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| The blacks things in the middle are weevils and the yellowish little guys are meal worms. |
Yes, you read the title correctly...baking with weevils...sounds appetizing, doesn't it?! When I first arrived in PNG last July, a friend
and I decided to make tortillas, so we mixed up the ingredients; my friend
rolled them out and I cooked them on a skillet. About halfway through, I
happened to notice some funny looking little things in the tortillas. When I
pointed them out, we took a closer look at the offending tortilla, looked at
each other, and said, “Meal worms.” Then we both shrugged our shoulders and
finished making the batch of tortillas—and they tasted pretty good, too!
(The tortillas, not the meal worms; I’m not entirely sure what a meal worm tastes like…and I’m completely content in my ignorance!)
(The tortillas, not the meal worms; I’m not entirely sure what a meal worm tastes like…and I’m completely content in my ignorance!)
More recently, I was making a loaf of bread
when I noticed the same little bugs just chillin’ in my rising of bread. So I
picked off the ones I could see and thought, “Oh well, more protein!” After
looking in my flour container and seeing not only meal worms but weevils
tunneling through my flour, I decided to take drastic action…sifting all the
flour before I use it (okay, drastic might be a little dramatic, but seriously...yuck!). So the next day
I ran to the store and bought a sifter, and now my baked goods are much
happier!
Before I left the States, a friend shared a
little poem with me…if you've been on the mission field at all, you’ll
appreciate this one! (I think eighteen trips to Mexico has advanced me a little
bit…I’m somewhere between the second and third parts—if I see the bug and can
reasonably get it out, I’ll do that; if not, well, like they say—extra
protein!)
When those on their first term find a bug in their cup of coffee,
they THROW OUT the cup of coffee.
When those on their second term find a bug in their cup of coffee,
they take the bug out and DRINK their coffee.
When those on their third term find a bug in their cup of coffee,
they drink it for the EXTRA PROTEIN!
When those on their forth term DON'T find a bug in their cup of coffee,
they look for a bug to ADD to it!
You are a true missionary. Try spreading the offending flour on a tray in the sun. The weevils don't like the heat and leave. Freezing it for 48 hours when you first buy it will also kill eggs and prevent creepy crawlies. (At least, that is what I was taught.) Bom appetite.
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