Ants

Michelle asked about an ant problem. I really have never had a problem with them so I don't have any real first hand advice for you. I do have a book called "Club the Bugs and Scare the Critters". It's by Dr Myles H Bader. Here are a few of his suggestions,

1 Giving the Queen Heartburn
3 1/2 Ounces of Strawberry jam (any sweet jam will do)
1 1/2 Tablespoons of wet, canned cat food (cheap brand)
1 Tablespoon of boric acid

This concoction is a treat for ants and the workers will bring the treat to their queen. The queen gets excited and quickly gobbles up the goody and within a few hours dies of heartburn. Make sure this treat is out of reach of children and animals that you wish to have around for awhile. If they do ingest it, it will make them very sick. However, it doesn't take very much to do the job and eliminate the queen.

2 Feed them Melon

If you have a bad ant problem and can't get rid of them, just leave a slice of watermelon or cantaloupe in your yard far from the house. They would prefer melon to anything you have in the house most of the time.

3 The Ant Trapper

6 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons of active dry yeast (fresh)
1/2 cup standard grade molasses or honey
10 small plastic lids or bottle caps

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix thoroughly until it is smooth. Place the mixture into the lids or caps and place near an ant trail or near their mound. The mixture can also be spread on a piece of cardboard or small stick and placed in their pathway or in a crevice.

4 Getting Rid of Ant Hills

1/4 cup of liquid hand soap
1 gallon of cool tap water

Place all ingredients into a bucket and mix well, then pour 1-2 cups on the anthill and repeat after 1 hour to be sure that the mixture penetrates deep into the chambers.


5 Repel Them with Tansy

If you sprinkle some fresh tansy leaves in the corners of your kitchen counters and in the window sills it will repel ants 100%.
Tansy is a perennial flowering plant of the aster family. Lots more information if you google it.

These next two are just interesting

It takes 500,000 sugar ants to equal a pound. If you weigh all the ants on earth, they will weigh more than all humans on earth.

In Africa a hungry ant can enter an elephants ear and eat them from the inside out. A number of elephants every year fall prey to ants.

If you think you know where the ants are entering the house and need to be sure, just place some strips of masking tape glue-side up and put some sugar or honey on it. Check it in the morning and see how many ants you trapped.


Hope one of these things works for you Michelle. Let us all know what you think.

Mama

Plant Some 'erbs, Herb

Last Saturday we went to the farmers market. Actually, we went to TWO farmers markets--one in Overland Park, KS, and one in downtown Kansas City. What a great way to spend a morning.

We each picked up some herbs and thought we'd show you our kitchen herb gardens. If you haven't planted one, try it. There are few pleasures more pure than harvesting your own herbs for a dish you're cooking. Container gardens like ours are oh-so-convenient and easy to do.

I'm crazy about galvanized buckets. Love them. And here's the deal--since I use them for lots of things, I hate to put drainage holes in them. After all, they could become something entirely different later, but only if I haven't poked them full of holes. SO...I don't.

But container gardens need drainage, you say? Right! We solve that problem by filling the bottom of the container with plastic bottles before adding the dirt. Works like a charm. My theory is that the bottles create little rivers and valleys for the water to run into. They also replace a lot of soil, so the container ends up lighter and easier to handle, which I like.

The bottles I had saved were too big for this container. They fit inside, but didn't create quite the right number of hills and valleys.


That's better: I cut some of them in half. A generous layer of bottles goes in first, then the dirt. We use Scott's potting soil with the moisture retention stuff. It helps come July and August when it's over 100 degrees in the shade!


Here are our herbs. (only $5 for all 4 at the farmers market!)

We slide each out of its pot, break up the soil around the root, and slip it into a pocket in the new soil. Pat the soil around it, and it's set. I put basil, thyme, and chives into one pot.


x

And dill into another. (It gets really big.)

That's it. Now all they need is water. We'll pinch them back from time to time. Basil gets leggy if you let it and chives try to take over the world. A quick pinch now and then takes care of that.

Dad Cooks!

While Mom and I have been hard at work designing and sewing up projects for the book I'm writing, Dad has been keeping us fed in grand style. We can't show off the projects yet, but we can show you one of Dad's casseroles.



