Grasshopper Salad

Did you know that in China, and many other places I'm sure, fried grasshopper is considered a delicacy?  I also learned that people eat fried spiders and scorpions too.  Can you imagine?  I mean, who came up with this?  Gosh, makes my stomach churn just thinking about it.  I am going somewhere with this I promise.

Wait!  I need to have a brown paper bag handy.  I'm not entirely certain I will be able to get through this post without getting sick.

You see, I'm fairly sensitive when it comes to food.  I love food.  Like LOVE food.  I very rarely pass up delicious creations.  However, I'm fairly sensitive to looks, texture, color, and I can almost always notice when something is there that doesn't belong.  I found something strange at Taco Bell when I was in college and honestly, I did not eat there again until I met Mark and even then it was probably at 4:00 am after he had some late night show in Dallas.  Anyway, they do say you eat with your eyes first and while some things might taste delicious, if they don't look delicious then there is no way I am going to eat it.  Do I really need to explain to you all what sausage looks like?  It only makes matters worse what is in that stuff.  I digress here.

So a couple of weeks ago we were all having a pleasant dinner and enjoying one another's company.  The kids were getting along, people were eating without having to be bribed or coerced into eating their vegetables.  It was nice.  All of a sudden, I looked down in my salad bowl and I saw it.  I don't remember what I said exactly, but I immediately snatched Julia's salad bowl and Mark spit out his food.    I know this sounds so disgusting.  However, if you looked down and saw a legless grasshopper body in the bottom of your salad bowl, I bet you would spit out your food too.  Good grief!  I was at home for crying out loud.  I washed the salad, a lot.  I put it in the spinner.  I moved pieces to the bowl and never, ever did a I see a grasshopper.  Well, of course I didn't, because you see I do not consider this to be a delicacy.  I find it disgusting!  I could just barely make it through dinner.  I brushed my teeth shortly thereafter and had nightmares that night.  All I remember from this nightmare was pictures of a legless grasshoppers everywhere.  It is still haunting me.

Let's just say I haven't eaten a salad since.

So next time you eat a salad, look around closely, you never know what you might find.  There just might be a delicacy in there.