Grasshoppers and Eggs

In Runyankole, one of the words for November means ‘month when the grasshoppers come’. People look forward to this because some people make a lot of money catching them and most people like to eat them. Although some people catch them in long grass, the biggest operations use a technique at night time in which there are very bright lights to lure the grasshoppers, smoke to spatially disorient them, large metal sheets used as funnels, and big cans to catch them once they’ve hit the sheets and fallen. The grasshoppers are sold in the market and on the street. This morning, our groundskeeper Gerevase brought us a gift of a cup of grasshoppers. He had done the work of plucking the legs and wings from them. (For the squeamish, try not to picture the fact that the grasshoppers are still alive.) They are then fried slowly- no oil as they have their own- and salted. We briefly debated whether to incorporate them into the omelet or have them separately- the person who strongly wanted them separate won. They are crispy and salty and delicious. For those who find it hard to imagine eating them, note that Ugandans here think that crayfish I bought from a lake we visited, potatoes with skins, and eggs sunny side up are disgusting. I like that the images look like a cooking show and think that the PCC should insist Amee bring them to the next luncheon!