Something in the air

As Christmas time rolls around here in Ft. Portal there is a buzz in the air literally....grasshoppers. They are a huge deal and many people look forward to this time of year. As we drove out to the open air market outside of town we saw groups of people scavenging the tall grass for the hopping creatures. It was really quite a strange site.

By now I am sure you are wondering but are afraid to ask "what is it that they do with these creatures?"... Yep you guessed it; in pure fear factor style they eat them. It actually is a big treat and quite the money making business. Just from the selling of grasshoppers people have made enough money to buy land, purchase a car, pay school fees etc. It is actually a tradition that if your wife buys you grasshoppers you as the husband must purchase her a new Christmas dress (no wonder they sell so well).

Anywho so when in Uganda do as the Ugandans do... at the market Isaac carefully picked out the grasshoppers that were alive and put them in a plastic bag to bring home. He wanted to cook our own so that we knew they were "fresh". We weren't quite done shopping so he poked a hole in the bag so they could breath and left them in the car. When we returned to the vehicle, we realized that we had hoppers all over the car. It was a TIA moment (this is Africa). We managed to round most of them up and proceeded home.

Before roasting the legs and wings had to be removed. I was too busy getting lunch ready to assist but the kids seemed to enjoy playing with the bugs. I think it was even hard for Isaac since he "let a few go". Anyways we roasted them up in a dry pan (no oil is necessary for when cooking they produce their own) and all (except mom who refused) tried our very first grasshopper.
So how did it taste? Actually not bad. It kinda reminded me of crunchy popcorn. I don’t think that we will be adding grasshopper to our weekly diet but am glad to have had the experience.