Monday, October 24, 2022
In the category of good eats, I stumbled across a little (untested by me) recipe, from years ago, that accompanied my new baby parakeet. It’s called “Birdie Treat.” These days, two birds residing in my household are a Cockatoo and a rescued Racing Pigeon. A few days ago I decided to cook up the treat.
Its base is brown rice. To one cup of dry rice, add six cups of water. After bringing the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, lower the heat to medium-low for forty minutes.
In the last five minutes of cooking, and now over very low heat, add some, or all, of the following. Add pasta of any kind, mixed nuts, dried fruits and vegetables, and even wild birdseed. After turning off the heat, leave the mixture sitting covered to cool.
According to the recipe, this mix can be spooned into ice cube trays, frozen, and thus ready for birds anytime. I simply left the covered pot setting out for hours to cool the mix, and make it easy to spoon into bird dishes.
My first time preparing this, I added many of the treats called for, including bird seed. Afterward. I decided to taste it. Delicious! Even the crunchy bird seeds were fun. I decided to make the recipe again, and this time with selections from supermarket bulk foods. I chose a small pasta, roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped and slivered almonds, dried chopped dates and raisins, as well as dried veggie mix. The result became a tasty dish for the birds.
And to me delicious! A word of caution, for rice is high in carbs. As a carb watcher, I will consume carefully, and fortunately, have birds and dogs to enjoy doles from the mix. From here on, “Birdie Treat” will be on hand, fresh and/or frozen.
Dear Friends: An inexpensive, easy-to-make staple, that’s fun and tasty. Diana
Diana's Morning Blog 