In a report by National Geographic, many Midwestern Americans may be adding a bizzare and rare element to their summer diets - cicadas.  The insects only emerge from the ground once every 17 years so if you’ve got the “butterflies” you better get over them quickly!

Scientists have pointed out that cicadas actually offer great nutrional value and are rich in vitamins.  In fact, they have about the same amount of protein (per pound) as red meat! And, when eaten raw or boiled, they resemble asparagus which stems from their chloro-filled diets (pardon the pun).  We’ll have to take their word for it!

While we may never think to eat cicadas, we’ve already come very close… crayfish, lobsters, crabs and shrimp come from the same family as cicadas.  Still not convinced?  Maybe if you had a recipe it would put you at ease.

Some of the most popular methods of preparing cicada are blanched or deep fried and dipped in a cocktail or mustard sauce.  Knowing that chocolate covered insects are much more widely accepted, we figured that cicadas would be no different.  And, we were able to find a very easy recipe posted by Jenna Jaden of the University of Maryland.

Chocolate Covered Cicadas

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

Directions
-Roast cicadas for 15 minutes at 225 degrees F
-Meanwhile, melt chocolate in double boiler at low heat
-Dip insects in chocolate, place on wax paper and refigerate until hardened

Simple, easy and supposedly delicious!  We hope YOU will let US know…