The Budding Entomologist

Last week I did a class on entomophagy so I had mealworms to cook for the kiddos. The boy decided he didn't need to have his cooked.....

Tempura battered scorpions

It's Halloween!! Time for another post on a buggy-themed recipe. I know all of you secretly love these and I also know that none of you want to come to dinner at my house (it's okay, my husband does all the cooking anyway, so it's safe to eat here).

Tempura Battered Scorpions

Prepare your scorpions

Collect scorpions- you can use a black light at night to easily find scorpions (they fluoresce under black lights). Be careful when handling scorpions as they can sting- the stinger is located at the tip of the tail.
Scorpions can be placed into the freezer for a few hours to kill them or for those more adventurous souls, keep them alive until frying.

Prepare your tempura batter

1 egg
1 cup ice water
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted

Beat the egg in a bowl. Add ice water to the eggs (make sure to use ice water, not water that is lukewarm). Add flour to bowl and stir lightly. Do not overmix batter.

Prepare to fry your scorpions

Heat oil in a pot to about 340-350 degrees. Flour your scorpion then dip into the batter until it is lightly coated. Place the battered scorpion into the oil and fry until crispy. Once cooked, remove from oil and place on a paper towel. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Update on the boy:

The one year mark is inching closer and it seems the closer it gets the faster the boy changes. He's now walking, not all the time, but he'll take 7-8 steps before grabbing something or sitting down. He got his first bloody lip yesterday from crashing into the coffee table...poor little guy.



He's also trucking along on learning sign language. He now knows and signs milk, cheese (the boy is a cheesehead- he's obsessed with cheese!), more, ball, fan and dog. He's also waving bye-bye now. He does this when I leave for work in the morning....so sweet!

Halloween early? Tarantulas!

It's October, so that means I need to write about creepy things, right? Some of you might think I always write about creepy things, but spiders, especially large, hairy spiders really creep most people out. Oh yeah, and cockroaches. Most people scream like a little girl when they see a cockroach, but I've already covered them. So for all you arachnophobes out there.....

Tarantulas are probably the heaviest spiders that we have in Texas. Their bodies can be up to 1 1/2 inches long and they get even larger when you add in their legspan. Tarantulas create burrows either by digging one or using natural cavities under rocks, logs, etc. Sometimes they'll line the burrow with silk and add a few lines in front of the burrow to help detect prey that might wander past. Tarantulas eat things such as crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars, so they are beneficial and help reduce pests that may be wandering around in your yard.


While the size and hairiness of tarantulas freaks most people out, they really are fairly harmless. Of course, they have fangs and are capable of biting, but typically their venom doesn't react with our body chemistry in a negative way. Tarantulas will let you know if you are upsetting them to allow you ample time to move away- they'll rear up on their hind legs and put their front legs into the air. If you see one do this, then leave it alone. Tarantulas may also brush their legs along their abdomen when threatened to brush off urticating hairs that can cause irritation to the eyes or skin.


The above photo is of Debbie, the Bird Eating Tarantula that I have in my office (I feed her mice, not birds). The quarter is in the photo so you can have a size reference.