Kid’s Stuff 2–Homemade Suet Cakes for Birds

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I plan a Kid’s Stuff book sometime in the future. Here’s another project from the book suitable for the school-aged child. It’s a perfect activity for the Christmas break from school. It keeps idle hands busy, AND it teaches children about the winter life of birds.

In winter, natural foodstuffs for birds can be sparse. When the thermometer dips, birds need a source of fat, carbohydrates and protein to provide calories for warmth, flight fuel, and general health. Suet cakes offer a source for all three at one convenient location.

Children benefit from this project by:

• engaging in a useful activity
• learning about other creatures who share space with them on the earth
• helping birds survive in winter
• learning about bird nutrition
• identifying the birds that show up to eat the suet
• Understanding the thermodynamics of changing a solid to liquid (melting suet) and returning the same to a solid (freezing the suet cake)
• following the directions in the recipe
• working cooperatively with you to complete a project

The first item you need is a feeder. The hanging wire cage type of feeder, with an opening door on one side for reloading, is readily available where bird seed is sold. Or you can recycle (another child benefit) an aluminum pie pan to use as a flat surface feeder.

The second item you need is wax paper to wrap the finished product for freezing. You may substitute freezer wrap or other food wrapping material if wax paper is unavailable. Scotch tape is useful for sealing the package ends.

Ingredients list

• jar of peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 1-2 lbs beef fat (see the butcher at your grocery store). Any bits of beef still attached to the fat offer a source of protein, but you want the fat as clean of large pieces of meat as possible
• 1 C flour (if you have old flour that has gotten buggy, that is perfect for this project)
• 1 C corn meal (ditto on the “buggy” advice above)
• Sunflower seeds or mixed birdseed
• Raisins and/or finely chopped apple or cranberries

Assemble a square cake pan or small rectangular casserole dish, a large mixing bowl, a measuring cup and a large spoon for mixing the dough. Spray or wipe the pan surface lightly with oil to make it easy to remove the finished suet cake.

Instructions

Melt the beef fat, using a large pan over medium to low heat. You do not want the oil from the fat to sizzle. (Warning:  closely supervise your child to prevent the child from getting burned.)

When the beef fat is melted, add the contents of the jar of peanut butter to the fat and stir until mixed well. Turn off the heat under the pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal and chopped fruit. Carefully pour the hot, melted fat into the dry mix and stir, adding the seeds to help thicken the dough. You want a finished consistency of thick cookie dough. Set aside and cool until fingers can safely touch the soft dough.

Press the suet cake dough into the cake pan. Let it cool thoroughly. Slice it into rectangular blocks, sized to fit the suet cage feeder. Wrap the block in wax paper, tape it closed, and freeze until you are ready to put a block into the feeder.

Get Money for Your Creative Project

Let me introduce you to Kickstarter, the venture capital site for creative projects. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.  www.kickstarter.com

Kickstarter says it is “a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games, and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious, innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the direct support of others.

Since our launch on April 28, 2009, over $350 million has been pledged by more than 2.5 million people, funding more than 30,000 creative projects.”

How does Kickstarter work?

Thousands of creative projects are funding on Kickstarter at any given moment. Each project is independently created and crafted by the person behind it. The filmmakers, musicians, artists, and designers you see on Kickstarter have complete control and responsibility over their projects. They spend weeks building their project pages, shooting their videos, and brainstorming what rewards to offer backers. When they’re ready, creators launch their project and share it with their community.

Every project creator sets their project’s funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers’ credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls short, no one is charged. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing.

To date, an incredible 44% of projects have reached their funding goals.

Can Kickstarter be used to fund anything?

We allow creative projects in the worlds of Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater.

Everything on Kickstarter must be a project. A project has a clear goal, like making an album, a book, or a work of art. A project will eventually be completed, and something will be produced by it.

Do backers get ownership or equity in the projects they fund?

No. Project creators keep 100% ownership of their work. Kickstarter cannot be used to offer financial returns or equity, or to solicit loans.

Some projects that are funded on Kickstarter may go on to make money, but backers are supporting projects to help them come to life, not financially profit.

What are the fees?

If a project is successfully funded, Kickstarter applies a 5% fee to the funds collected.

In the US, pledges will be processed by Amazon Payments, while in the UK, pledges will be processed securely through a third-party payments processor. These payment processing fees work out to roughly 3-5%. View the US and UK fee breakdowns.

Who is Kickstarter?

We’re 46 people based in a tenement building in New York City’s Lower East Side. We spend our time making the site better, answering questions from backers and creators, and finding great new projects to share with you. Every day is an adventure — we get to experience projects as they happen! Say hello or come work with us!

Final Edit Before the Editor

Last night I slaved over my submissions to the anthology project by the local writers’ group. I am editing the pieces and trying to assemble the collection in an order that seems logical or easy to read.

I am fretting.

My genre for which I want to be known is the novel. Yet the pieces to be included in the anthology include haiku and short fiction.  The longest piece is about 500 words. There are a couple of 55-word micro-fiction stories. It’s a weird assortment. But then I am a weird writer. Or I write weird stuff. Or maybe all of the above.

I am fretting.

I want readers to like the material. I want the stories to introduce me to readers. I want those who read the stories to want to read more from me.

I am fretting.

For Every Writer, There Is a Reader

The writers group to which I belong is moving ahead on its anthology. What started out as a collection of fictional stories, each under 300 words, has morphed into something else. Now there will be microfiction, flash fiction, short non-fiction, short short stories and poetry.

One of the members expressed concern that some works may not be as polished or sophisticated as others. Certainly, in any anthology, there is a diversity of styles, if not themes.

It was decided at last week’s meeting that the works would be grouped by author. That seems sensible. It allows an audience to sample a couple of pieces by an author and move on, if that author doesn’t suit the reader’s taste. If the reader likes what an author writes, then  there will be several choice morsels to sample.

For every writer, there is a reader.

Some writers have broad appeal, usually because they are skilled, talented, clever.  They also have a knack to figure out and write what will be popular. Nevertheless, I contend that every writer can find an audience, even if it is an audience of one.

Some of the group members have a spiritual slant. Some are noir, fathoming the depths of human nature. Some are innocent or inspirational or comic or macabre. The collection will run the gamut.

Therefore, I choose not to worry about what is included in the anthology. What another author writes is not a reflection on me. My work stands or falls on its own merit.

Some readers will like my stuff. Others will hate it. To each his own.

The next squabble will likely be over the order of the authors and their work. That may be the fodder for a future post.

*****

Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.  ~Pablo Picasso