OK, guys, this is the absolute best cake on the planet. I got it from Jackie Knights about twenty-five years ago, and there is no cake that tops this one. Make it and enjoy.

3/4 cup butter
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup flaked coconut

Cream shorting and sugar and add eggs. Beat three minutes. Add bananas and beat another two minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat two minutes more.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

Frost with butter cream frosting laced with maple flavoring.

To die for.

We had a really nice week at school. Toward the end of the week, the kids worked hard at the Santa Prize race. Lots of extra elf winners. Connor D won the Advent Box because of his helpfulness on Thursday. Some of his friends saw that and immediately helped with picking up toys and helping the little guys with projects. That I really love to see. I heard Annie say that “We need to clean up this mess,” and four children jumped on it. Such wonderful, wonderful children.

We made some wonderful Christmas ornaments so far this season. Miss Lisa invented a rather charming wreath, and Miss Carol invented a rather wonderful snow scene. Miss Molly has started preparing a cinnamon ornament for next week.

We had our first turkey for the season on Thursday. I expected some left overs for Friday, and the children ate the whole bird. So Friday, I made a new dish: chicken bread. It was a rolled bread featuring chicken and cheese. It turned out to be rather good even though there was some skepticism. I’m not narrow and obstinate about food. I’m not picky and bothered by new ideas and new ingredients, so it’s much easier for me to invent than it is for other people who have a grand personal list of what should, must, has to be when it comes to making, baking or inventing.

In fact this week we had a surprising sticky bun made with ground fresh pineapple and fresh blackberry sticky buns with a great caramel sauce.

The turkey I stuffed with cornbread muffins we had earlier in the week, pumpernickel bread and whole wheat bread. I always stuff a bird with something interesting, because it keeps the white meat from drying out. People tend to cook meat too much anyway, and then you have a dry tasteless and expensive meal that’s a disappointment.

The chicken bread was actually pretty good. It was very cheesy and most of the kids enjoyed it. I seasoned the meat with taco seasoning and masala. It’s not going to be everyone’s favorite, but children can’t hope to enjoy their lunch, especially if it’s something new, without a great deal of help and encouragement from the teachers. When teachers are supportive and positive about what we are eating, it goes a long way.

One of our jobs at the Garden School is to encourage children to be positive about their whole day. Food is an important part of any child’s day because a child is building his body, and when he builds it properly, he is healthier for a lifetime. We know that many children go home to fast food, canned soup, or a bowl of cereal, that’s why giving them all the nutrition we can during the day is a fundamental good.

“I was hungry and you gave me to eat…” In today’s world, that “gave me to eat” has become, “You gave me nutrition.” Bones, teeth, hair, eyes, organs…all need quality food, and that’s our mission.

One of the things that has been really well done this year is the singing program. We are teaching the children one new song a day, and they are really learning them with all the verses. There is no point in teaching part of a song…I mean would you like the chorus of Jingle Bells to be the only song your child knows? How about all three verses with the chorus… We sent home a folder to collect each child’s music as it comes home. We hope you will use the folder. Sing with your child!

Please pick up the recipe cards in the front of school. They have our traditional recipes and the new recipes we will use this season. Lots of fun to bake, and none of them are hard.

Enjoy your weekend.

So busy these days…I finished reading a great book. It is “The Sociopath Next Door.” It’s a scientific approach to the making of a sociopath, but it does not disregard religion, so it’s a very nicely written book about a percentage of the society that we never really hear about until it makes the news.

Interestingly, one in twenty-five people is a sociopath. Does that mean one in twenty-five is a vicious killer? No. It means that one person in twenty-five has no conscience, and no ability to love. These people have no remorse for what they do or fail to do. A sociopath lives a failed life.

A sociopath could be the principal of a school, a businessman, or your mother. A sociopath cannot feel love, empathy or connection to another person. They learn how to hide this fact, and can be charming, attractive and play a huge part in ordinary people’s lives.

The one outstanding identifying trait of the sociopath is the begging for pity. “Feel sorry for me because…” and then they invent the reason in order to manipulate anyone they think they can because that’s their only joy – using and abusing other people – it’s a game and the only delight in their lives. They will lie, cheat and steal without much thought because to a sociopath, nothing is really wrong to do. The world of right and wrong exists intellectually, but since there is no conscience, they can freely act on either side of the moral fence without regret.

A sociopath is lazy at heart, although can behave as if they are hardworking. A sociopath will begin a task and slowly let someone else take the work over while they either fain illness or some other pitiable weakness. Prolonged work, building and investment are nothing to a sociopath because that’s not their game. The game is hurting others by destruction, even if it’s one person at a time. A sociopath is irresponsible with money and he has no affection for success because he has no affection for anyone or anything even his own talents.

A sociopath denies that they have ever made a mistake because ultimately, they haven’t. They don’t need forgiveness because they are always innocent. But they do choose targets, and that target is one they think they can manipulate. The game is to get the target to do as much for them as they can.

The sociopath is born a sociopath with determining factors set in stone…you can’t stop being a sociopath. A sociopath can learn to function very nicely in the world, and is often someone who wreaks havoc in good and kind people’s lives.

Sound familiar? It was a great book and well worth reading.