The first step to preparing any food item is to remove all Asian Lady Beetles from the immediate area. This one was lolling about just outside the kitchen, better safe than sorry. And by "sorry" I mean "experience an extra crunch in your bagel". Apparently these bugs love white houses with black shutters. I'm not that crazy about the combination myself, but I'm not up to painting the house just now so we're in a shared-living situation.