Iowa State University's Tasty Insect Recipes - Ed McDevitt

Playing With Food
           Lois's Banana Mouth
           Susan Wenger's Sliced Banana

Norwegian Whale Meat Recipes - Alex Frakt 

Incense has been burning on alters and in homes for over 5,000 years. There are four basic forms of incense--loose, cone, cylinder or stick. Choices of scents come from berries, bark, flowers, gums, leaves, roots, seeds, spices, wood. Some herbs do not burn like they smell, such as peppermint, which smells quite unpleasant when burned. You can test a scent by sprinkling a pinch of your mix on charcoal first, keeping a record of what works and smells pleasing. 

A recipe for incense always has five ingredients: an aromatic substance, a base of wood powder (sandalwood, vetiver, cedar etc.) saltpeter or potassium nitrate (the igniting substance), a glue (gum arabic or tragacanth) and liquid (water, wine, brandy, olive oil, rosewater, etc.). Frequently used ingredients are (frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, copal, rose petals, bay, cinnamon, pine needle resin and others.

Loose noncombustible incense is easiest to make. Combine finely powdered leaf, bark, flower, root etc. with a few drops of liquid or oils. Mix by hand, label and store in a jar. Burn this incense on charcoal. You may also scent a "blank" incense stick with a few drops of your favorite essential oil--very simple!

Recipe for Cone Incense:

6 parts powdered sandalwood (or cedar, pine, juniper) 
2 parts powdered benzoin (frankincense, myrrh etc.) 
1 part ground orris root 
6 drops of essential oil 
3 to 5 parts loose incense mixture

Mix all ingredients in the order given and weigh. Add 10% of total weight of saltpeter, mix and add gum arabic "glue" one teaspoon at a time - it's a bit messy and sticky. Roll cones thin and shape approximately 1 3/4" long. Cones will shrink and dry in two to seven days. Continue to turn cones to assure even drying without cracking. Start drying in upright position. Cones will burn 10-25 minutes.

Stick incense involves dipping bamboo sticks repeatedly into your cone incense mix until your desired thickness is achieved, changing the mixture between dippings. Are there "rules" for making combustible incense? YES: Never add more than 10% saltpeter of total incense weight, keep woods and gum resin in proportion--use twice the amount of powdered woods as resin. Frankincense, myrrh, etc. should never be more than a third of the final mixture. 

For more wonderful formulas and recipe ideas, refer to the sourcebooks listed below. Add the magic of scent to your daily ritual, personally created by you! 
Sources: 
Wylund's Book of Incense, Samuel Weiser Press 
The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews, by Scott Cunningham

Botanical.com Home Page 
Copyright 1995 Electric Newt

Insects can be delicious and nutritious!

Bug Blox

2 large packages gelatin

2 1/2 cups boiling water (do not add cold water)

Stir boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely.
Stir in dry-roasted leafhoppers.
Pour mixture slowly into 13 x 9 inch pan. Chill at least 3 hours. BLOX will be firm after 1 hour, but may be difficult to remove from pan. Cutting blox: dip bottom pan in warm water 15 seconds to loosen gelatin. Cut shapes with cookie cutters all the way through gelatin. Lift with index finger or metal spatula. If blox stick, dip pan again for a few seconds.

Banana Worm Bread

1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 bananas, mashed
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 eggs
1/4 cup dry-roasted army worms

Mix together all ingredients. Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 for about 1 hour.

Rootworm Beetle Dip

2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons skim milk
1/2 cup reduced calorie mayonnaise
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dill weed
1 1/2 tsp. Beau Monde
1 cup dry-roasted rootworm beetles

Blend first 3 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and chill.

Chocolate Chirpie Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 12-ounce chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup dry-roasted crickets

Preheat oven to 375. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and insects, mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Recipes compliments of Kathy Gee and Julie Stephens.

Some insect treats were available at the annual Insect Horror Film Festival on September 12 and 13.

If you are interested in insect cookery, you may wish to get a copy of Entertaining With Insects. Or: The Original Guide to Insect Cookery by Ronald L. Taylor and Barbara J. Carter. It can be purchased from 

Salutek Publishing Co.
5375 Crescent Dr.
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
714-692-7499 (voice and fax).

Where can you get insects? Many pet-store suppliers sell insects in bulk. Please let me know if there are companies you have dealt with successfully. One company I've heard of is Rainbow Mealworms. Another is Grubco. There is also a list of suppliers of food for pets at The Herp Mall.

Disclaimer: The Department of Entomology at Iowa State University is not responsible for gastric distress, allergic reactions, feelings of repulsion, or other problems resulting from the ingestion of foods represented on this page.

