After we bought a bunch of leeks and fennel at the vegetable stand last week, I’ve been trying to figure out different recipes to use either or both. The beet, fennel, pomegranate salad was one recipe. This potato, leek, fennel soup is another. I’ve generally had an aversion to using leeks because of how sandy they can be. But last week I finally decided that was ridiculous and I should probably just learn how to wash them properly. Any kind of potato will do for this recipe, but I used a combination of baby red and baby yukon gold because it’s what I had on hand. The fennel in this recipe is very mild and adds an interesting dimension of flavor without being overpowering.
The Recipe
Serves 4-5
splash of olive oil
4 cups of potatoes, diced large
1 fennel bulb, sliced thin
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
6 cups vegetable broth
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (or to taste)
To clean the leeks: cut off 1 inch of the bottom root part. Cut off the tops of the greens. Slice the leek in half lengthwise and wash with cold water, spreading apart the layers to get the water in between them. Make sure there is no dirt or sand left, or you’re in for an unpleasant surprise in your soup. Slice into small slices. Wash the fennel bulb and slice thin. You can chop it into smaller pieces, so they will cook faster. Dice the potatoes. I left the skins on, but if you prefer, you can peel the potatoes first.
Add a splash of olive oil to a large pot. Saute the leeks and fennel for 5-10 minutes, until slightly soft. Add the red pepper and some freshly ground pepper. Add the potatoes and saute for 5 minutes more. Add the vegetable broth. Let simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Blend with an immersion blender, or in batches in the food processor. I like to leave some big chunks of potato to give it a little extra texture. You can do that or blend it until it’s all smooth–your choice! Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Reheat before serving. Serve with a sprig of fennel frond on top to give it a little pizazz.
Calling all out-of-work vegan baking enthusiasts living in Portland, Oregon! Sweetpea Baking Co. is hiring an early morning (read: 4am start time) baker. This sounds like so much fun to me and if I lived in Portland, I might consider this as a second career choice. Here are the details It sounds like as part of the job, you get to make up new recipes!
My mom sent me the newsletter for Pittsburgh East End Food Co-Op the other day. The East End Food Co-Op is a really wonderful co-op and has been there at least as long as I can remember. They have an amazing herb/spice and bulk selection, a little cafe with delicious prepared food, and lots of other great food. Plus, that place has a smell that is so familiar to me, it’s like home. I think it’s a mixture of bulk grains, herbs, spices, and it smells a little bit of carob. Anyway, it looks like they’re hosting a Vegan Cook-Off in March as part of the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council’s Local Food Showcase. It looks like the way it works is that the public submits recipes that are then judged by professional chefs. What’s not quite clear to me is whether the recipe creators actually cook the food in real time, or…? In any case, my mom suggested that I submit a recipe. Sounds like fun!
I have been wanting to try making chia pudding for a while now. I bought some chia seeds about 3 or 4 months ago and have not gotten around to doing anything with them until this past weekend. Chia seeds are high in protein, Omega 3’s, and fiber. I’ve been trying to cut out the refined sugar, but I still have a mighty sweet tooth these days. So I decided to make something sweet with chia and maple syrup as the sweetener. Eric had spotted some key limes at the vegetable stand for $1 and asked if we could have a key lime pie. Pre-vegan, I used to make a pretty awesome key lime pie, but the ingredients were deadly–lots of eggs and a can of sweetened condensed milk for the filling, and graham crackers, powdered sugar and butter for the crust. Eventually, I’d like to make a vegan version of that pie, but this is something slightly different. Chia seeds, when you add liquid to them, turn into a thick pudding-like consistency very much like tapioca. This is a raw key lime pie with a tapioca-like filling and a raw almond crust. This is refreshing, filling, healthy and just sweet enough to make you feel like you’ve had dessert without overdoing it. Even Eric liked it, once he got over the appearance (he was expecting a smooth, yellow pie).
The Recipe
Makes 6 cupcake sized mini-pies
FOR THE PUDDING:
1/2 cup chia seeds
4 Tbls key lime juice (or regular lime juice)
2 Tbls maple syrup
3/4 cup non dairy milk
1/3 cup coconut milk
FOR THE CRUST:
1 cup raw almonds
2 Tbls maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
TO MAKE THE PUDDING/FILLING: Juice your limes if you’re using fresh, until you have 4 Tbls.
key limes!
Add the chia seeds to a medium bowl.
chia seeds
Add the milks. Stir to combine. Add the maple syrup and the lime juice and stir. Let sit for 30 minutes or so stirring occasionally. The mixture should get gelatinous and pudding-like.
a pudding-like consistency
Taste and adjust lime and sweetener if needed. NOTE: You can skip the crust and just have a delicious key lime pudding if you prefer.
