My Christmas Challenge: Publish A Recipe

This post is for my friend June, who is not much of a bird enthusiast but is an enthusiastic foodie. She writes a not-your-every-day food blog over at Mendonfoodie.blogspot.com. Check it out. If you think this person with a larger-than-life personality is just joking, think again. She means every word, every delicious word, and I love it.

June bellyaches that I don’t read her blog. Of course, I’m fashioned more from the non-culinary than the culinary ilk, having grown up on Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and delicious aluminum containers of Spam (with a pull-back LID!).

I don’t know a fennel from my anise nor a remoulade from my demi-glace. 

So I bellyached back: “You don’t read my blog, either!”

“That’s because all you write about is birds! It’s so…so….BORING!”

Hold yourselves together, peeps, I don’t think she really MEANS that.

So I retorted:

“Well, June. I’ll start to publish RECIPES when you start writing about your GRASSLAND BIRDS.”

I thought I stumped her. I thought I’d given myself a get out of foodie-jail free card. Then she sends me a link for THIS post: “A Christmas Gift for Laura.”

In it, she waxes poetic about her sprawling 5 acres in the country and all the lovely birds that fly, swoop, swarm, and prance over and in the tall grasses, included Ring-necked Pheasant.

Like I needed one more reason to want to move to the country. 

Now that the challenge is on, I must publish a recipe. This will be my first recipe at Birds, Words, & Websites, so it better be a good one. It better be for a meal that will stick to the bones, be highly nutritious, and leave the flock coming back for more. 

I thought it best to publish it right in time for the holidays, so you busy Christmas chefs can fit it into your baking plans. 

And here it is, stolen straight from the Bird Watcher’s Digest website where you can view it in its original and intended form (and I hope you will).

June, try this at home and see how your fledglings enjoy it! Serve straight from the brick with no utensils.

SUET DOUGH RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

• • 1 cup melted lard or beef suet
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 2 cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Melt lard and peanut butter together on a low burner. Take off heat, and add remaining ingredients. Spread on a cookie sheet, and allow to cool in the refrigerator until the mixture is just hard enough to cut into pieces. Store in freezer bags and use as needed.

My recipe challenge now met, I may enjoy a Merry Christmas with my family and friends and hope you will, too. All my best!

Update: June will not be surprised when I tell her that as I pressed “Publish” on this post, my husband walked into the room and informed me that the baked party mix I stuck in the oven 45 minutes ago is now done. Very done. As in burnt. June, I’ll help you name your birds if you help feed me and my family.