Department of Entomology,
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Maintained by John VanDyk

Those "bargemen" are most certainly Coleoptera (beetles), and definitely not bugs (Hemiptera). Hemiptera (true bugs) have young that are similar to the adult, just smaller and wingless - cf.the dry-roasted leafhoppers in the Bug BloxTM.

Here's a good weevil waffle recipe:

1 c. milk or buttermilk
2 eggs
3T safflower oil or melted butter
2T yogurt
2-3 T molasses
0.25 c sunflower seeds (no shells)

Whirl these ingredients in a blender.

Sift the following into a mixing bowl:

1 c. flour (try half white, half whole wheat)**
0.25 c wheat germ
1 t baking powder
pugil of salt (see Thirteen Gun Salute, p. 275, US paperback ed.)

Add wets to drys, stir briefly with a whisk; add milk or flour as needed to adjust consistency (should be like thick, heavy cream). Sprinkle hot waffle iron with poppy seeds immediately before adding batter. Serves 2 (?)

**The flour is the key ingredient - I've had consistently good luck with unrefrigerated whole wheat flour, especially from the bulk food bins of the funky local health food store.

Vegetarians may add Gummi wormsTM in place of the special flour.

These waffles are best washed down (or better, preceded) with the daily grog ration, or better, a wee doodly of wine. Any subsequent griping of the guts will respond to a good blue pill or slime draught.

Lois' Banana Mouth

Take a banana, put knife to bottom (end away from stem). Slice into bottom upwards towards top about 1/2 inch. Pull edges apart a little: a mouth.

Take a banana. Shove a needle through it (through the skin) and wiggle it back and forth until the innards are sliced all the way through. Pull out the needle and smoothe the hole, wipe away any ook. Repeat a few inches lower. Keep doing it until you've made 4-5 slices. Then tell the child, would you like a sliced banana? And hand him a banana. And it is sliced on the INSIDE! Take a bow.

Whale Steak

4 portions
4 slices of whalemeat @ 150 - 180 g
Salt and pepper, preferably freshly ground
4 onion rings
2 dessert spoonfulls of finely diced green or red peppers
1 dessert spoonful of finely diced parsley
1 dessert spoonful of finely diced gherkins

Carve the meat into slices of about 1.5 to 2 cm thick, beat them with your hands and press them into shape. Preheat the frying pan and melt some butter in it. Brown the butter before adding the meat. Fry the steaks on both sides. Whale meat should be fried for about 4-5 minutes on each side. The steaks taste best when they are medium rare, but they should be warmed right through and not eaten raw. Serve the steaks on a plate, place an onion ring on each of them and fill it with peppers, parsley and gherkins. Potato scollops taste good together with the steaks. Serve with a bowl of good, crisp lettuce and salad.

Joint of Whale Meat Steeped in Red Wine Marinade

6-8 portions:
1 1/4 kilos of whale meat
3 dl red wine
1 dl vegetable oil
3 ground cloves
1/2 teaspoonful of coarsly ground pepper
2 teaspoonfuls of salt

The Marinade

3/4 litre of juices from the meat 
Thickening (milk and flour) 
4 dessert spoonfuls of sour cream 
Salt

It may be a good idea to bind the joint to help it keep in good shape. Place it in a small oven dish and pour the marinade over. Leave the joint there until the next day, turning it at regular intervals. Remove the joint from the dish, dry it well and rub it with salt. Cook the joint until it turns a pleasant brown colour all over, turn down the heat and add water to reach 2-3 cm up the side of the joint, approx. 3/4 litre. Let the joint simmer for about 20 minutes, turn it over and leave it for another 20 minutes. Measure enough of the juices to make enough marinade, about 3/4 litre. Add the thickening to the marinade, and then the sour cream to taste. Serve with boiled beans or other vegetables, and potatoes - boiled or fried in the pan.

Whale Steak with Green Peas - A Recipe

One 2lb joint of whale meat
4 dl red wine
2 dl water
15 juniper berries
2 dessert spoons of black currant cordial
Cream
Cornflour.

Brown the joint on all sides in a stewpan, add the red wine, water and mashed juniper berries. Simmer under lid for about 30 minutes. Place a weight on the lid. Remove the meat and wrap it in aluminium foil while finishing making the gravy.

Gravy: Add the black currant cordial to the juices in the pan. Add cream to taste and thicken with cornflower. Cut the meat in thin slices and serve with potatoes, green peas, sprouts and mountain cranberries.

