(Conrad) Cake, anyone? :)

No.... I'm not feeling 'Holiday Festive", nor have I turned into Miss Suzie Homemaker that Mark so desperately wishes that I would morph into.


This is Conrad Cake! Yes. That's right. It's 100% BIRD FOOD! :)

These squares, along with the rest of the cookie sheet pan (used as a short sheet cake pan!) are Conrad's daily food rations. I feed him 'Conrad Cake' along with a supplement of... whatever his daddy is eating!

I'm tempted to leave this pan out on the counter until Mark gets home. He might walk by and take a piece. Would it be considered cruel (but funny!) if I let him eat the entire piece of Conrad Cake before I told him that it was bird food? he he he

Unfortunately, he has wizened up to my antics, and he usually asks before he takes a bite! :)

This diet is especially effective when Conrad decides to change his diet to 'just peanuts, sunflower seeds and marshmallows!" I will offer him THIS recipe for a few weeks, with no exceptions. Yes. I will get my ass cussed out, and get glares from across the room, but I can hold out longer than he can, and he will eventually break the stand-off, and eat the more nutritious food that I offer him.

Ingredients:
(Expensive, finely ground parrot pellets!), and Flour, Cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, Cheerios, Captain Crunch, Fruit Loops, 2 eggs, vegetable oil, pureed fruit and water.

About once a year, I get the large bag of ZuPreem FrutiBlend Flavor parrot pellets from PetSmart, one large box of Honey Nut Cherrios, onf large boxy of both Fruit Loops and Captain Crunch Cereal, and one box of yellow cornmeal I put the cereals and the parrot pellets in a food processor, and in SEVERAL batches, I return them to finely ground bits - almost a dust. About once a month, when Conrad runs out of his daily rations, by eye, I put several cups of the dry mix, two eggs, water and vegetable oil in my 5K Kitchen Aid Professional Line Stand Mixer, and I make a fairly stiff cookie-like dough. Then, I roll it out to a 1/4 - 1/2" thickness onto an oiled cookie sheet, and bake it for 25 - 30 minutes at 350 degrees. While it is still hot, I use a pizza wheel to cut it into tiny squares.


More information on this parrot pellet:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3111896


When I am making Conrad's staple food, if I want to make more of a hard square or cube, rather than a soft cookie or cake-like consistency, I leave out the baking soda and baking powder, and I make it the consistency of a stiff cookie dough.  If I want a lighter, more cake-like consistency, I add the baking powder / baking soda, and add more water to make the batter the consistency of a muffin batter.

In this manner, I accomplish 2 things:
1) I stretch a bag of expensive parrot food.
2) I can get a spoiled parrot to eat more than just peanuts and sunflower seeds!

- Michael