suet Block, homemade
Hints From Heloise
By Heloise Saturday, June 9, 2007; 12:00 AM
Suet Block
Dear Readers: Do you want to turn your backyard into a BIRD SANCTUARY? With a little effort and a lot of love, before long your yard could be attracting a wide variety of birds. The best way to start is to entice them with appetizing feeders, and the most popular feeder just might be a suet block.
Here's a recipe for making your own suet that so many birds will love, it might only last a day or so. That's why you'll want to make a big batch. You'll need:
1 cup lard (rendered fat of hogs, not vegetable oil)
1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or plain)
1 cup flour
2 cups instant oatmeal
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup raisins
1 cup ground peanuts (unsalted)
Melt the lard and peanut butter, then add the other ingredients. Pour into a pan and put in the fridge overnight to chill, and it will firm up. All you need to do is cut it into blocks to fit a suet feeder. Wrap any leftovers in wax paper or plastic wrap and freeze. You can also reuse the containers that the commercial suet comes in by filling with the homemade suet and freezing.
Wild birds also love fresh water, so add a birdbath or fountain. And for a real treat, cut up an orange. The word will get out that your yard is the place to go!
PET PAL
Dear Readers: Dick and Dandie Mowery of Plainfield, Pa., sent a photo of their 2-year-old Norwegian Forest cat, Bentley, in his sunglasses looking like "Mr. Cool."
If your newspaper doesn't print the pet photo, be sure to go to my Web site, www.Heloise.com, and click on Pet of the Week -- you'll find Bentley there!
SIMPLY CABBIE
Dear Readers: My miniature schnauzer, Cabbie, loves to play with empty plastic bottles, such as soda bottles. It's a game with her to see how fast she can get the cap off (no matter how tight we turn it). To give her a treat for a job well done, I put a few pieces of hard, crunchy food inside the bottle so that when she gets it open, she can then have a snack.
QUICK CLEANUP
Dear Heloise: Yesterday, I couldn't find a scrub brush to clean an outdoor animal drinking container that had gotten rather scummy with green algae while sitting in the sunlight. I thought of something I'd saved under the kitchen sink -- one of those plastic mesh bags that onions and oranges come in. I cut it in half with scissors so my daughter and I could each have a scrubbie for the chore. It worked so well, I thought I'd recommend it to others who save such things. -- Ruthie Plum, Fayetteville, Ark.
PET NAMES
Dear Heloise: Another funny pet name: My grandson named his adopted kitten Maybe. Maybe they will keep her, and maybe they won't! -- Judith Hayes, Middletown, N.Y.
(c)2007 by King Features Syndicate Inc.
44By Heloise Saturday, June 9, 2007; 12:00 AM
Suet Block
Dear Readers: Do you want to turn your backyard into a BIRD SANCTUARY? With a little effort and a lot of love, before long your yard could be attracting a wide variety of birds. The best way to start is to entice them with appetizing feeders, and the most popular feeder just might be a suet block.
Here's a recipe for making your own suet that so many birds will love, it might only last a day or so. That's why you'll want to make a big batch. You'll need:
1 cup lard (rendered fat of hogs, not vegetable oil)
1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or plain)
1 cup flour
2 cups instant oatmeal
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup raisins
1 cup ground peanuts (unsalted)
Melt the lard and peanut butter, then add the other ingredients. Pour into a pan and put in the fridge overnight to chill, and it will firm up. All you need to do is cut it into blocks to fit a suet feeder. Wrap any leftovers in wax paper or plastic wrap and freeze. You can also reuse the containers that the commercial suet comes in by filling with the homemade suet and freezing.
Wild birds also love fresh water, so add a birdbath or fountain. And for a real treat, cut up an orange. The word will get out that your yard is the place to go!
PET PAL
Dear Readers: Dick and Dandie Mowery of Plainfield, Pa., sent a photo of their 2-year-old Norwegian Forest cat, Bentley, in his sunglasses looking like "Mr. Cool."
If your newspaper doesn't print the pet photo, be sure to go to my Web site, www.Heloise.com, and click on Pet of the Week -- you'll find Bentley there!
SIMPLY CABBIE
Dear Readers: My miniature schnauzer, Cabbie, loves to play with empty plastic bottles, such as soda bottles. It's a game with her to see how fast she can get the cap off (no matter how tight we turn it). To give her a treat for a job well done, I put a few pieces of hard, crunchy food inside the bottle so that when she gets it open, she can then have a snack.
QUICK CLEANUP
Dear Heloise: Yesterday, I couldn't find a scrub brush to clean an outdoor animal drinking container that had gotten rather scummy with green algae while sitting in the sunlight. I thought of something I'd saved under the kitchen sink -- one of those plastic mesh bags that onions and oranges come in. I cut it in half with scissors so my daughter and I could each have a scrubbie for the chore. It worked so well, I thought I'd recommend it to others who save such things. -- Ruthie Plum, Fayetteville, Ark.
PET NAMES
Dear Heloise: Another funny pet name: My grandson named his adopted kitten Maybe. Maybe they will keep her, and maybe they won't! -- Judith Hayes, Middletown, N.Y.
(c)2007 by King Features Syndicate Inc.
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