He got the recipe from his favorite cookbook, Taste of Home's Contest Winning Recipes, 2004. Before Mom had shoulder surgery last year, Dad read through nearly every recipe she has, looking for things he could make while she was out of commission. He made lists, shopped, and cooked up a storm. Baked pies from scratch and everything. Still does, once in a while.

Anyway, here's his recipe for Cajun Cabbage Casserole. We finished everything in the nick of time, so we should be back with something interesting to show you on Friday.

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
½ c uncooked long grain rice
1 t salt
½ t dried basil
½ t dried oregano
¼ to ½ teaspoon each white, black and cayenne pepper (Dad stays on the low end of the range)
4 to 6 drops hot pepper sauce (Dad usually leaves this out, depending on whether he expects anyone with a sensitive stomach in the dinner crowd)
1 small head of cabbage
1 c shredded Colby cheese

In a skillet, brown beef, green pepper, onion and garlic. Drain. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice and seasonings.

Spread in an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with cabbage and cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 65 to 75 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Removing Cooked-on Grease

In a comment on our Cleaning Day post, Jess asked,

So how do I get cooked on grease off of my toaster oven baking pan? Can I use vinegar for that? I've been wondering what to do about this for a while.

Glad you asked, Jess. This is a place for the Tide and hot water. Place your baking pan in the hottest water you have available and put in a good amount of Tide. When the water is cool enough to put your hands in comfortably you should be able to wash off the grease. You might have to use some S.O.S. for some really tough spots. This is the way I clean my oven racks.

I don't have to worry about small children so I may have my water hotter than some of you girls. If your water is not really hot just add some boiling water.
Hope this does the trick for you
mama

Jerri says: Hey Jess, while we're talking about hot water, be sure to check the hot water heater in that new house of yours. Set the temperature at about 120 degrees. If the dial doesn't show degrees, put the indicator on the low side of center. Keeping your water hotter than 120 degrees wastes energy and poses a danger to children and older people, whose skin is thin.

Celebrate!!!!

Yes, we know it's April. And yes, this is a Christmas quilt. But Mom finished piecing this top today after 8 to 10 years of working on it, on and off. Here's a sneak peek at what perseverance can do for you.

Here's my favorite bit--a darling little gingerbread man. The photo's a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.


This reindeer looks like he's leaping through the forest on a dark winter night.


These hearts are near the top, in just the right place to rest over your own heart when you're curled up in the quilt.


Speaking of hearts, this snowman has a big one. Can you believe it—all these years after she started the quilt, Mom still had the original buttons for the hearts.


That's it for today. We'll post more pictures when she gets it completely finished.

ps--my camera has gone walk about. When it shows up again, I'll post pictures of Katie with her birthday quilt.

CreamPuff Tree

Wowsers. It's been a long time. Sorry we've been away so long. I (Jerri) went off to Minnesota for a week with Katie and we've been all out of kilter since I got back. Anyway, we've missed you all.

Last Sunday we had a wedding party in at the salon. You know, all the members of a wedding came in to get their hair, nails and make up done. When that happens, we serve pretty food and mimosas. 

One of our favorite quick-but-pretty things for these events is a cream puff tree. No cooking, just a bit of assembly and you've got an edible centerpiece. 

You need a styrofoam cone, frozen cream puffs (we get them at Costco), strawberries, and white chocolate candy coating. A little powdered sugar is nice. Start by wrapping the cone with plastic wrap. (That way we can reuse the cone. It just seems cleaner, too.) 

We forgot this time, but usually we melt the chocolate and put a little pool in the center of the serving dish. Set the cone on top and let the chocolate cool. The hardened chocolate anchors the cone to the dish. Starting at the bottom, use toothpicks to anchor puffs in a circle.

Add strawberries here and there as you move up the cone.

Drizzle the puffs with white chocolate. We usually just use a spoon, but Mom has a new icing decorator thing, and we tried that. Didn't work that great, really. The chocolate cooled too quickly and clogged the tube. Next time we're going to try buttercream frosting.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and you're done!

You can see we've got a few holes in this one. It was a small wedding party and Dad wanted us to save him some cream puffs, so we left the holes. For larger groups, we put the puffs closer together. Sometimes we fill any holes with silk flowers, which is pretty. 

We'll be back on Friday with some sneak peeks at what we've been working on lately. See you then!