TO MAKE THE CRUST: In the food processor or blender, grind up the almonds until they are a fine consistency. Add the cinnamon and process. Add the maple syrup and process together, scraping the sides to make sure it is all fully combined. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake papers and divide the crust into six portions. Press the mixture into the cupcake liners on the bottom and sides to create the crust.
press crust into liners
TO ASSEMBLE THE PIES: When the pudding is pudding-like, spoon it into the crusts.
spoon pudding into crusts
There may be some leftover pudding which is a special treat for the cook to snack on. Refrigerate the pies if not eating immediately.
Have you all tried chia seeds? How have you used them?
I’ve never been a big fan of beets, but I have set my mind to deciding to like them. About 7 or 8 years ago, I made a conscious decision to start liking olives and capers. I had always avoided them like the plague, but one day I went to the olive bar at Whole Foods in Pittsburgh and stood there and tasted every single olive until I found one that I didn’t hate as much as the others. I bought a container of those and ate them. That was the beginning of what is now a strong love for olives and, by proxy, capers. I’ve been determined to do the same thing with beets. Luckily, my friend Karen made it pretty easy to adore beets in this salad she brought over on New Years Eve. It was absolutely delicious. I’ve been under the weather all weekend–I had a migraine, I didn’t have much energy and I was fighting off a sore throat. I spent all of Friday and Saturday sitting on the couch reading and sleeping and watching TV, except for a few jaunts into the kitchen to cook when I was feeling up to it. I made a version of the salad Karen brought, I made chia pudding raw key lime pies, and a mushroom and leek tart (stay tuned for both of these recipes).
Karen’s salad was kale, golden beets, pecans, and currants. I took a slightly different spin after I was inspired by what was at the vegetable stand on Friday. This recipe has both golden and red beets, raw fennel, pecans, and pomegranate seeds. The colors were amazing.
The Recipe
Serves 4
For the salad:
1 head of kale
1 medium to large golden beet
1 medium to large red beet
1 cup of raw fennel, sliced thin
1/2-1 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup chopped raw pecans
For the dressing:
1 Tbls balsamic vinegar
2 Tbls olive oil
1/4 tsp stoneground mustard
1/2 Tbls maple syrup
1/2 tsp dried dill
black pepper to taste
First, roast your beets. I bought 3 of each color because I wanted leftovers for making other things. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Wash the beets and slice the tops and bottoms off. Place them on aluminum foil and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the tops of them:
add a little olive oil
Wrap them up in the aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet (to save your oven from any drips).
wrap beets in aluminum foil
Roast in the oven for 45 minutes or 1 hour–until the beets can be easily pierced with a fork. When they are cool enough to touch, peel the beets with your fingers or with a knife, keeping in mind that they will stain a wooden cutting board (I like to do this on a plate). When they are peeled, slice them into little logs:
golden beets
If you’ve made extra beets, you can store them in the fridge for use another time.
red beets
Wash the kale and tear it into bite sized pieces. Add it to the salad bowl you’re using. Slice the fennel bulb very thinly and add to the salad. Open the pomegranate and add the seeds to the salad. Add the chopped pecans. Add the beets. Now, make the salad dressing. I like to use a small mason jar with a tightly fitting lid, so I can shake it. Add the ingredients to the jar and shake well to blend the oil and vinegar together with the other ingredients. Pour over the salad. Toss. Enjoy! Because it’s made with kale, this salad keeps in the fridge pretty well. I’m taking leftovers to school today for my lunch, in fact.
When I decided to actually go forward with finding a tattoo artist to make a drawing of my tattoo idea, I started looking at Seattle tattoo artists’ portfolios. I spent weeks combing through online portfolios and looking at hundreds of images of tattoos. In case you don’t already know, Seattle is a haven for tattoos–both tattoo shops/artists and tattooed people. In many places around the country, it seems to be the exception to have a tattoo. In Seattle, it’s practically the norm. In the summer months, walking around Capitol Hill, Georgetown, or downtown can be like an art show–everyone’s body art comes out for the warm weather and it’s quite amazing to see. Seattle is also home to the Seattle Tattoo Expo each summer. Needless to say, I had a lot of artists and styles to choose from when making the decision. I finally settled on Andrea at Slave to the Needle (an awesome artist with almost 3 decades of experience tattooing and an appreciation for art that calls up the natural world). I scheduled a consultation with her (the soonest appointment being 4 months away). While I was waiting for the appointment, I did more research on tattoos and discovered that tattoos are not, by default, vegan! I’m still learning about this, but I do know that many tattoo inks contain bone char from animals in the pigment of the ink. Glycerin in the inks can also be sourced from animals. There are vegan alternatives, though. Cleansers and soaps that tattoo shops use may also contain animal products or be tested on animals.
When I read that many tattoos were not vegan, I immediately called the shop and asked if they used vegan inks or had vegan inks in stock. I got a very brusque response–“Oh, we don’t do anything like that”. I was put off by this dismissive person on the other end of the phone, and called back a few days later to try my luck with someone else. The second time I called, I was able to talk to a very nice person who explained that all the artists use different inks and that I should talk to Andrea when I met with her for the consultation about her ink choices. I went to the appointment prepared with a list of vegan ink choices.
