Search Results for '("C'

[S_Wirth]

Here are many hits on peppermint oil used to repel mice:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=peppermint+oil+repels+mice&form=PRDLCS&pc=MDDCJS&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&refig=dff17d1e266b44bdbd7d645d3a909739&sp=-1&ghc=1&pq=peppermint+oil+repels+mice&sc=1-26&qs=n&sk=&cvid=dff17d1e266b44bdbd7d645d3a909739

I have used it for years and years under the liner under our truck hood where mice love to destroy the insulation. I read that tip in a book and online. I used cotton balls and poured the peppermint oil over them in a little disposable cup and tucked them under the hood liner. Keeps mice at bay very well. Each fall I use new ones under the liner.

I got my perrpermint oil from http://www.lorannoils.com

[Rascals1]

I don't know about scientific proof but it's all I've used for 3 years now and I haven't had the first sign of a mouse.

[Mike Nolan]

There is no scientific evidence I can find that essential oils keep mice away. Many of the websites that recommend it, surprise, surprise, sell essential oils!

[Rascals1]

That's why I included the essential oil one it juts keeps them away.

[Mike Nolan]

The problem with mouse and rat poisons is that you do not know where the dead bodies will be, perhaps inside your walls?

[Rascals1]

Tomcat works well so does peppermint essential oil on tissue or cotton ball,

[Mike Nolan]

When we had our annual mouse invasion last fall, I baited several traps with some warm tempered chocolate, it did a great job catching mice.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I am using some bait called Tomcat and the mice seem attracted to it. I've used a combination of glue boards, snap traps, and live traps all of which have worked to varying degrees. My mice do not like peanut butter anymore. They did like granola.

A friend suggested some kind of bait that the mice carry back to the nest and then they try to get outside to water. I may try that next. But that friend is using a bucket of water and a plank baited with food to catch chipmunks.

[BakerAunt]

Riverside Len--I'm not sure that even baking this Cinderella pumpkin right side up would have made a difference, since there was so much water in it. When I looked online, people roasted it cut side down. That has worked for my pie pumpkin and the "peanut" pumpkin, but both of those appear to have much less water in them. If I ever do another Cinderella (my husband may plant some of its seeds), then I will try your suggestion.

[BakerAunt]

Using other flavors is an excellent idea, Riverside Len. I usually use half almond extract and half vanilla in my spritz cookies. (I really wish my husband had not buried that particular box of cookbooks with A Field Guide to Christmas Cookies, which has my favorite spritz cookie recipe!)

I've often thought that King Arthur overuses vanilla in some of the recipes, and even put it in where it might not be particularly needed. Now that there is a vanilla shortage, maybe that will change.

I found some Mexican vanilla in my stash--probably from a Christmas gift from Penzey's. I'll make note of Aaron's observation about its flavoring being best in lighter flavored baked goods.

[RiversideLen]

I was blown away by the prices for vanilla. I wish I had stocked up. I bought an 8 ounce bottle last year from the Spice House and still have some left. One thing that is making my vanilla last longer is I have grown fond of the Spice House's hazelnut flavoring, so I usually use that in frosting in place of vanilla ( a couple of drops in the coffee pot is good too). Anyway, I bought an 8 ounce bottle of Mexican vanilla for under $30.

[RiversideLen]

Mike, we were talking about this subject on another site, one woman said to bait it with chocolate syrup because the mouse cannot carry it off. She sounded like she has a lot of experience with it.

BakerAunt, the last time I roasted a pumpkin, I roasted it cut side up. You get some browning on the top, caramelization, (is that a word?) and more moisture will bake off.

[RiversideLen]

BakerAunt and Mike, thanks for the recipes. One of the issues I have had with banana bread recipes is many of them call for so many bananas without stating how much it should be in volume. I like the idea of adding in raisins and making it in a bundt pan. I have a couple of USA mini cake pans, they have six wells per pan, I'm thinking about making it in those but I haven't decided for sure. That would give maximum amount of top crust, more top crust means more flavor (like the muffin tops).

I'm thinking I'm going to try the KAF recipe first and see how I like that.

[Mike Nolan]

I'd happily send you some of my mice too, I've got multiple traps set up in the garage to catch them as they try to get out of the cold. These are sneaky mice, they've figured out how to lick the peanut butter off the trigger without setting it off, I wind up rebaiting all 4 traps nearly every day, whether I've caught a mouse overnight or not.

[Mike Nolan]

I usually make this using a mini-muffin pan (24 muffins per pan), but you can also make it in a cupcake pan, with or without cupcake liners or in a mini-bundt pan. It will also work in an 8" lof pan or in mini-loaf pans.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar

Add

2 eggs, one at a time.

Add

1 teaspoon vanilla

Add

2-4 soft bananas 1 to 1 1/2 cups mashed (9-10 ounces peeled)

Mix together:

2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon (optional)

Alternate adding dry ingredients with

1 cup buttermilk

Add:

1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are both good)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and use with a brush to grease pans. (Note, if you let the butter melt and mostly resolidify, it makes less of a mess and sticks better to the sides of the pans.) If using a mini-bundt pan, sprinkle a little flour in the pan after brushing it with the butter.

Fill greased pans about 3/4 full. A #60 scoop is about right for a mini-muffin pan.

Baking times:

Mini-muffins: 15-18 minutes (but see note below)
Silicone mini-muffin pan: Reduce heat to 325, 22 minutes, rotate halfway
Cupcakes: 20-24 minutes
Mini-Bundt: 25-30 minutes
Mini-Loaf pans: 20-25 minutes
Loaf pan: 30-55 minutes

They're done when the outer edge begins to brown as it caramelizes. and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out completely dry. (My younger son likes the mini-muffins baked to the point where there is a lot of caramelization on the surface and the sides are almost crisp, probably 20-22 minutes, but there's a fine line between a lot of caramelization and being burnt, so watch them carefully.)

Lately I've been baking the mini-muffins for about 20 minutes, then after I'm done I throw them back in the oven for another 5 or 6 minutes, which makes for a crisper outside.

I've been using a silicone mini-muffin pan for several months and I find it takes about 24 minutes for them to be done in the center. I do throw the entire batch back in the cooling oven so that the outsides get a bit more crisp, which we like.

They will come out of the pan better if you dump them out quickly. (I dump them into a large sheet pan.)

This will yield around 72 mini-muffins, 18-24 cupcake-sized muffins or 12-15 mini-bundt pan muffins. According to MyFitnessPal, 5 of the mini-muffins are 44 carbs.