A Very Buggy Dinner

 Cicadas will be a problem this year  to many gardeners. Yet they might be a new ingredient in this Spring and summers' harvest dinners. Surprisingly these pests can make for some pretty good eating.

Regular contributor and cookbook author Tejal Rao wrote about these critters in yesterdays' New York Times Food section.It is an edible bug much like grasshoppers, crickets and even -ewww-  termites. Around the world it's considered normal to eat them in a variety of different ways. here in the US not so much. American tend to sensationalize or trivialize it, seeing bugs as a source of cheap protein. They're OK if you're on a camping trips and you've run out of food.Yet some chefs here in the States will be happy thanks to the double season of them in the Midwest and Southeast. There will be a whopping trillion (!!!) of them within the next six weeks. Surprisingly they're a cousin of a lobster and can be prepared in much the same way according to Tad Yankowski, an entomologist at Missouri Botanical Gardens. People who have shellfish allergies are also advised not to eat them. He himself enjoys them in a scampi, claiming anything you can do with shrimp you can also do with cicadas.

Other enthusiasts feel the same way. Joseph Yoon, a bug enthusiast is going to forage big time for an event that features  hasn't happened since 1803, featuring two regional broods. Mr. Yoon is also a chef that offers up all sorts of insect dishes at his business Brooklyn Bugs.He combines cicadas with ramp to create Kim chi. The insects are left whole and intact in their cracking shells.They're then slowly infused with a spicy fermenting juice.After they're served with tofu and warm rice.He also fries them to make tempura, folds them into Spanish tortillas with potato and onion and bakes them with cheese into casseroles with cicada stuffed pasta shells.what do they taste and feel like to those wanting to try them? According to the entomologist Mr. Yankowski they're sort of like a tiny soft shelled crab a crunchy shell with a soft meat interior.The flavor is slightly woody thanks to a steady diet of sap from tree roots. This happens because they spend most of their lives underground. Foragers need to get them while their young and meaty otherwise their exoskeletons will grow, leaving them more with a shell.

Cicadas are not for everyone.If you;re into trying bugs, then go and forage. If not just admire them for their lacy wings and big orange eyes.

Laissez Le Bon Temp Roulez!!1

Today is Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday a  day of complete celebration and sybaritic revelry before the austerity of Lent. The town that invented it  was New Orleans and with it came a wide parade of delicious foods.These are a blend of sweet and savory  but all united in tremendous flavor.

One of the most famous is the King Cake, This came from Quebec to the Crescent City through French Canadian explorer Pierre le Moyne D'iberville.It is a sweet, yeasty buttery treat, first served at Epiphany December 6th  through Twelvth Night up to Mardi Gras. A trinket , usually a toy baby doll , is placed inside it. This toy, represents the baby Jesus and is considered lucky to find  with the finder  being declared king or queen of that party.The icing is symbolic too, the purple means justice, green is faith while gold is power. Wash it down with two famous drinks of the season, the Hurricane or the Vieux Carre, named for the famed New Orleans hotel. The first is a wild mix of light and dark rum mixed with orange and passionfruit juice with a touch of grenadine.The second is a rye whiskey and cognac cocktail.These can also be great washing down  spicy andouille sausage and dirty rice or super crispy southern fried chicken with a Cajun spice batter. Another must have is cheesy grits. These are grits mixed with scallions and cheddar made creamier with eggs and butter. Depending on where you are gator is sometimes on the menu. The meat from those snappy creatures can be made into fritters to be served with a remoulade,a fiery and easy to make mayo and mustard mix.

Mardi Gras goers may go wild over the many beads they collect but they equally go crazy over jambalaya. Shrimp and sausage are the anchor ingredients of this classic stew but there  also the Cajun holy trinity of onions, celery and bell peppers added for color and flavor.Tomatoes and garlic are included for more taste along with dried thyme and bay leaves.Long grained rice is also served with it to sop up this wonderful stew. NOLA kitchens are redolent with the smell of gumbo during Carnival time as well. This is a heavy stew of shellfish and tomatoes , sometimes thickened with okra Okra is call gumbo too, depending on where you are in southern Louisiana. The dish is usually seafood but it can sometimes be made with chicken, duck or beef and even squirrel and rabbit on the city's outskirts.Andouille sausage is also added to either to give it a piquancy .Of course the Cajun holy trinity is added too along with sassafras for color. Vegans can enjoy gumbo z'herbes, usually cooked for Lent , that is chock full  of turnips, mustard greens and spinach. The day ends with King Cake or the classic beignets. These are fried puffs of heaven made with flour, eggs and milk. Yeast gives them their airiness  and their golden brown coloring comes from a fry in vegetable oil. They are heavily dusted with confectioners sugar and served with New Orleans style coffee, a blend of rich dark coffee blended with chickery and boiled milk.

Laissez le bon temp roulez. Let the good times roll during this festive time. It is celebrated with good food ,good drink and a night of endless good revelry!