Kendo Cookies part 2

(This is an email, sent out by my fabulous wife, in one of our last-ditch-all-out-efforts for fund raising and the now bordering-on-infamous "Kendo Kookies by William" You've got to read all the way to the end. hilarious!)

For those of you who don't know, William is studying the art of Kendo which is a form of Japanese martial arts. Japanese fencing is how it's usually described. He's participating in a tournament and testing event in October in Atlanta and is going to try out for the National Team in his age bracket which, if successful, will require a great deal of travel including Japan. (Comment from Diane: okay, she's a little off the map, it's Las Vegas. He only wishes it were Japan!)

He is also home-schooled and as such, we are trying to teach him about math, business and finances and are requiring him to raise most of the money himself which brings me to the shameless and brazen solicitation. He has started his own business named "Kendo Kookies". He makes them, tracks costs, is learning accounts receivables and payables and customer service.

What he raises goes to the cost of equipment, travel and entry fees. It also goes to mitigate the mental and emotional damage that might otherwise cause his parents to be institutionalized. See, it's a win win for the Thornton-Leonard family. He gets to participate and we don't poke our eyes out with ice picks. Or his.

Attached is an order form. No pressure but I have to say that I've personally taste tested each kind of the cookies and must say that they are the BOMB. My personal favorite is the No-Bake but the peanut butter is running a close second with it's new and improved formulation.

Every order will be placed in a bucket for a drawing. Grand prize is a dog. Or maybe a child depending on his behavior on any given day.

Kidding about the prize.

Kendo Kookies takes cash, checks and paypal. He also accepts donations if you are averse to sugary snacks.

Busy little baker (and cook)

No knitting to report. Sorry! I have visited the DASNI dementia chats a few times in the last week and reconnected with old friends. It's a great chat if you have dementia. I went a little nuts in the kitchen yesterday making blue cheese dressing, Tzatziki, french bread and grilled, marinated chicken breasts. Then when it was all done I went back in and made cookies! See my other blog (dianesrecipes.blogspot.com) for the actual recipes and photos. Planning for 1st night Seder is in progress. I am about to run out of room. But I am keeping it simple to help with the dementia. No more cooking for 22-30 people, I'm asking people to bring things. I'll post photos in a couple of weeks. Here's a great shot of Ginger and Max just hanging out the other day after she got off work and a photo of William with yet another potato cannon he built.

Pizza!

Homeschool science. While studying about chemical reactions, the subject of cake batter as an example of an endothermic reaction was mentioned. Energy in the form of heat. That lead to pizza dough, which lead to pizza. It was excellent by the way. Look at his cute little shirt too!

Oat Stuffing

I know I do not usually post recipes, but this one has had me stumped for months. I know I have had a great Scottish oat stuffing, but none of the recipies I saw were "it". Here is what I came up with:

3 C steel cut oats toasted with
2 T butter and
1 diced onion
until onion is tender and oats are nut brown to golden brown

mix 3 stalks diced celery, diced carrots and sliced mushrooms of your choice with oat mixture. Pour in 4-5 cups of rich savory stock (I used turkey stock this time) and 1/2 C milk (because it was left-over from breakfast)
Bake at 400 F in a 9x13 baking pan for about 30 then drop to 350. you can bake the whole thing at 350, i just like a crust and crispy edges.