Oh yeah, the caterpillars!

So something pivotal that I forgot to mention about my trip to Zapotitlan. One day we walked to the nearby pueblo and ate at a little restaurant. Our appetizer? Fried caterpillars, called cuchama, that are harvested in the area during the rainy season. They're crispy and spicy and really really really tasty with chile and lime.



This is a photo of the dish (I stole this from Dario Lopez-Mills, of the Associated Press). Fried with chiles, doused in lime and a little salt, and wrapped tightly in a tortilla-cocoon, I highly recommend them.


After we had set up camp the first day, there was actually a live specimen of the bright green, spiny critters on my sleeping bag. I removed it with my baseball cap and placed it on a nearby bush. Lucky I chose the cap, because I was talking with the Señora later, and she told me that the little spines of the caterpillar sting, leaving dark red welts (at this point she showed me her own recent caterpillar-related wounds). Turns out that once they're cooked the spines don't sting anymore, but they do add to the texture!