Kid Territory:Recipes: Vulture Vegetable Bites

Vultures are unique birds of prey: not often popular, but an important key to nature's food chain. Vultures have the important job of cleanup crew. Their diet consists mostly of carrion, or dead animal remains. My favorite vulture is the California condor. After being so close to extinction, it's making a comeback!

Since fixing a special vulture carrion dish didn't sound very appetizing to me, I thought I'd share a vegetable dish that's as fun to make as it is to eat! After all, vulture and vegetable both start with the letter V.

Ingredients

1/3 

cup margarine or butter, melted

1 

egg

2 

teaspoons water

1 

cup flour

1 

teaspoon salt

2 

cups fresh vegetables. Pick your favorites, and slice them into quarter-inch pieces—carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, green and red peppers, whatever!

 

Grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 450° F. Spread one tablespoon of the melted margarine on the bottom of a 13 X 9 X 2-inch pan. Beat egg and water with a fork in a dish. In another dish, mix the flour and salt. Dip about half of the vegetables in the egg mixture. Remove one vegetable at a time, and roll it in the flour mixture to coat. Place in the 13 X 9 X 2-inch pan. Repeat with the remaining vegetables. Pour any leftover margarine over the vegetables in the pan. Bake uncovered, turning once, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, and the coating is golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Drain, and then sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top.

More

Animal Bytes: California Condor
Wild Animal Park: Condor Ridge