mighty midget ants and cake

You know those counter tops that have tiny flecks of color? Well, ours occasionally move. These ants are minute but prolific. You cannot EVER leave a type of food source out cuz they will find it!

Our buddy was returning from skiing in Canada so we had a little welcome home evening planned. Two nights ago, I attempted to bake a cake. This process is completely different in Costa Rica.

First you open the box and sealed cake batter. You spread it out and watch for movement. If there is no movement after several moments, you can use the powder. Next you preheat the oven. You put a temperature gage in and keep it where is it easily viewed. Next you convert Fahrenheit to Celsius and start the oven. After some time, you check the gage on the rack. It is about 50 degrees off. You crank up the oven some more and wait. They gage eventually gives you the reading you need for baking. You put the ingredients together and start mixing. You ignore the 2 minutes on medium speed and then 3 minutes on high speed directions because your hand only has one speed. After scoring the only cake pan within a one hour drive, you pour it in and you're ready to go. Then you check the oven once again, it has continued to get hotter. You adjust and wait. When the temp is correct, you put the pan in for the 30 minutes. You have to trust your nose more than the box cuz the oven has a mind of its own. You set the timer even though you know when 30 minutes are up, the ringer will not go off. After checking with a toothpick a couple of times, VOILA your cake is done. Now leave it on the counter to cool. After cooling, remove 2/3 of the cake and freeze for later. Put the snap sealed lid on the cake until tomorrow.

Yesterday, you go on a shopping excursion for chocolate frosting. Since you can't find that, you start to improvise. You see ONE tub of Cool Whip and it's chocolate! Didn't know it came in chocolate but you score. Hoping it is not past its expiration date, you smuggle it to the register with some fresh strawberries. Once home, you test the Cool Whip for usability.

Early in the evening, you start with the strawberries to make the cake look festive. You are ready to smooth on the Cool Whip and strawberries. Pop open the cake pan and watch it move. The cake actually is moving and you think you are having a psychedelic experience. You grab a nearby flashlight as your husband exclaims, "They've eaten the top off!". Grossed out and disgusted, you toss the cake and start trailing the mini ants. After much clean up delay, you get back to plan B. The freezer cake comes out, it is frosted, decorated with strawberries and you are now proud to serve a version of ice cream frozen cake. Delicious in the hot weather. It should have been plan A anyway.