Another Ant-Baiting Episode

It looks like ants have taken up residency in one of my Jerusalem artichoke pots.  I noticed the ant trail, and also saw that when I watered the pot they'd come surging out of the soil.  I tried placing bait along their trail into the pot, but it was an old tube of Optigard and it had a fair amount of leakiness to it--there was some gel but also some liquid.  The ants didn't mind and rapidly formed up to get whatever they could.

There's still some activity in the pot, so whatever I did didn't take them all out.  I may try again later.

Cole Slaw

It's basic, but cole slaw is a decent dish to take to a potluck.  The starting point for anything involving cabbage is, for me, red cabbage.

I don't have a mandolin, so I chop it up by hand.  One head takes about 20 minutes to do (or so); this is similar to what I do for sauerkraut but I try to make sure the pieces are small.

I also add shredded carrots (about two), which I prepare by using a peeler and just shaving off little slices.   My recipe isn't original; it's adapted from Allrecipes and reproduced here.  In addition to the cabbage and carrots, the fluid mix is:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 teaspon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (I used a little more)
2 tablespoons onion (I used dried minced onion and it worked well; I figured it'd have less of a breath-fouling kick)

I also used a little more pepper--probably somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 teaspoon.


This all gets mixed together then poured over the shredded cabbage and carrots.  The mix will tend to settle at the bottom, so mixing it up with a spoon before serving is a good idea.
 

People liked it.  The texture is somewhat different; it's definitely crunchy.  But the flavor is very good.