Mom/Chef: caterpillar curry

So, as usual, once the baby went down for a nap this afternoon I started on some dinner prep. I cut up a bunch of vegetables for curry. It is almost the weekend and time for a new CSA box and I needed to use up some of last weeks vegetables that were still hanging around. I started oil in a large skillet and threw in some onions and broccoli stems. While sauteing I noticed a non-onion looking thing, and upon pulling it out of the pan discovered a caterpillar! Okay, I thought, I rinsed the broccoli but obviously not well enough, so I went through the skillet and the plate of broccoli florets and found one more small caterpillar that had crawled out of the broccoli and onto the plate. I removed said caterpillars, rinsed the broccoli once more and gave myself a pep talk about the hazards vs benefits of organic vegetables. I mean really, its only two caterpillars and I caught them, plus the organic vegis are usually so good. So anyway, spirits bolstered I went on to add the bell peppers to the pan, and then the broccoli florets. Seconds later three more caterpillars begin oozing out of the broccoli and frying themselves in my skillet! Now, I know that bugs are protein and many cultures eat them, but I'm sorry, I guess I'm just too squeamish. The pan of vegetables went into the trash, the skillet into the sink and the rest of the vegetables into the fridge until I decide what to do for dinner. The rest of the chopped vegetables are bug free, I know it was just the broccoli, but I may have lost my appetite for vegi curry.

Preped vegetables and caterpillars on the stove.

Maybe I'll have cereal for dinner...

Two caterpillars, one fried, one fresh that found their way into my curry.