Blue Whale
1 part Vodka
2 parts Sour Mix, bottled
1 part Blue Curacao

Blend and serve in exotic glasses

Kwakuitl recipe for a whale found dead

When the hunter finds a dead whale, he goes home to his house; and when he comes to the beach in front of his house, he stands up in the bow of his small hunting-canoe and promises a whale-feast to his people. Then his people learn that he has found a dead whale. He gives to his daughter the name Place-of-cutting-Blubber, for he invites them on her behalf.

Then the tribe make ready. They sharpen their butcher-knives that day. In the morning, when daylight comes, the whole tribe launch their small canoes for carrying whale-blubber. Their wives steer the canoes when they start. He who found the dead whale goes ahead of his tribe. When they arrive at the place where the whale is lying, his father, if he has one, goes up to the whale with the daughter of the one who found the whale; that is, with Place-of-cutting-Blubber. They stand behind the neck of the whale; and when the guests arrive at the beach where the dead whale lies, his father speaks, and says, "O tribe! come and cut the blubber of the salmon of Place-of-cutting-Blubber, for it is very fat." Then he speaks again, calling the head chief of the tribe. He says, "You shall have for your dish the dorsal fin, Chief Place-of-Property;" that is if the Seaward-Dwellers are invited. Then he calls the common people.

His tribe goes ashore at once, and they stand at the right-hand side of the whale. They stand according to their seats at the feast; but Place-of-Property stand near the dorsal fin of the whale. The whale lies on it's belly, and (the head chief) holds in each hand a butcher-knife. He puts these on the back of the whale's neck, and measures one fathom. Then he moves backward, cutting along the two sides of the whale towards the tail, back of the dorsal fin. Then he stops.

The (people) cut around the neck of the whale, beginning at the back of the whale's head; and the one next in rank to Property-Place cuts off a piece of head; a fathom wide, beginning at the cut made by Property-Place, downward to the belly of the whale. The one next in rank cuts a piece of the same width, and all the men receive pieces of the same width as they cut off the blubber crosswise downward. As soon as all the blubber is off, the women cut a hole in the sin side of the whale, and cut off the inside fat. When it is all off, they put it aboard the canoes. Next they cutoff a piece of the tail of the whale; and when it is all off, they go home to their houses.

Then they unload the blubber and put it down above high-water mark. After it has all been taken up, the man takes a short board for cutting blubber. He puts it down, takes the blubber, and puts it on the board to be cut. He measures it so that it is cut in pieces four finger-widths wide. He continues this the whole length of the blubber. After a piece is off, he cuts it crosswise, so that it is half a finger-width thick. After it has all been cut up, he puts the pieces into a kettle for boiling.

She puts the kettle on the fire on the beach to try out the oil. He takes the tongs and stirs it , and he continues stirring it. His wife takes a box and places it by the side of the fire on which the oil is being tried out. She also takes a large shell of a horse-clam. When it boils up, she takes the large clam-shell and skims off the whale-oil and pours it into the box. She only stops when all the whale-oil is off the boiled blubber. Then she takes a large basket, takes the boiled blubber out of the kettle, and puts it into the basket.

When it is all in, she puts it down in the corner of the house. The people also take the oil-boxes at each end and another man puts them down in the corner of the house. (The owner's); wife takes cedar-bark, splits it into long strips, and carries it to the basket containing the boiled blubber, next to which she sits down.

Then she takes out one of the pieces of boiled blubber and she ties it in the middle with the cedar- bark. She takes another one and ties it in the middle. She continues doing so, and does not stop until the strips of split cedar-bark are all used up; and when it is done, it is in this way: [illustration of threaded string of blubber pieces ] Now, the name of the boiled blubber is changed and it is called "tied in the middle." After all this has been done, she hangs up the pieces over the fire of the house, and evaporates them until they are dry.

After they have been hanging therefor one month, she takes a small kettle and puts into it one string of blubber tied in the middle, together with the cedar-bark. She pours water on it; and when the water shows on the top, she puts it on the fire. After it has been boiling a long time, she takes it off. She takes a small dish and puts it down nearthe kettle in which the pieces tied in the middle have been cooked. She takes the tongs and takes hold of the boiled pieces and puts them into the small dish. After she has taken them all out of the kettle, she tries to eat it at once, while it is still hot, for it is tender while it is hot, but it gets tough when it gets cold.

After she has eaten enough, she puts away what is left; and when she wants to eat more, she takes her kettle, pours water into it, and puts it onthe fire of the house. When it begins to boil, she takes it off the fire. She takes the cold pieces of blubber tied in the middle and places them in the hot water; and when she thinks that they are hot, she takes them out with her tongs and places them in small dishes, and they eat it before it gets cold. After she has eaten enough, she puts it away, and she just heats it whenever she wants to eat of it. This is called "eating boiled blubber tied in the middle".