Mousetraps make a quick snack

Press, 13 July 1988, Page 14

Mousetraps make a quick snack

Alison Hoist’s

Food Facts

If you have hungry children round the house you should consider buying a loaf of medium or thin sliced bread, and going into “factory production” with these mousetraps. I am sure that you will find that children are not the only ones to enjoy them, either. When you come rushing into the house, late, you can make a good, quick meal, by serving soup and mousetraps. If you have a good hiding place, you should consider putting some thoroughly dry mousetraps away in a plastic bag. Suck out all the air before you seal the bag with a rubber band, and, you can keep them fresh for weeks. Although it may sound silly, I think that you should line up your children, and teach them the technique of sucking in as they bite crumbly, crisp

foods that are likely to drop crumbs all over the carpet. Only the person who does the vacuum cleaning is likely to care about such fine points! If you are feeding these to children who cannot be taught this technique, send them outside to eat their mousetraps. After all, you don’t have to vacuum the grass! 1 medium sliced loaf 1 (500 g pkt grated tasty cheese

fruit chutney or yeast extract A medium sliced loaf has about 27 slices, and thin sliced loaf has 29 slices. Choose which suits you best, and halve all the slices. Lie the pieces of bread close together on oven trays or sponge roll tins which have been sprayed with non-stick spray, or lightly buttered. If you are using chutney or yeast extract, spread one or the

other over the bread, as evenly as possible. Sprinkle the cheese as evenly as you can, over the bread. (The mousetraps will be much nicer if you are not mean with the cheese, but you can use less if you want to). Bake at 150 C for 30 minutes, then turn the oven a little higher, if the mousetraps are very light in colour, and bake for about 30 minutes longer, until they are completely dry and crisp. If you are cooking several trays together, change their positions every 10 minutes, since the tray in the centre often cooks more slowly. Cool mousetraps on a rack, and store in air-tight containers as soon as they are cold. Note: My taste panel like the chutney-and-cheese mousetraps best of all.