Here in California we have a really problematic little invasive ant called the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile.) They are real pain in the ass. They look quite similar to what we used to call "sweet and grease ants" when I was a kid back in Boston. But as far as I can tell these little invaders from Argentina are nothing but six-legged sweet tooths – grease doesn’t interest them. There are a variety of interests that are concerned about Argentine ants for a number of important reasons – most notably they drive out native species, thereby unraveling an important part of the natural ecosystems. My concerns are much more prosaic: they are major herders of aphids and scale, and, given the opportunity, they get into my kitchen and start going after anything sticky and sweet.

[For those of you that don't know this, many species of ants actively herd various pests that feed on the sap of plants. Insects such as aphids and scale exude a sweet "honeydew" from their abdomens. The ants feed on this, and will protect and defend their herd against predators. They will even move their wards from plant to plant to maximize their yield. Co-evolution. Go figure.]

I have been battling the Argentine ants in my yard for a couple of years now as part of the overall “low-impact” effort to deal with infestations of aphids and scale on my plants. As needed I would go to the hardware store and buy some ant traps of one type or another to put around the affected plants. They seemed somewhat effective, but not 100%. I assume that this is because controlling ants in the great outdoors without a significant broadcast of very nasty chemicals is basically impossible. But, these little traps did assist in managing the pest problem.

A couple of months ago some of these little bastards found a way into my kitchen for the first time [though technically they aren’t “bastards,” they are “bitches,” since all worker ants are female.] I gotta tell ya, when Argentine ants find something they like their numbers are astonishing. I decided it was time to research ant traps further. Around here the most common brand of ant trap is "Grants." Their tagline is, "Grants! Kills! Ants!" As far as I could tell, with Argentine ants, the Grants motto ought to be "Grants! Thrills! Ants!" Other ant traps sold in my area are branded Raid, TAT, Combat, and Terro. I wanted to see if I could figure out which of the different active ingredients in these offerings would best.

Terro ant traps contain a sucrose solution and Borax (boric acid.) Pretty straightforward. Boric acid acts on ants as a metabolic poison. In larger animals it is basically safe and has been used for ages as an antiseptic, antibacterial, and fungicide for humans. It is only harmful if ingested in very large quantities, or administered in small quantities over a long period of time. If you’re looking for something to off your rich uncle, this aint it.

Grants’ active ingredient is Hydramethylnon, a metabolic inhibitor which is claimed to work against Argentine ants, but either it doesn’t, or the bait component isn’t attractive to Argentine ants.

Raid traps contain Abamectin, a nerve toxin which, though naturally derived from bacteria, is pretty nasty stuff. The small quantities in an ant trap are unlikely to cause harm to a large mammal, but with my lovely dog around, I’m not interested.

TAT traps contain Baygon (Methylcarbamate). Baygon is an Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor – again, a nerve poison. As with Abamectin, a large mammal would have to consume a big dose of Baygon to be harmed, but…

Finally, Combat traps use Fipronil. Fipronil is yet another nerve toxin, attacking the central nervous systems of insects. However, it is also the active ingredient in “Frontline,” the anti-flea medication that I already use on my dog. Apparently Fipronil does not affect mammals, because it acts on a nerve receptor that does not exist in mammals (whew.)

OK, that’s was a really long preamble…

Based on my research, the only two ant traps I was willing to touch were Terro and Combat, which, interestingly, were the two that I had found most effective against Argentine ants in my yard (go figure!) But here’s the thing; all of these traps, safe or not, end up being pretty expensive if you are using a lot of them, and I have an endless supply of Argentine ants.

In the course of all this study I kept running into pages on the web describing homemade ant baits. It turns out that boric acid, aka Borax, the primary ingredient in Terro ant traps, is also the primary ingredient in many roach poisons. It is relatively benign, has been around in use for a very long time, and is really cheap. There are two main differences between Borax-based ant traps and Borax-based roach poison. With roaches you just want the insect die – as fast as possible. So roach poisons tend to be 100% Borax powder. You sprinkle it around where the roaches travel, they walk through it, and drop dead. Ant traps contain both Borax and bait. You need to attract the ants to the Borax. Even more importantly, the Borax is quite dilute. You don't want the ants to die right away – you want them to take the poison and bring it back to the nest where it will be fed to the Queen and to all the developing larvae. 100% Borax, while it will create a satisfying little pile of dead ants, won't ever deal with the actual problem: the nest.

