I remember when suet cakes were less than a dollar each.  I realize I sound like some old woman complaining about the price of gas, but seriously!
If you are cheap like me here are a few easy steps to feed those ravenous winged creatures outside.  The ones who even now are making enough noise to wake the dead because my suet is chilling in the fridge...

All you need is some fat ~ I use bacon fat.  I never throw out bacon drippings, it's something I learned from my grandmother and I could never shake it. I let them cool a bit and spoon them into a mason jar that is always in the back of my fridge.

Where were we?  Right, suet for pig-birds.

3/4 cup bacon fat (approx.)
1/2 cup peanut butter (anything you have, they are NOT picky)

~Melt these together.  (I often just use the big fry pan I used for the bacon, that way I only have to wash it once.)

6 cups wild bird seed (approx.)

~Mix in enough wild bird seed to fill the pan but you can still see a fine layer of liquid over the top.


Use a big spoon to put into containers.

I kept all my old suet containers so I just re-use those.

If you don't have anything that shape you could cut off the bottoms of old milk cartons and fill those. They are waxed and pop out easy once the suet is chilled.

When looking online for a recipe with more precise amounts I came across this one:

Suet Cake

• 2 parts melted fat (bacon fat, suet, or lard)
• 2 parts yellow cornmeal
• 1 part peanut butter

My father will tell you I'm a doodler.  Every piece of paper left on the kitchen table became unrecognizable if I was bored, or heaven help you if I was on the phone... nothing was safe.

This habit/hobby took a more permanent turn last month after using my tattoo sketch pen on myself.  I love that pen.

I spent the evening doodling on myself while watching TV, proceeded to go to bed, and woke up with half the image on my face.  It seems I sleep on my own arm at times.  Good to know. Dave informs me I drool... like Niagara Falls.  This might also be a contributing factor.

That pen is NOT easy to get off.  The whole point is your design stays visible while you work on it.  So after much scrubbing the image remained on my arm but NOT on my face. A few days later I decided I liked it enough to make it permanent.

I like it. A lot. It's not done.  I will eventually carry it up my arm to blend with what's already there.  That's another doodle session....

Following my gluten-free lifestyle change I tried this for a party I was going to....



Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
*turn out more like a brownie

2 cups cooked quinoa (1/2 dry + 1.5 cups liquid = approx. 2 cups cooked)
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter or Earth Balance
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 cup white sugar (I used organic raw)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9"x13" OR 2 round cake pans with parchment paper.
In a food processor or blender combine the eggs, milk and vanilla ~ blend for 10 seconds.
Add the cooked and cooled quinoa, melted butter, melted coconut oil and blend until smooth.
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add wet and mix together until well combined.
Add to pan and bake approx 30 min. Cool.

In January I cut gluten out of my diet.  I read Clean Gut by Alejandro Junger and did the 28 day cleanse, eliminating sugar, alcohol, wheat, corn and dairy. I will admit that I was NOT willing to eliminate caffeine. The heart wants, what the heart wants.