Halloween Birdie Bread

To my Parrot Friends.   Parrots need Vitamin A!  Want to put your leftover pumpkin to good use?  Carve it and light it with an  UNSCENTED candle or a battery operated candle.  The next day, cut it in a few pieces and steam it for 15 - 20 minutes and scoop the meat out of the skin or slice the skin off with a knife and mash the meat with a hand mixer or puree it in a blender. If you don't have a steamer for your pumpkin, bake it until soft.  You can use a sweet potato too.  Mix the pureed pumpkin and/or sweet potato into a batch of corn bread mix or any whole grain bread mix.  Follow the bread mix directions and add in your steamed pumpkin meat and/or steamed or boiled sweet potato.   You can use less or no water for the bread mix and just use your leftover steamed water.  It's nutritious.   You can be creative and throw in some chopped nuts, grated carrots, a handful of healthy cereal, quinoa, etc...  You can break up a cuttle bone and pulverize it in your blender and add that to your mix.  You can add millet or pellets.  Cinnamon or red pepper flakes.   Or a little bit of Grated Cheddar Cheese.  Have fun.  If your bread mix calls for eggs, use the shells too! Added Calcium. 

Bake your Pumpkin and/ or Sweet Potato Birdie Bread, cool and cut into bird feet sized squares and serve to your parrots WARM. Not too hot. 

Freeze in an airtight container and warm before serving.  

(Click On Photos For Larger Image)

I used 10 Grain Bread Mix since I couldn't find my usual Marie Callender's Corn Bread Mix at my local Farmer's Market.

Apparently, this Bread Mix is going to put me to work!  I have to add it's yeast with a little water and oil and knead it for 8-10 minutes, cover, allow it to rise, punch it down (ooh I like that,) let it rise again and then bake! 

This is Zachariah my male Red Lored Amazon posing with the jack-o-lantern on Halloween.  (He has a Zupreem Natural pellet in his mouth.)

Okay, it is the day after Halloween.  I have my jack-o-lantern, the bread mix and a sweet potato.

I am steaming pumpkin and sweet potato cut in fourths.  Steaming for 20 minutes or until soft and mushy.

20 minutes has gone by, both the sweet potato & the pumpkin are soft and mushy.

The skin slides off of the pumpkin meat with ease.

Since someone has my blender, I am using a hand mixer to puree the steamed pumpkin and sweet potato.  I am doing this in it's own steamer water.

Looks pureed enough to me.  Pretty wet, I guess I wont need to add water to the bread mix.

Mixing bowl, Bread Mix and it's Yeast Packet, Olive Oil and a cup of water that I didn't end up using anyway because the veggie puree was pretty wet!

Kneading the bread mix with yeast & oil.

Kneading the Bread Mix with the Pureed Pumpkin and Sweet Potato.    
WE HAVIN' FUN NOW!

Sprayed large bowl with non stick cooking spray.

Pouring "Pumpkin Sweet Potato 10 Grain Bread Mix" into bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Will cover, put in a warm area for one and a half hours and punch it!  Yah!!

I couldn't find tin foil so I used plastic wrap.  Placed in the oven (OFF.)

  Setting the Dumberry's alarm clock.  It's 1:30 now so I set the alarm for 3:00.  

 *Q.Why can't you make bread like my mother?*
*A. I would if you could make dough like your father!*

Well, it's been an hour and a half.  
This mix has grown a little, so let's punch it!

Ahh!  PUNCH IT! 

PUNCH IT REAL GOOD!

POW!

OOOPS!  Cover in a TOWEL!  Not plastic wrap!  Okay.  We're still good.  It's still rising! 

Covered punched rising birdie bread with a TOWEL and set the Dingleberry to go off in another hour.

*How do you make pickled birdie bread?*

*With dill-dough!*

Setting the oven to 375.

I sprayed pie pans with non stick cooking spray and now it's time to bake!

Setting the Crackberry alarm to go off in 40 minutes.

 *A Parrot walks into a bar.*

Parrot:  You got any bread?
Bartender:  No, sorry, we don't have any bread.

[After a few minutes]

Parrot:  You got any bread?
Bartender:  Look, we don't have any bread.
[In a little while]
Parrot:  You got any bread?

Bartender:  We don't have any damn bread!
[Some time later]
Parrot:  Got any bread?
Bartender:  If you ask me if I've got any bread once more I'm gonna nail your hooked beak to this bar! 

Parrot:  You got any nails?
Bartender:  NO!
Parrot:   Good. You got any bread?

 Ahhh YES!  THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

 Cut into squares and put in airtight container for freezing.

     Zip Locked Birdie Bread in freezer with today's date and contents. 

Sprite likes it!  
Yummy, Warm Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Birdie Bread!

Sprite really likes it!

Geronimo likes it too!

Aww Geronimo LOVES it!

Zacky and Sprite both enjoying their warm, fresh Birdie Bread.

 Zack's goin' for the gold!


*I wanted to go back yeast at least once for the holidays.*

*Unfortunately, I'm short of dough, and my boss won't give me a raise. Any ideas?*

*These bread jokes really knead to stop!  They're gettin' crumby.*

You can click on any photo to get a larger, more detailed image. 

Toast Pumpkin Seeds with a little Olive Oil in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes for a nice treat for you and the birds.  Do not serve piping hot.  Do not add salt.