Making homemade ant poison turns out to be very easy and astonishingly cheap. I bought the least expensive bottle of 100% Borax roach poison I could find. It was about four dollars for a 1 pound bottle, which should be enough for the next 30 or 40 years. The formula for the bait is approximately 16 parts water to 8 parts sugar to one part boric acid. For a modest quantity that translates to 1 cup water, ½ cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon Borax. It’s easiest to mix if the water is hot.

For outdoor use I got a (non-medical) utility syringe. I just squirt fresh poison mixture into the old traps once in a while (how’s that for reduce-reuse-recycle!) Inside the house (since I don’t have any kids, cats, or pooka’s hopping about that might get into the stuff,) I put small squares of aluminum foil at the back edges of my counters where the ants are, placing a tablespoon or two of mixture on each one. For two or three days there will be an astonishing army of ants endlessly, tirelessly marching to the pool of bait, drinking, and then leaving. It’s actually fascinating to watch. Furthermore, with this easy access sweet liquid, they leave everything else in my kitchen alone. After about three days suddenly the number of ants goes way, way down. A day or so later there might be one or two ants stumbling around looking confused. I usually put these stragglers out of their misery.

Two days ago a new army of ants arrived in my kitchen, but already this virtually-free mixture is doing its work. Thought I’d pass it on to the rest of you.

Notes:

Bon Appetite!


[Update: I have found the liquid form of my homemade ant poison inconvenient to distribute, so I am now making ant-poison gum drops. Here is my updated recipe.]

Start with one nice orange pumpkin (not the jack-o'-lantern kind,) weighing somewhere between 10 and 15 pounds (or 30 or 40 or 50 pounds, adjusting everything accordingly.) Using your chef's knife, cut a large round disc out of the top (retaining the stem as a handle if possible.) Scoop out the seeds and guts. Depending on the type of pumpkin, the seeds may or may not be worth saving and toasting as a snack. Pumpkins have good structural integrity, but won't stand up under their own weight through long cooking, so rest the pumpkin in some kind of ovenproof pot, and place, empty and topless, in a 350°F oven.

You will want to cut up some amount of a flavorful, tough cut of lamb. The quantity will depend on the size of your pumpkin. In my case I took a three or four pound hunk of lamb shoulder from my local halal butcher, hacking it to bits, willy-nilly, with a nice heavy Chinese cleaver. This is a rustic dish, so niceties like careful separating of the bones and proper muscling out of meat go right out the window. Salt the lamb pieces and sear on all sides, then set them aside and deglaze the pan with water to create a nice instant lamb stock. [I find that a wok works great for this.] Chop and slice up some vegetables to add to the mix. I used carrots, onions and some rutabaga. I also threw in a nice handful of dried apricots and something like a cup of pecans.

When the pumpkin is nice and hot, toss in the lamb, stock, vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, and whatever else you might be using. I like to add precooked rice (it takes too long for raw rice to cook inside the pumpkin, and it soaks up too much of the juices.) I also add barley, which I par-cook in a pressure cooker (again, I don't want the barley to be undercooked and I don't want it to absorb too much liquid.) My main spices for this dish are sumac (which you should be able to find at any Middle Eastern grocery store,) cumin, coriander, and salt pepper to taste.

Cover with the pumpkin’s lid, return to the oven, lower the temp to 300°-325°F, and cook until done. This is likely to be something like two or three hours depending upon the size and weight of your pumpkin, what you’ve chosen for fillings, and how full it is. You may also find that the ingredients cook more thoroughly if allowed to bake for a longer time at a lower temperature. Again, this is a function of what ingredients you've chosen to use, and if you like some of the ingredients (e.g. carrots) to remain toothsome, etc.

To serve, spoon out portions of the stew and scoops of the inside of the pumpkin. Use care when scooping out pumpkin, as it can collapse if the walls are breached – much like a medieval castle. Garnish with chopped parsley, yogurt, and more sumac. I also like to add sprinkles of ground, burnt mint leaves, especially on top of the yogurt where the black color contrasts with the white background. Don't bother looking for ground, burnt mint leaves in any store, you'll need to make your own.

 

As always, if you or any of your diners don't enjoy the results, the secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. This recipe will self-destruct in 10 seconds. Good luck Jim.


