Oak Gall Ink Making and locust eating

[firecrest]

Long time no see on the forums!!
After foraging far and wide for oak galls, I discovered they are in fact available on ebay (is there anything you cant buy?!) so would anybody be interested in a short demo on ink and black dye making? I believe it can also be used to dye leather with, I have some quills and genuine vellum as well, though it literally takes a few minutes to make ink so it might be something children could enjoy doing as well.

as well as that, im wondering if anybody would be interested in ...LOCUSTS! its about time we had a bit of a bushtucker trial haha! ive bought some in the past, as Ive Raised locusts for reptile food, they breed quickly and easily, and recently Ive kept them raised on delicious herbs for myself, they really are good eating, and fit for human consumption if raised with good food in a clean environment. Maybe it will catch on or maybe im just a nutter, but I can bring them along and do a preparation,cooking and tasting session? Ill also bring my pyro kit if anybody is interested.
I cant wait to come, though I dont know what days I can do yet, so I hope the tickets dont sell out before i book!

 

[dwardo]

There are loads of gall`s near me. If you ever need any let me know.

 

[Mesquite]

Yes please for the ink gall tutorial please Lindsey

Not too sure about the locusts though, maybe if they're dipped in honey first...

 

[John Fenna]

Lindsey -If you want oak galls I can bring a big bag to the moot - the trees are loaded with them here.
I would love to see a tutorial on the ink and dye methods .. my previous efforts did not work too well....

 

[Thetillerman71]

Probblem as I see is that the ink is not much good for writing on paper probably be better on parchment or cloth. I reckon it is a little early to pick them as they have not turned black yet

 

[spandit]

How do you kill & cook your locusts? I'm not coming to the moot but I've tried them before & they're delicious!

 

[firecrest]

How do you kill & cook your locusts? I'm not coming to the moot but I've tried them before & they're delicious!

Ive eaten them raw, or frozen them and then put them in boiling water, then fried in butter.
Yes do please give me oakgalls, I find maybe 2 every time Im at a meet

 

[spandit]

The ones I tried were very dry - I was expecting them to be more like prawns but then I suppose they can't carry too much weight in order to fly. Which bits do you eat?

I've wondered whether farmers would be better off netting locust swarms & selling the protein but then I suppose they're not as predictable as crops are

 

[John Fenna]

Ive eaten them raw, or frozen them and then put them in boiling water, then fried in butter.
Yes do please give me oakgalls, I find maybe 2 every time Im at a meet

I have Oak saplings 2' tall with about a dozen on them....

 

[Catrablue]

Ooh, that sounds really good. I'm a (cough) vegetarian but I'd love for my kids to try eating locusts!

 

[Tony]

Great stuff, i'd be up for both things

 

[firecrest]

Well hopefully the locust life cycle will coincide with the moot, they seem to be reaching old age and not breeding so good! BUT!!! Ive also got a colony of silk work going that im going to have a go at producing silk. maybe I could give a little talk on that, if they pupate before the moot, I can bring some

 

[Tengu]

Both sound wonderful.

Theres a company in this country called ENTO which do all sorts of insect foods.

 

[bambodoggy]

I've eaten deep fried locust countless times on various visits to parts of south east asia, they always taste and feel like I'm eating good pork scratchings without the soft fatty bits....absolutely yummy The best I think are the ones cooked right in front of you by the street vendors mmmmm

 

[firecrest]

well all my locusts died in the space of a few hours. The culprit? I bought salad veg from morrisons, and after asking in locust forums, this is a bad idea, any trace of pesticide will kill them and its really quite a lesson learned that the veg we buy is laced with the stuff.