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The Scrumptious Ants On A Celery Log

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The ants go in,
the ants go out.
The ants play pinochle,
on your snout!

We sang that song over and over when we were kids. We thought it was SO darn funny. And never mind it is a verse from a much more macabre song about dying. But we didn't know that at the time. All we knew, was that we sang this little ditty every time my Mother started making Ants On A Log.

Ants On A Log. One of the most perfect picnic foods around. And excellent as a darn healthy snack for kids (and we bigger kids), at any time of the day. One of my relations, we'll call him Bob, is in his 80's, and has been eating these little munch-able wonders since he was a kid. And last time I visited, he was STILL making Ants On A Log on a pretty regular basis. This is simple fare, probably from a much simpler time. And SO easy to make. There are only three ingredients in the 'recipe'.

The Basic Building Blocks

Celery
Organic Peanut Butter
Organic Raisins
A Whole Lot Of Fun

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I'm Not Even Sure I Could Mess Up This Recipe

The Base Layer -- The Log

Good old celery. Very healthy, and easy to work with. Just wash it off, and cut it into 'logs'. Usually about 4 inches long, for the ideal ant holder. But I suppose one COULD make really LONG, whole celery logs, if that is your thing. Just have to eat it like a rabbit, munching away from one end to the other like a Saturday morning cartoon character. But I think the trick here is to make the logs short, so they are not only easy to eat, but more transportable in a picnic basket and such.

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Reduced Down Into The Building Blocks Of Our Snack

I'm not sure if it was planned or not way back when celery was invented, but this stuff is the perfect shaped vegetable for this sort of snack activity. Like a little dugout canoe to hold the all-important glue of the project. The peanut butter layer that goes down next, to trap our ants along the log.

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The Logs -Laid Out In Rows-All Ready To Be Slathered With The Peanut Butter

This part reminds me of a lumber yard, which I suppose is apropos. All the cut logs, lined up for the loader to start it's work. And I'm the loader.

Not sure WHAT will happen when I get to the 'branched' log there. I'm pretty sure THOSE more complex celery parts are not in the original recipe.

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The Peanut Butter Goo That Holds The Ants To Our Log

I chose Organic Peanut Butter, and was I glad I did. This stuff is SO smooth and creamy, and goes on the log like a champ. All it took was a butter knife and a little patience.

And as you can now see, the forked celery parts are not ideal for this project. Live and learn in the kitchen, I always say.

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Addition Of The All-Important Little Insects Of Our Snack

The ants go on. This part was a bit tedious, plus the Organic raisins stuck to my fingers a lot. Which made keeping an even distribution interval along the log a bit difficult. I had to keep washing off my hands in the sink as I went.

I think someone needs to invent an Ant On A Log Dispenser Unit for this type of kitchen work. Something to place the raisins intricately, one at a time along the log. I'd design a little hand-held, pistol-grip device that dispenses them individually, kind of like my old hoary mouse Milbert.

Ever seen a pet mouse walk across the table, or other surface? They just wander along, and deposit little dark 'footballs' now and then out the south end, without even thinking about it. I think it's pretty much autonomic. That would be ideal, except with a little trigger so you actually DO have control over the 'when and where' of raisin placement along the log. So maybe that Milbert the Mouse analogy isn't all that useful. But I think you get the general picture.

With a bit of perseverance, I managed to get all the ants where they were supposed to be...stuck fast in the peanut butter layer along the log. YES!!

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Reminds Me Of A Massive, Dried Fruit Canoe Race

The Ants On A Log, all lined up, and ready to pass around to the kids. The ideal snack. Healthy, and easy to eat. You can pack them in a baggie too, and take them 'on the go'. I think if you refrigerated them for a few hours, they would be even more 'pack-able'. I like to eat them while I mess around on the computer. You just have to keep the peanut butter out of the keys. But that's what the log part is for. Keeping it all where it's supposed to be...down the gullet.

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The Pigtail Drizzle -or- The Pig's Butt Flourish

This whole drizzle thing seems to be pretty important in the world of high cookery. So, I attempted to do just that with the peanut butter. And it worked pretty well. Kind of looks like a pig's tail, pointing out where to go. I'm still learning, and have a ways to go. But as they say, "cooking is like any other sport, there is no success, without a plethora of practice". I'll keep working on it.

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The Final Dish Disposition

Notice The Intricate Wheel Pattern

This is what's called a Wagon Wheel Display. Perfect for presenting a dish such as this. What I REALLY like, is how my Pig Tail Drizzle points RIGHT to the Steemit Iron Chef sign. Couldn't have worked out any better if I'd planned it that way.

I cannot recommend these fun little snacks enough. They're perfect for the little kid in all of us. And with a name like Ants On A Log, what else can one say. A great snack, with an even greater name. And it's good for you, and classically fun as well. So, head right out today, and make yourself up a batch. I guarantee you'll love it.

~ Finto ~

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Thanks for stopping in and viewing one of my favorite snacks, Ants On A Log. If you have any thoughts about Ants, logs, peanut butter, a snack made out of all three, other snacks as a kid, or anything else this post reminds you of, please feel free to comment away in the spaces below. I'd love to hear from you.

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Please UPVOTE, COMMENT and FOLLOW if you enjoy my works.

And go to @ddschteinn -- There's a whole lot more...

_{Posted: 04/06/2018 @ 01:08}

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Excerpts From Late-Night Conversations With A Mechanical Cat

Fact Number 57