Postscript:




Since posting this blog entry I have received questions about what kind of pumpkins I cook with. It is a little bit hard to say. Some of the bins of pumpkins at Berkeley Bowl were marked, others weren't. Moreover, though marked with individual varietal names, many of the bins were a jumble of different pumpkins. I believe that I purchased Cinderella (used in the recipe above,) Fairytale, Jaradale (not shown - I ate 'em,) Blue Hubbard (unfortunately, a rat got to them before I did - no joke,) and one Sugar pumpkin which, sadly, turned to mush very quickly - quite a mess! I haven't tried cooking any of the pinkish-white pumpkins you see in the photo, and so far I have failed to ID them. Possibly they are Blue Max (suggestions?) [BTW, the plastic container with red liquid is fermenting red-cabbage sauerkraut - the jar in top is full of water and is just being used as a weight.]


Unfortunately, pumpkins are hard to get in the US after mid-November. My understanding is that this is purely a function of demand. Americans only demand pumpkins in October; after mid November they are gone. However, pumpkins store very well. It should not be difficult for wholesalers or grocers to keep pumpkins as easily as other squashes, apples, tubers, etc. Furthermore, pumpkins could be grown in most of the places that we get all of our out-of-season produce. They could be available year-round, they just aren't.


Also, I had always heard that "jack-o-lantern" pumpkins were grown only for size and appearance and not for flavor - thus not worth cooking. Recently people have been telling me that, while not as good as other varieties, jack-o-lanterns are OK to cook with. Your mileage may vary.

[Smoker V1 - The box holds a hot plate which is heating a metal dish of wood chips. The air is blown via a case fan from a computer through a piece of dryer ducting into my BBQ (which is cold.) The bacon is sitting on the racks of the BBQ getting smoked. All the cracks in the BBQ are taped with duct tape.]

[Ken Albala and I at a CHoNC party. I'm the one with my tongue discretely hidden away.]

[The V2 smoker eliminated the BBQ, which was a pain in the "A" to duct tape. The bacon is now hanging in a tall "dish-pack" box.]

[The V3 smoker brings back the BBQ, but this time the wood is burning inside the BBQ, since unlike the earlier cardboard, it is a fireproof box. The fan is on the outside of the smoker box, pulling smoke from the BBQ into the box. Oh, yes, I did cut a hole in the top of my BBQ, but it is old and tired and the non-stainless parts are all rusting away. Note the fire-extinguisher - it was always there, just not visible in the photos of the earlier versions.]

In January of 2000 my friends Mike, Richard, Heather, and I visited Wat Suthep, the magnificent temple atop Mt. (Doi) Suthep outside Chang Mai, Thailand. There is a long, steep stairway leading up to the Temple with golden sea dragons on each side acting as banisters. It had taken some time for us to get to the Wat, so we were all anxious to get going on the long climb up the staircase. But just as we were about to begin our ascent, a food vendor at the base of the stairs shouted out, "Waffle!"

“No, thank you,” we replied.

"Waffle! You want waffle?" She asked again.

"Mai ow. Mai ow, khrap,” (No. No thank you, in Thai.)

"Banana inside!" She added, undeterred.

“Oh my God,” we all said to each other in unison, “banana inside.”

So of course, we stopped for waffles. As with virtually all street food in Thailand, they were spectacular.

Several months ago, I got on a pancake and waffle kick for a while. I began searchingfor different kinds of pancakes and waffles to make for breakfast. Eventually I thought, "Hmmmmmm, Thai waffles… with banana inside!" I searched around in the books I own and online, but didn't find a recipe for Thai waffles with bananas inside. I did, however, find a recipe for Thai coconut waffles with pandan extract that are delicious.

Pandan extract is a flavoring that is extracted from the leaves of the pandanus tree (pandanus utilis), though frequently it is artificially made. You should be able to find pandan extract at any Asian market, or it is available at ImportFoods.com. Pandan leaves give a really nice mild coconut-like flavor to things, and in sufficient concentration turn foods slightly green. Pandan extract is made with prodigious quantities of green food coloring turning everything it touches bright, vivid green. These waffles are no exception. Kids go crazy for them. A while back my friends David and Eva were visiting with their children. David and Eva had bought a box of Lucky Charms for the kids to eat for breakfast. I made these coconut pandan waffles, but the kids had had their hearts set on Lucky Charms, so they didn't want any. They didn't want any, that is, until they saw them. Their bowls of Lucky Charms turned soggy as they devoured plate after plate of waffles.

The recipe originates from Viet World Kitchen, to whom I am indebted. However, I have made many of edits to their version, including doubling the quantities. My rendition of this recipe follows. It makes 4 waffles on my Black and Decker 4-square waffle iron.

Ingredients:

Method:
These waffles don’t have banana inside, but they are delicious with banana on top. I am told that they freeze well, but I’ve never managed to retain enough of them to try that :-) .