By the time the last person had signed up on Team Melody Makers Bakers, we had 32 people on the site and several off site who were working their ovens to the bone turning out all kinds of delicious sounding goodies for our deserving soldier, Heath K. As you may know, shortly after we had ‘adopted’ Heath as our soldier, his convoy in Afghanistan was attacked and he was seriously wounded. Heath survived but lost his right leg above the knee and suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his hands and arms. He was rushed to Germany to undergo emergency surgery, then transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Through this all, we were all committed to helping him along the way to recovery.

When I first posted about hosting a team, I figured I might get 10 or 12 people to sign up and call that a huge success. You can imagine how proud I am to have hosted this group. I don’t know if there has been a soldier sponsored by Baking Gals yet who was wounded during the sponsorship period. Let me tell you, I felt like Heath was a long lost family member and his dad Tim was, too. I wanted to take care of these fine men. Well as I have been getting in the shipment reports I must admit that my team members really surpassed every expectation I had and then some!! Tim tells me that they have been receiving the packages and appreciate every one of them. They would have taken pictures but the hospital would not allow it. Their gratitude is what powers us, because this young man deserves it all and more!

Here’s just a quick summary and a few photos of what has been sent. UPDATE: WordPress stripped the photos from this very old post. Please support our team members by visiting their sites and commenting, too.

Kathi D of I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus ** made shortbread cookies. I looooove shortbread cookies, and her kitchen is really neato looking. Kathi said that when she was young her brother joined the Marines and she used to send him home made cookies, and she really enjoyed doing it 50-some years later. Thank you Kathi!

My friend Stacey made chocolate chip banana walnut bread. That sounds delicious and sinful and oh so good!

Peggy F sent cracker toffee, pillowcases, a gratitude rock, and jelly bellys, as well as a little bit about Fairfield where she lives and a picture of her family. It’s always nice to see who has been keeping you in their thoughts!

Elise at The Cupcake Activist sent pumpkin cupcakes…yummmmmm. She put them into little mason jars to keep them safe during shipping. Elise that is very clever and I hope it didn’t weigh too much!

The awesome Kim Onstott of Your Place Gourmet, who gave us Heath’s name to begin with, sent chewy chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips; big peanut butter cookies; oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (my favorite!!), plus magazines, action flick DVDs and a music CD/DVD set. Kim and Heath’s dad Tim know each other and this must have really hit close to home for her, too. Thanks for nominating Heath, Kim!

Carrie B sent what she called The Brown’s Fall Favorites, as it contained all of her fall favorite goodies: pumpkin bread, candy corn and Halloween M&Ms, plus a little bit about Oklahoma where she lives and a Bible, which I know Heath and his family will use.

Candi H in Illinois sent sugar cookies with Halloween sprinkles and brownie mini’s with mini Reeses pieces, plus a note from her and one from her two-year-old daughter. Candi’s daughter also wanted to include a popsicle and was disappointed when her Mommy wouldn’t let her. It’s so great that you are including your daughter in this Candi, as baking and sharing our love is something we need to learn at our mother’s knee.

Gramma A sent some of my favorites too: two small loaves of lemon bread with pecans, peanut butter cookies and snickerdoodles. It was 6 1/2 pounds of yummy goodness!

Michele sent a batch of Halloween cut outs and says she is so glad to hear that Heath is getting so much love from around the country!

Suzanne B at Alive In Wonderland **  says that baking isn’t her strong point but she enjoyed the project and I know she did it with her kids, which is all the more special. Suzanne’s husband is also a veteran and he sent a note in the box for Heath as well. There is nothing like the words of camaraderie that pass between one veteran and another. Thank you!

Julie C sent six dozen cookies, including peanut butter and I think I see some cranberry white chocolate chip in there!  The pictures speak for themselves :::mouth watering:::

Debbie Z is one of those who really blew me away with her thoughtful gift. Not only did she send monster cookies, puzzle books and a deck of playing cards, she made this wheelchair sized lap quilt for Heath to use during his recovery. It is gorgeous and so special. Debbie, you are wonderful!

Carrie at This Mama Makes Stuff ** could not resist making Heath bar cookies and her daughters helped her out. The girls also wrote letters and drawings, and pray for “the soldier with the hurt leg” at night. Carrie, I cannot say thank you enough for your efforts and again, for teaching your little ones these special skills!

Laurie G sent corn muffins and oatmeal scotchie cookies. I sure hope we will be getting the recipe for those!

Tina S sent out oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Halloween sugar cookies and corn muffins, plus the “dentist special” of gum, sunflower seeds, tootsie roll pops, trail mix and granola bars.

Stacey J sent another bunch that I hope we will get recipes for! Butterscotch pumpkin cookies, chocolate pumpkin cookies and cinnamon and chocolate chip cookies. They all sound insanely good!

I just got word from Dawn R that after 5″ of snow in North Dakota her package went out with 4 dozen sugar cookies, gum, almonds, peppermint lifesavers, Werthers candies and an Uno card game. She also included notes and cards of thanks and encouragement.

Jennifer R powered through family illness to bring together pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, some pictures of her family and notes of encouragement. Thanks for hanging in there Jennifer and so glad you are feeling better!

Auntie Kat was also under the weather but wanted to send a care package, so she decided to give Heath a break on the calories and sent out snacks, a knit cap she had made, writing paper and envelopes plus stamps, and a few other odds and ends. She also included notes of encouragement from herself and some of her friends.

