Friends, I have just learned that Heath Kirk, our deserving soldier, has been injured in Afghanistan. Heath's convoy was hit and Heath has been rushed into surgery. Both his legs are seriously injured and he is at risk of losing one to amputation. Now more than ever we must find ways to support these men and women who are so willing to risk themselves and sacrifice so much. Thank you to each and every one of you for reading and participating in any way! We are truly blessed!

I will update you as soon as I learn more and hopefully we will be able to mobilize lots of goodies to reach Heath while he is in his recovery.

UPDATE 9/25 Heath is out of surgery. He lost his right leg above the knee and the left is seriously injured but it is there! Please keep Heath and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I'm hoping to get his address where he will be in recovery and we will mobilize our group to ship to him there. For those who read this and would like to send a get well card to Heath, please let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to send you his address off line.

UPDATED 9/27 Heath has been moved to Germany and soon will be stateside at Walter Reed Hospital. I'm planning that we will bake and send our goodies there. There is a news clip about Heath with comments from his mother at this link to the article on Fox 8 in Ohio.

UPDATED 9/30 Heath is in the US of A!! His dad is on his way to see him in Texas where there is a great burn unit at the military hospital. I hope to speak to the hospital tomorrow and find out shipping information. 

I am honored, delighted and NERVOUS (<--triple emphasis!) to host a team of bakers in Round 13 of Operation Baking GALS! Our team will be called Melody Maker's Bakers and I hope to see one or two of you signed up!!! To sign up, first visit bakinggals.com and create an account. Once this has been done, visit the section of the site that says "Join A Team Here" and scroll down the list until you find mine. Click on the team name, and within that page, click on "Join This Team." Once you have joined the team, you will receive an email from me with the shipping information, including the address and the dates to ship. I really need your help in making this a great turnout for our soldier! Teams will be open for sign-ups on Tuesday September 22nd.

Now, as to who this deserving fellow is, we will be baking for PVT 3rd Class Heath Kirk,stationed with the US Army in Afghanistan. Heath has been in the Army since October 2007, and this is his first tour in Afghanistan. Recently, he signed up for an additional 4 years, which means that he has 6 years left on his current enlistment, although Heath is planning on making the military his career. As the oldest of four, he has one brother and two sisters who look up to him and are very proud of him! Heath enjoys working with his hands, mostly on on cars. He will be home around Christmas time to see his family. He is single and just celebrated his 21st birthday in September, so I hope you will also wish him a happy birthday along with our gratitude for his sacrifices.  

Round 12 of Baking GALS has just closed, and by the skin of my teeth, I got our items shipped! With the Civil War reenectment last weekend, my baking time was curtailed this month and I finished up our goodies just yesterday. I shipped two boxes toda y to Major Joel Heffernan today. Major Heffernan is really a remarkable individual. He was previously based in Chicago working for the US Secret Service as a special agent. Since that job wasn't nearly challenging enough, he took a leave and reactivated with the Marines. He's currently stationed in Afghanistan with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. I don't know exactly what that job entails, but something tells me it is not a desk job.

We made a lot of goodies, but since I didn't have a full weekend to bake, the selections were easier for me. I made 2 dozen cornbread muffins, 4 dozen sugar cookies with various treatments - some had sprinkles, some had cinnamon and sugar, some had cocoa and sugar - and a big batch of sweet toast. At least, I call it sweet toast. I don't know what it's supposed to be called really, I just love it! I also sent a second box with just candy, mints and gum in it.

My friend at work used to make sweet toast as a treat for us and finally she relented and gave me the recipe. Here it is, this is a treat I've never had before, but I think everyone should try it. It's very easy to make and the results are delicious. You do not want to use a French bread or standard short baguette. Some Vietnamese bakeries have a delicious, light, and long baguette, nearly 30". Since the original recipe was based on this, I suggest trying to find that or something as close as possible. You want a very light & airy bread. Orange County residents, there is a bakery on Brookhurst/McFadden that sells these baguettes for $1 each!

