Today, I ate a plate full of bugs. More on that in a second ...
Before I left for Australia, I told myself I would meet as many people from other countries as possible. French, Germans, Brazilians ... these would all become my friends and travel acquaintances over the next next. I would surround myself with as many internationals as possible, and I would learn from them. To some extent, that has happened.
In other areas of my travel adventure, however, I am surrounded by as much "Canadia" as back home in Toronto. Case in point, while living here in Cairns, I have four housemates. One is German. The other THREE are (you guessed it) Canadian!
One of these housemates has turned into a great friend. Krista, similar to myself, is working / living / backpacking her way across the country in search of "???". As a self-proclaimed "champagne backpacker", however, Krista does things a little differently than the common backpacker. She's choosing to cart herself a round the country behind the wheel of her campervan. A housemate with a car = bonus = weekend road trips!
Crystal Cascades, hidden in the tropical rainforest north of Cairns, is a secluded freshwater swimming hole. A series of small waterfalls flow into large pools surrounded by boulders, making it a great getaway spot from the heat and humidity. Rainforest trees hang over the water, keeping it cool and refreshing.
Krista and I spent most of the afternoon jumping into the stream off rock cliffs, sunbathing and talking about mostly Canadian things.
There are also picnic tables in the area, making it a great spot for lazy afternoon picnics. As thanks to Krista for making our little rainforest trip possible, I pulled together a salad for us made of fresh cut pineapples, herbs, vegetables and bugs. Well, Moreton Bay Bugs to be more specific. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreton_Bay_bug)
Also known as "Bay Lobsters", "Shovelnose Lobsters" and "Mud Bugs" to name a few, Moreton Bay Bugs are found along the entire coast of the northern half of Australia. As a Canadian, they look almost like the tail of a lobster, with a very similar taste.
I've made the above salad before in Ottawa (Canada) using lobster meat. This time I decided to flex some australian culinary muscle and use Bugs instead. Great salad if you love fresh pineapple. The mint / basil combo make this a really refreshing, summer-friendly salad. C/o Epicurious:
Ingredients:
One dozen Moreteon Bay Bugs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 firm-ripe baby pineapples with leaves, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 teaspoon minced fresh serrano chile, including seeds
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Method:
Plunge bugs headfirst into an 8-quart pot of boiling salted water. Loosely cover pot and cook bugs over moderately high heat 9 minutes from the time they enter water, then transfer with tongs to sink to cool.
Remove meat from the shells. Discard Rough cut meat into 1/2-inch’ish pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
While bugs are cooling, cut pulp in 1 or 2 large pieces out of each pineapple half with grapefruit knife, then discard core and cut pulp into 1/2-inch pieces. Scrape juice and any remaining pulp from pineapple shells with a spoon (to form 1/4-inch-thick shells) into a fine sieve set over a bowl and drain until you have 2 to 3 tablespoons juice, about 2 minutes. Discard solids.
Finely chop garlic and mix in with oil. Add garlic oil to pineapple juice along with lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Add shallot, bell pepper, pineapple pieces, chile, and herbs. Toss bugs with pineapple mixture and serve mounded in pineapple shells.
Cooks' note: • If you can't find baby pineapples, you can substitute 1 cup pineapple pieces from a firm-ripe regular pineapple.Makes 4 servings.
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