As for myself, I sent cheese crackers and sugar cookies with mini peanut butter cups in them. My friend Laurie contributed a massive box of Mentos and individual packets of trail mix, and I also put in Altoids, chocolate candies, and chocolate covered mints from Trader Joe’s, plus a few pictures from the Marching Thru History event, just because they were fun. Wouldn’t you know I didn’t actually take pictures of my own goodies!?

THERE ARE MORE PICTURES IN THE GALLERY. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT ALL THE WONDERFUL BAKED GOODS!

For those who haven’t participated in a project like this in the past, it really is fulfilling and I encourage you to try it. Round 14 is getting ready to launch and I hope I’ll see some of you around on other teams. I don’t think I’ll host a team in Round 14, maybe Round 15. It’s a lot of work! I’m very happy I did it and proud of our fantastic results! Heath’s dad let me know that the boxes have been arriving safely – I was a little worried about the receiving department at the hospital – and that Heath is doing a little better every day.

** These are all sites I read with some regularity. Like, every day. In case you wanted to know what I do with my time.

Well, I spoke to Heath’s dad tonight on the phone. What a nice guy! Heath is in Texas at one of the best burn units available for military. A family friend happened to be talking to my dad recently and shared that he had been at the same burn unit and they really saved him. I feel so good just having this referral!

For those who are signed up through BakingGALS, you should get the information in an email I sent out tonight. Heath said he doesn’t really believe that we exist and are pulling so strongly for him. I was delighted to tell him there are over 25 people eagerly preparing all sorts of cookie goodness just for him. For those of you who want to bake but haven’t signed up on the site, or who wish to just send him a get well card, let me know in the comments and I’ll send you his address.

I’m feeling so exuberant that our project is finally coming to fruition; in fact, a bit giddy, but that’s also because today I spent the day setting up our Parlour for the Marching Through History Exposition taking place at Prado Regional Park in Chino. Check out their site or Past Periods Press for more information. You could see Roman Legions, Colonial Minute Men, Pancho Villa, Doughboys, GIs and more, all in one place.

Second, Melody said the funniest thing last night, I just have to share it. My parents came over for dinner, and after dinner, as adults tend to do, we were all chatting at the table about this and that. Melody was feeling left out I suppose, and she came over to me and said very loudly “Mommy, I want these people to go home!”

We could not stop laughing!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Friends, I have just learned that Heath K, 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!

I just wanted to put it out there…if you know a soldier who is deployed to a war zone and would welcome a shipment of home-baked goodness, please let me know! Operation Baking GALS has rounds that ship almost every month, so there isn’t a rush to send me names and information, but I would love to host a team of bakers. I’d stress out the entire time worrying that no one will join my team and thinking it’s somehow a reflection on me, but really, I’d make that sacrifice. Think about it, let me know. I’ve been itching to try a pound cake and these cheesy crackers and some chocolate shortbreads and…

Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support) is celebrating its one year anniversary this month! According to Lindsey Leybold, site administrator, Baking GALS has shipped approximately 3000 care packages to approximately 100 soldiers in war zones overseas. There are close to 1000 subscribers to the site’s email newsletter and well over 1000 registered participants during the past year.

As you know, I am quite passionate about this organization and I’m proud to have participated in my own small way. Read about my reflections on the experience over at the Orange County Register’s Mom Blog and as before, please, please, please comment. Did I mention I’d really like you to comment?  :-)

Round 10 of Baking Gals just finished and we shipped our goodies to SSG Nicholas Limerick in Afghanistan on Tuesday. While I was at the post office there were two soldiers each mailing a care package to someone in the military. I know that because I’m psychic. No, because they were using the military flat rate boxes from the US Postal Service too.

Anyway, I recently bought a Wilton cookie press because it reminded me of the cookie press my mom had (and my sister probably now has) in days gone by. When I saw it, I became instantly nostalgic and culinary at the same time! :-) It wasn’t terribly expensive, about $20 at Bed Bath and Beyond, and it comes with something like 20 designs. More important for me, it comes with the recipes for spritz cookies – what cookies made with the press are called apparently – and also for a type of cheese cracker. I haven’t tried the cracker yet but I am going to soon. If they are yummy, they might not make it out of Cypress, let alone find themselves in Iraq. So, first I made chocolate spritz cookies, because even though it’s a living oven in Afghanistan right now and chocolate chips will melt, chocolate cookies must be had!

Next I made lemon spritz cookies with fresh lemon zest. They are not as good as the lemon shortbreads I made last round, but I wanted to try something new, so what the heck. I think next round I will go back to the original shortbread recipe, which came from Joy of Baking incidentally.

Here’s a mini review of the Wilton cookie press: it was overall a B+ because it was at times difficult to load the dough into the barrel. The instructions say “shape the dough into a log and place in the barrel.” I would like to know if the Wilton people have actually touched the dough from their recipes, because it is soft and very pliable. This stuff wouldn’t stay in the shape of a lump. Also, if the dough wasn’t “just right” in the barrel there were what can only be described as misfires. I’d squeeze the trigger but nothing would come out. Once the pump was primed so to speak, the press worked nicely, although at times the shapes were not uniform and I think I will attribute this to the warm pans. Note to other bakers who would like to use a cookie press: allow your pans to cool before pressing the next batch to be baked. The dough will not stick on warm pans. The Wilton recipe called for the cookies to bake for 10-12 minutes but my oven must run hot because I burned them at 10 and they were just right at 8.

We rounded out our box with candy and gum. Hopefully SSG Limerick has access to a dentist.