Sharing-the-Holidays-with-Your-Feathered-Friends-Making-a-Tree-for-the-Birds
December 5, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Seattle
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Sharing the Holidays with Your Feathered Friends – Making a Tree for the Birds
The snow outside and frost on the window panes helps set the perfect backdrop for a winter wonderland each holiday season. This year, when you are decorating the trees in your yard or stringing up lights, designate a few trees for edible winter treats. Not only will you and the family have the joy of watching what birds and other little creatures come to visit, but you will be spreading the warmth of the holidays with animals that need food to keep the warm and healthy through the barren winter months. These may not be recipes up to par with the latest in Seattle culinary arts, but for the birds that get a chance to enjoy them, you’ll be as good as a culinary school graduate!
Cereal and Cranberry Strings
For these festive looking goodies, you will only need a few items. This is also an ideal project for the little ones in your family since it is fun and simple. The amount of cereal and cranberries you will need will vary depending on the size of the area you plan to decorate so you can judge this ahead of time by simply measuring the yarn around the desired area. Next, set up a bowl of dried cranberries and a bowl of oat cereal. Any type will do as long as there is a hole in the middle for the string. Add a large plastic needle to the end for threading and string them up.
High Fat Snacks Make Happy Winter Birds
In the wintertime, birds need fat to keep them warm and energized when food is sparse. Gather pinecones before snowfalls (or you can buy decorative ones, just make sure they are not chemically treated) and use a knife to work in bits of peanut butter on the cone. You can sprinkle with bird seed if you would like an even more decorative look and attach them with thread to the branches on the tree. They make for functional and aesthetically pleasing natural ornaments.
Create More Edible Tree Ornaments
Even when we try to keep all food items in the house from getting stale, it’s nearly inevitable that it will happen from time to time. Make use of any bread or other wheat based snacks by hanging them as ornaments on the tree. Few day old doughnuts work really well since they already have the hole in the center for easy stringing.
Longer Lasting Decorations
The only problem with these edible ornaments is they will probably be going pretty fast once word gets out in the bird world. To allow these decorations to hang around a bit longer, string peanuts (shell and all) on long strands of string. Birds and squirrels will be busy working on these for a while and you will have the entertainment of watching who comes to snack while the birds can receive the essential fat and protein they need to stay healthy in the winter.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in the Seattle, Washington area. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Seattle for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.