In Search of...Baby Bees

I've never been a fan of cheesecake. I have a wicked sweet tooth, but cheesecake love has always alluded me. At Christmas, my parents sent my in-laws a cheesecake from Juniors in New York. Apparently, my parents have fond memories of going to Juniors with my aunt who lived in Brooklyn, and feasting on cheesecake. I remember things a little differently. I remember someone in the group saying "let's go to Junior's", others would chime in their affirmations, and I would quietly dissent, outnumbered. Then we'd get to Junior's and everyone would order cheesecake, and I'd search the menu for something else. I hated cheesecake. I hated going to Junior's. I grew up disliking raw tomatoes and mushrooms as well, and now I can tolerate them. Similarly, I can tolerate cheesecake, but I'd never order it off a menu.

Chris and Vincent heard about my anti-cheesecake stance. Chris never knew this about me. He was shocked. Vincent took it upon himself to educate me on the joys of cheesecake. He makes a mean cheesecake. Now I can say I like cheesecake if Vincent Baker makes it. I suppose that's progress.

While chatting at dinner the night of my cheesecake education, the subject, of course turned to the strange things we've eaten or would like to eat. If you recall last year about this time, we ate deep fried waterbugs. I was not terribly successful at this, but I did try. Anyway, Vincent mentioned that he'd heard that the best bugs to eat are bee larvae because they're so sweet. The gustatory wheels in my head have been churning since. I'm on the hunt for bee larvae to fry up in my wok. In my search I found a blog of another adventurous eater: Weird Meat. I'm even more inspired. Audience assistance in my quest to find baby bees is warmly appreciated.

We talked about eating other odd things like bear, elk, big game meat. It might be easier to find a source for those than for baby bees. We'll see.

Bee Larvae Leads
Edible Insects
China Bees. Where's a "buy it now" button?
From the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' Corporate Document Repository, Chapter 8 of "Value Added Products from Bee Keeping". Includes recipes!