I had everything I needed to make this week’s dish. Andrea of Andrea In The Kitchen picked Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise, and after reading some of the reviews, I was looking forward to making it. Until I discovered that a mouse had eaten my coconut.
Let me back up. Master Chow and I have lived here for going on nine years. Until the last year, we never saw a mouse. Then, last year, a field mouse invaded our home. We finally caught him in a humane trap and released him, but not after I had to throw out quite a bit of food.
Fast forward to the past week. We’ve had very wet spring, and last week we did a lot of yard work and weeding. I think the combination of the rain and possible disturbance of a rodent’s abode led a small field mouse to move into our laundry room.
I did a pantry inventory a week ago, and there was no sign of a mouse. A few days later, I picked up a bag of brown rice and grains of it started to shower onto the floor. Surprised, I looked at the bag and thought at first that I’d torn it. But, nooooo. I saw tell-tale signs of a mouse, namely poop. Over the course of this past weekend, I discovered that Field Mouse had treated my pantry like a smorgasbord, nibbling here and there, and contaminating a lot of food.
Now, there are some things that I buy in bulk because we eat quite a bit of it. Oatmeal, for example. So, when the mouse ate through the cardboard box and sealed bag to take a nibble of some oatmeal, I had to throw out 4.5 POUNDS OF IT. Below is a partial list of what this fellow munched on, and what I had to discard:
- the aformentioned oatmeal
- A BRAND NEW, 64 OZ. BAG OF CHOCOLATE CHIPS (this find alone nearly made me swoon. Don’t mess with my chocolate!)
- 2 bags of unsweetened coconut (for this week’s cake, and very hard to find)
- 1 bag of sweetened coconut (for next week’s cake)
- a bag of muesli
- a 5 pound bag of raw peanuts (for assorted sweet and savory uses)
That’s a partial list. An expensive list. Needless to say, without coconut, I’m not making this week’s dessert. I also have to vacuum and wash down our entire laundry room with a bleach solution.
And the mouse? We set two snap traps and one live-catch trap. I don’t use sticky traps because they torture the animals to death. If it’s a choice between my mouse or my family, I pick my family, but I’m not going to torment the animal for trying to survive. I caught the little bugger in the live-catch trap, and released him into the wild far from my house. Where there is no chocolate, and no coconut.
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15 users responded in this post
Oh…man…
The mouse ate your chocolate?
Aside from the fact that it has good taste….I say…death to rodents.
Yes, a brand new, 4 pound bag of chocolate chips. Judging by the amount he ate, that seems to have been his favorite item.
That’s very kind of you letting him live after he ate your CHOCOLATE!
He ate your chocolate? I say string him up!
Sorry, we’ll miss your dacquoise.
I’ll say it was! What can I say? I’m a softie.
Poor thing, he’s probably dreaming of chocolate for the rest of his life.
Clean up is such a hassel! Blessings.
Be careful you don’t hear a knock on your door in the middle of the night! It might just be your mouse friend, asking for more chocolate for a party he’s having down the street.
OMG. I’m so sorry. All those ingredients. I can send you unsweetened coconut. It’s very easy to find here. Let me know.
Oh, that’s horrible! Sounds like a mouse with quite a stomach ache after all that. =) Glad you were able to catch and relocate him.
Wow, that is one well-fed mouse! I can’t believe only 1 mouse did all that damage. I’m sure he’s going to miss your pantry out in the wild, but let’s hope he doesn’t find his way back!
That’s so sweet! I may take you up on that offer one day, but I think I’ll manage for now.
they also like butter toffee with pecans and chocolate, which i discovered under the tree one christmas and he enjoyed emensely, but we didn’t get to eat at all. He IS in mouse heaven now!!!
Ugh, what a pain! I would have lost it if the little guy broke into my chocolate stash!
Oh gosh, that’s awful! So many ingredients lost, not to mention the trauma of having to deal with a mouse in your home.
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