With the steel blade of a food processor, finely chop the raisins in
one cup of cornmeal. This prevents the raisins from forming a gooey
mess. I do several batches at a time to minimize cleaning the processor.
Freeze the extra batches in a plastic sandwich bag. Count the cornmeal
as one of the four cups.
Finely chop the nuts in the same processor. I also make several
batches at one time. Freeze as above.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large pan. I use a 10 qt plastic
dishpan from Wal-Mart. Mix thoroughly until a well blended.
Mix in the applesauce. It begins to get lumpy, so more effort is
required to get a smooth mix.
Pour most of the melted lard into the mix while stirring. I use Miss
Anne's heavy duty hand held mixer. The going gets rough here; I finish
the mixing with my hands, squishing the mixture through my fingers. The
mixture can now be formed into a ball which will stand alone, similar to
making biscuit dough. If it is too dry, add a little lard. If too
greasy, use less lard next time, or dust on a little flour. By dividing
and sub-dividing, this make 16 balls the size of a handball.
Place on a cookie sheet, freeze, and store in a plastic bag. Defrost
in microwave (15 sec) and use as required.
I introduced the BB to the mixture by smearing a little on the top of
a dozen fence posts scattered around my garden. The smaller birds,
notably Chipping Sparrows ,found it first and soon the BB followed. I
added small squares of hardware cloth to the posts to hold more food,
and to keep the Blue Jays from taking the entire wad. For northern
areas, you might consider substituting vegetable oil for some of the
lard, which hardens to the consistency of ice in lower temperatures.
The mixture has also become so popular for a number of larger birds,
notably B Jays, Red Bellied Woodpeckers and Crows, that I have
constructed several wire "cages" with openings which restrict
them, but allows entry to BB and smaller friends. Now I can load the
feeder so it lasts much longer, with BB and smaller species coming and
going almost continuously. Our poodle also loves it. That's how I get
him to go with me for his walks.
Phew! I hope this wasn't so long that I lost you. Good luck to anyone
trying the recipe and don't forget to wash your hands before putting on
your best Sunday outfit.<grin>
Howard Malone
Marion, MS
10/02/02
