I Like Cicadas -- you can buy it!

The first of the download stores to make "I Like Cicadas" available are Napster , Sony Connect, Rhapsody, iTunes and EMusic. Get your official copy now! (Please tell several thousand of your friends too, OK?) The track linked on on all the previous posts is now just a 30-second sample.

Cicada recipe 2 -- dessert

I picked up a few more cicadas in Glen Ellyn this morning. Later today I'm going to try this recipe. I think it will put the finishing touches on my 2007 cicada adventure. I found and then adapted this recipe from CICADA-LICIOUS: Cooking and Enjoying Periodical Cicadas. It comes from Jenna Jadin and the University of Maryland cicadamaniacs.

Chocolate Covered Cicadas

Ingredients:
8 squares of good-quality dark, white, or milk chocolate
30 dry roasted cicadas

Directions:
1. Roast cicadas for 15 minutes at 225F.
2. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a double-boiler over low heat. Dip insects in chocolate, place on wax paper and refrigerate until hardened.

Anyone want dessert?



UPDATE

This morning (6/2) I made them! The chocolate was white almond bark and I think I got it a little too hot so it was more of a creme color, but everything worked great! They tasted just like vanilla candy with something crunchy inside.



And now my cicada cooking adventure for 2007 is officially over.

Cicada news

Today my youngest and I are in a small picture on the front page of the Chicago Tribune! I didn't find the picture in the online edition though. (So I put together this little composite so you can see it) Then there's an article about eating cicadas on page 14. That one is in the online edition. It has a quote from me and it says that I'm the pastor of "a United Methodist Church near Sandwich." That was close -- I'm the Pastor of Union Congregational Church in Somonauk.

Here's the update of all the cicada fun I've been having:

• I posted a cicada recipe just for fun. (The recipe came from cicadayear.com)
• I was quoted in a Daily Herald article.
• cicadamania.com linked my blog -- sending lots of cicada recipe seekers.
• I wrote and recorded "I Like Cicadas" (garage version)
• I got some cicadas, cooked them and ate them. You can see "The Cicada Chef" on youtube.
• The Tribune put me on the front page!

I guess all that's left is dessert . . .

The Cicada Chef

I finished the video tonight -- It's on google video, aol uncut video, in my web hosting area and on youtube too! It features "I Like Cicadas" (garage version) in the soundtrack. (The song also known as "The Cicada Song.")

Cicada cuisine!

This morning I had a cicada snack -- I used the recipe I posted a few weeks back (mostly -- I always get a little creative when I cook.) Here are some pictures of the event. I'll have video soon too!

_________

Anyone for seconds?

Cicada update

Actually, there's not much to tell on this front. I didn't find any cicadas this morning on a stroll through the woods. I'm heading out this afternoon for a second try, however. Hopefully I'll find some and be able to experience some cicada cuisine later tonight!

I did write a cicada song (It's called "I Like Cicadas") but it's not recorded yet. I played it for a few people at a hayride and bonfire over the weekend (I had trouble remembering all the words!) and if all goes well, I'll have a recording of it by the end of the weekend.


UPDATES:
I found some cicadas in Glen Ellyn this afternoon. They're marinating in worchestershire sauce tonight and then I'm going to make batter-dipped and sauted cicadas tomorrow morning.

I also recorded the cicada song (gargage version). The whole song was really recorded in the garage. I played guitar and did vocals and my son Matthew played drums. It'll be available for a short while linked here, and then it'll be gone just like the cicadas. I make it resurface on iTunes and Napster etc. some time in the future.
I Like Cicadas (garage version)

Update! You can now buy "I Like Cicadas" on Napster, Sony Connect and Emusic!

Cicada recipe 1

Sometime around May 22, the 17-year cicadas (Brood XIII) will emerge in the Northern Illinois area. I remember the 1990 and the 1973 events around here. It was noisy and fascinating at the same time. Last year, I shot some video of a non-Brood XIII cicada as it was devoured by a praying mantis. Why should the praying mantis have all the fun? This year, in addition to the noise and the fascination, I'm up to finding my inner mantis. I've found a number of recipes for preparing these edible insects into a scrumptious (?) meal. I can't say that I've ever tried any of them, but I'm game.

Here's the first: A recipe for the emerging larvae. I found it at cicadayear.com.

Soft-Shelled Cicadas

• 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 30 freshly emerged 17-year cicadas
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• Salt and pepper to season the flour
• 1/2 cup corn oil or slightly salted butter

Marinate cicadas in Worcestershire sauce for several hours.
Dip them in the beaten egg, roll them in the seasoned flour and then gently saute until they are golden brown.

Anyone else ready?

I'll post another recipe for the cicada's "out of the shell" soon.

Random thought. Cicada lovers like cheesy stuff, right? How about "The Cheese Song"?