Spider on a Stick.
Outset is a fishing village, so its diet is predictable enough: fish. While the Great Sea proper does not contain fish, fishermen bring them in from bays and lagoons. Crabs, mussels, clams, shrimp, and a wide variety of ocean vegetation come from the beaches and shallow waters. Digging up clams or catching a crab is often a chore of the children. Seagull eggs are a rare treat. The trees on the island and in the faerie forest also provide food and timber. In addition to all that, Outset can offer pretty strange cuisine, such as seagull tongues and baked ants. Despite my attempt to be open-minded, I'd been putting off trying some of the dishes since I got there.
Outset is really a community of little islands; Outset wasn't even the largest or most populous. However, it was still considered the "main" island, because it held the Fairy Forest. As a result, the festival of fairies, a holiday that celebrates the children, can result in a pretty crowded island. All of the adults, myself included, came together to create a carnival on the main island. Merchants join the frenzy, setting up stalls to sell knick-knacks and games.
I was in charge of a hacky-sack toss type of game. The prize: deep fried spider-like things on a stick. Powdered sugar topping is optional. I remember watching the kids walking around eating these things like it was nothing, complete with a sticky jelly substance dripping onto the clothes… from the inside of the spider. I wasn't planning on eating that.
However, plans change. Did I mention that Aryll has aim good enough to even put her brother to shame? Being the sweet little girl she was (takes after her Grandma, I believe), she ended up winning some for all of her friends, Grandma and Link included. However, when she offered me one, my opinion of her dropped a little. Okay, yes: it really touched me. And yes: she is still a sweet little girl. The problem was: I couldn't say no. So here I was with a spider-thing on a stick in my hand, with a little girl waiting for me to try a bite. What am I to do?
I close my eyes, and gingerly nibbled of a piece of the leg to find…. that they are actually quite good. They have a salty exoskeleton, with the inside reminding somewhat of the inside of a jelly donut, only more… fibrous? I ended up gorging on them. Rose did chide me at one point for eating the prizes, before getting a few for herself.