Sweet Toast

1 30" long baguette

1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter

5 t white sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Melt the butter then add the sugar, stir until well combined. Slice the baguette into 1/2" slices. Lay the pieces on a cookie sheet and cover one side with the butter/sugar mixture using a basting brush. Toast in the oven for 8 minutes, turn over, then toast an additional 5 minutes. Cool on paper towels. Once cooled they can be stored in ziplock bags. Toast should be crispy, kind of similar to a crouton but not as crunchy.

Click the picture to see more

Wow, I feel awed to join up on Team Gratitude for Round 12 of Operation Baking Gals! Captain Joel Heffernan felt that his job with the United States Secret Service in Chicago was not challenging enough so he took a leave from that to redeploy with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in Afghanistan.

I'm speechless and really, that just sums up the reasons I do this. A person gave up his relatively safe stateside job (albeit with the Secret Service) to go tramp around the mountains of Afghanistan to help break the Taliban. That is some serious dedication to America and democracy.

If you have the time and inclination, please visit Operation Baking GALS to join a team for Round 12. Shipping dates are September 1-12.

Give a Little Support. Bake!

We just got the name of our soldier for Round 11 of Baking GALS and I started our baking on Sunday afternoon. Melody was a great help again, measuring and pouring in the ingredients for our lemon shortbread cookies, and of course, testing them to ensure they are good enough to send! I decided to bake the lemon shortbreads again because Sarah, our soldier a few rounds back, told me they were her favorite cookie, plus they seemed to have traveled the best. Although I got the original recipe somewhere else, I have added the lemon zest and I bake them differently than the recipe directs. I'll get to that in just a minute.

First, I want to mention a contest I entered recently and managed to win. Over at DeltaWhiskey, Cat was running a contest called Deploy Peace. She asked that her readers comment about the ways they support American troops and why. The winners would receive a Deploy Peace dogtag, which is made from retired military aircraft. Check the Deploy Peace site for more information about them. Here is my comment, which I am honored to say was chosen as one of the winning entries:

"Every branch of my family going back to the Revolutionary War has served in some form or fashion. I am a supporter, not a fighter. I know my limitations and I’m not in the military nor have I ever been, but I’m a proud supporter and a proud descendant of a long line of military heroes. They may not all have been decorated, but every single one who served is a hero in my eyes.

I live near an air base, and we see servicemen and women all the time. Every time I see someone in uniform, I want to go up to them and just hug them, thank them for the sacrifices they and their families make on a daily basis for me, my family, my neighbors, my fellow countrymen. But I’m a big chicken and I never do it. I don’t want them to think I’m some kind of loopy nut.

Instead, I bake. I found Cat through the Baking Gals website and it has opened up a font of caring and emotion inside me that I had not known existed with such richness. To me, every batch of cookies that I send overseas is taking a piece of my love and concern to someone who needs to know they aren’t alone out there. Since starting last November, I have looked into the history of our family flag, 100 years old almost, and presented by the Army to an ancestor. He had taken care of the troops on their way to and from WW1, in his home, with his own funds, because it was the right thing to do.

People who are critical of military service people and their families have no room to talk. Our servicemen and women don’t choose to go to war. They don’t join up because they want to kill the enemy. They join because for them, it’s the right thing to do, and when the country comes calling, they go, because it’s the right thing to do."

I say it over and over, the reason I do this baking thing is to send a little comfort to those who have few comforts. Sure, they may have a bed to sleep in and a roof over their head, but the comfort of home is irreplaceable. A home made cookie is always better than a boxed and mass produced one, every day.

Want to make some yummy lemon shortbread cookies for your family? Here's the recipe I use. Please use high grade butter and pure vanilla extract for best results. It's a cookie, don't worry about fat content! :-)

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Zest lemons, combine with vanilla and stir until smooth and well blended, set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt, mixing thoroughly, set aside. In your mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix for about 2 minutes. Add lemon/vanilla flavor. Add flour mixture slowly, one spoonful at a time under the beaters is best. Mix until the dough is light and fluffy. (At this point if the dough is not "lemony" enough for you, you can add another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, but don't get carried away.)

Roll dough into 1" balls and place on cookie sheet. Press flat with a fork. Bake for about 9 minutes at 350. Yield about 4 dozen. You can chill the dough and make rolled cookies, but mine always end up wonky, which is why I don't do that.

Enjoy!

Tonight, molasses crinkles!