This week’s recipe column is ‘for the birds.’ Bird feeding has become a popular pastime and hobby. Birds that overwinter here require high-calorie foods to produce enough heat to survive. Fats and carbohydrates in the form of suet and nuts are great on the winter menu. The recipes are easy to put together and you can get the whole family involved. Try some of the recipes and see who will come for dinner.
Suet Cake 2 parts melted lard 2 parts yellow cornmeal 1 part peanut butter Mix all ingredients together and cook for a few minutes. Pour into small containers and refrigerate or freeze until needed.
No-Sweat Suet Suet can melt and spoil quickly during the summer, but this no-melt suet recipe lets you provide suet all year long. 2 cups quick cooking oats 2 cups cornmeal 1 cup flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup lard 1 cup crunchy peanut butter Combine the oats, cornmeal, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Melt the lard and peanut butter and add to the prepared dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into a square pan about 2 inches deep and cut when congealed and put in suet feeder, or get creative and spread the mix onto tree limbs before it solidifies completely.
Tropical Treat 1 cup lard 1 cup peanut butter 1/3 cup coconut 2 cups oats 2 cups cornmeal 1/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup wild birdseed Melt the lard and peanut butter in a medium saucepan on low heat. Stir in coconut, oats and cornmeal. Add the raisins and birdseed and pour it all into a deep medium sized and leave it to chill in the refrigerator overnight to solidify. The next day, cut into squares to serve in a suet or tray feeder. Wrap the extra in plastic and freeze.
Spicy Peanut Seed Birds love this spicy seed, but squirrels don’t! 2 cups peanut butter 2 cups lard 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 1/2 cup shelled peanuts 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1/2 cup cracked corn 1 tsp. hot pepper Melt peanut butter and lard together in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl. Fold in the flour and oats first, and then add the peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, corn and pepper. Mix well. From the bowl transfer the mix into a large cake pan and refrigerate until hardened. Cut into pieces and place in a suet feeder.
