of Japanese beetles that noone, man nor beast seems to be the least interested in cycling through their digestion although, they, too, have been fed their own choice of the freshest of biodynamically grown morsels. Unfortunately, I'm still there. I'm still stuck. Why is it that I'll eat shrimp and crayfish and, on occasion, even lobster, but would not consider munching similar dryland creaters, have never even tasting a grilled yellow-winged grasshopper?

I shed the most tears for the pounds of cabbage loopers that cycle unharvested through my brassicas each year. I've never eaten one, not even the ocassional one that floats on top of the broccoli steaming water. How different it would be if one july morning I could grab the stainless colander from the kitchen counter and shout joyfully to the family as I strut through the screen door, "Get the water boiling! The loopers are on again!" It's true, the loopers appear to lose their magic green when boiled, but I guess one thing that makes it especially sad that they are seen as a pest and not as a bonus is that they would be so much easier to prepare than the some of the other high protein garden creatures that also are spared the skillet, the 4-leggeds like the groundhog, the rabbit, and, why not?, the lowly vole.

What an accomplishment in agricultural layering, to harvest a high protein crop for the family that holds no value in the market place and saves spending controls for controls for delicacies that others take to be a pest!

Unfortunately, I'm still wearing the handcuffs formed by the food choices of my own ancestors and, while I'll never use Bt-ready crops, I'm always Bt ready myself.

If you've ever pondered this same dilemma, you might enjoy the program and recipe below:




From a webpage for a forthcoming PBS show FOOD for the ANCESTORS, about the Day of the Dead in Mexico and the foods associated with that celebration
http://www.pbs.org/foodancestors/main.html

SALSA DE GUSANOS DE MAGUEY (WORM SAUCE)
(yum-yum)
Click to see Bruce eat worms - In Real Player

Ingredients for Mexican cuisine are now widely available throughout the United States and Canada. Many supermarkets now carry sauces and even chiles used in many dishes. Dried pasilla and ancho chiles might be available in packages. Asian markets also carry ingredients used in Mexican cookery, such as cilantro and some chiles. If you are lucky enough to live in an area where people of Mexican extraction live, then such exotic items such as gusanos de maguey or chapulines might be available. If you cannot find any of these ingredients, then a trip to Mexico is in order.

In case you don't want to eat the delectable dried and cured caterpillers from century plants (gusanos de maguey) themselves, here is a sauce that gives their flavor to any dish.

Insects were a major part of the Pre-Columbian diet. Mexicans were deficient in animal proteins because they had so few domesticated animals. Therefore, insects were an important food supplement. Insect-eating lives on in many parts of the country and it one of the ways by which Mexicans retain their traditions.
5 pasilla chiles, soaked, seeded and deveined
5 ancho chiles, soaked, seeded and deveined water to cover
4-6 large dried gusanos de maguey (caterpillers from the maguey plant), soaked in 1 cup hot water
5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried shrimp


Soak the pasilla and ancho chiles in water. When soft enough to puree, seed and devein. Soak gusanos in hot water until soft. Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Heat before serving. Goes well with any tortilla-bases dish.

Gusanos de maguey are hard to find in North America, so this recipe can be adapted to give some elements of their flavor. Simply substitute 1 large tomato for the gusanos and about 1 T mescal, or to taste. If using tomato it is best to toast it on an open flame or in a broiler and then remove the skin. Blend everything together and serve it with chicken enchilladas.