Halloween Cheese and Crackers, Albino Cheese Rats that is.

When it comes to kitchen hygiene I'd say I'm pretty much up there with OCD clean.  I'm the type of person who will go behind you and put your cup in the dishwasher before your done using it.  Unfortunately one of the folks I live with doesn't abide by my sanitary standards.  That same person likes to come downstairs after I have completed my 40-point cleaning inspection and gone to bed.

While the pigeon is in the kitchen in the wee hours of the night it makes and leaves all sorts of messes. I'll come down and see the spotless kitchen I left the night before tore up, dishes everywhere, food left on the counter, and that is when I usually lose it and have to start with the lectures.  "You know you are going to attract rats with this mess."  "You probably have them sleeping with you in your bed right now since that is a pig pen too."

Well you know what, one morning I came downstairs and thought I'd faint when I saw a bunch of Albino (honey goat and cream cheese with red pepper eyes and rice noodle tail) rats scurrying across my cutting board leaving their gross (yet tasty and briny olive rat turds) everywhere.

"I will kill you Rat Bastards if it's the last thing I do", I screamed.  Poor Ted went and hid under his blanket.

That afternoon I planned my counter attack to rid this house of the vermin.  Then it hit me, I shall drown them in a bowl of delicious Raspberry Red Pepper Jelly that the lovely Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook sent me this summer.  Thank you again Claudia for sharing part of Minnesota with me.  Then I tied 4 grissini (thin Italian bread sticks) together with knots that would get me kicked out of the Navy.  Some celery rungs were added for extra traction.  Lined the pool deck with whole-grain pita crisps and waited for the victims to come along.

Come on little kiddies, everyone into the pool.

I'm happy to report we no longer have a rat problem around here.  Hey, don't think of it as inhumane, think of it as family fun and games.  The kids can play chop the rat's head off with a cracker, or how many rat turds can you pile on one cracker.  It's fun for the whole family people.

I got the mold for the mice from Sarah-Jane Silicone Moulds she has tons of cool ones.  I used half goat and half cream cheese about 3 ounces each and put the rats in the fridge until they were firm, then arrange them for your unsuspecting guests prior to their unfortunate arrival.

Gina