Two 100% vegan ink lines are Stable Color and Classic Color Systems. Here is a full list of vegan inks approved by The Vegan Society. Before we even talked about my tattoo design, I explained that it was important to me to have a vegan tattoo and I asked about vegan inks. I showed her the list and she said she had plenty of color inks in vegan brands, but not black. She said she would make sure to order vegan black ink in time for our first tattoo session. I was so glad I talked to her about it and now I’ve been able to begin getting a tattoo from the artist of my choice without having to compromise on my commitment to having a vegan tattoo. Win-win!
There are many things to consider when seeking out a vegan tattoo, including:
1. Does the shop use vegan ink? Or is your particular artist willing to order vegan ink for you?
2. Is it important to you that the artist is vegan, in addition to using vegan supplies to tattoo you? For example, Scapegoat Tattoo in Portland, OR is a completely vegan owned and operated tattoo shop.
3. Are the other materials they use vegan? Soaps, cleansers, etc.
4. Do I have access to vegan aftercare products? Many tattoo shops recommend A&D ointment as an aftercare product. A&D contains cod liver oil and lanolin and is not vegan. Look for a vegan diaper rash ointment at your local co-op or healthfood/herbal shop. Or if you’re in a pinch, KY Jelly lubricant will suffice. Dr. Bronner’s soap is a good choice for washing your tattoo, or another mild vegan soap of your choice. For a moisturizer, you can use any vegan water-based lotion or coconut oil (from your kitchen).
Just a little info about vegan tattoos. Has anyone else gone through the process of getting a vegan tattoo? What was your experience?
Yesterday was my first day teaching my new course, Animals, Ethics and Food: Deconstructing Dominant Discourses. The first day of class is always spent taking care of the nitty gritty details–introductions, learning names, reviewing the syllabus and answering any questions that may come up. We had time yesterday for all of this, plus we watched most of the documentary, Food, Inc. I wanted to show Food, Inc. because it’s a more general review/critique of the food system, industrialization and the changing face of agriculture (i.e., from agriculture to agribusiness). Even though I think Food, Inc doesn’t make a rigorous enough critique of animal agriculture, it certainly shows a good introduction to the way animals are raised and slaughtered in industrial settings. It also does a nice job of explaining how food is still sold by promoting pastoral, family-farm images and values, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of food production in the U.S. looks nothing like this. I’m enthusiastic about the quarter–it seems like a really interesting group of students and it’s small enough that we should be able to have good discussions about the readings.
A Description of the Course
Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them […] the process has to be conscious, or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence of guilt (Orwell 1963).
In this advanced seminar, students will have the opportunity to explore the place of animals in the United States food system through various lenses. An interdisciplinary exploration of animals in the food system pushes us to encounter in the course issues of emotion and intellect, living and dying, discrimination and oppression, and the discourses that run as undercurrents throughout these issues. Most of all, drawing on an interdisciplinary body of work from both scholars and activists, we will introduce creative possibilities for pushing new boundaries in how we think about ethics and farmed animals in our private and public lives.
Week one of the course introduces students to thinking about how discourses are constructed about animals as food in the United States. This is a major theme throughout the course, and we will utilize Cathy B. Glenn’s ‘doublespeak’ and George Orwell’s ‘doublethink’ to provide a frame for thinking through what work discourse does to obscure the current relationship between humans and animals in the food system.
The first part of the course is dedicated to understanding the way animals live and die. Beginning with the industrialization of the food system is integral to understanding the experience of farmed animals. As a response to the industrialization of animal agriculture, alternative producers have gained more popularity in recent food localization and organics movements. Contemporary ethologists and animal behaviorists are contributing to a growing body of work on animal emotion and intellect that helps us to understand their lives more fully. Students will be encouraged to engage in conversations that explore questions such as: What do we gain from trying to understand and respect animals’ intellectual and emotional lives? How have notions of place and space in the industrialization of agriculture affected consumers’ understanding of the implications for animals of this kind of system? In alternative animal agriculture, how alternative is alternative?
This course focuses on animals’ experience, but it also engages with important academic debates about the relationship between animal oppression in the food system and human experiences. Geographer Joni Seager (2003) asks us to consider ‘species’ alongside ‘race,’ ‘class,’ ‘gender,’ and ‘sexuality,’ as significant sites of oppression. How can studying familiar (or not-so-familiar) histories of discrimination and oppression help to inform an understanding of animals? How can dialogues about animals interrogate intersections among various sites of oppression?
Finally, this course synthesizes what we learn throughout the quarter about animal lives and deaths, emotion and intellect, and discrimination and oppression in order to push the conversation further and in order to rethink discourse. During this portion of the course, we will take a field trip to a local animal sanctuary where students will have the opportunity to meet and interact with the animals we have learned about throughout the course. This final portion investigates ways to re-imagine our relationship to the animals we eat. What can we do with this information, and how can we grow as scholars and global citizens by taking seriously the plight of animals in the food system? What new possibilities emerge for animals and for humans?
Happy 2012 everyone! I’m sorry I’ve been such a sporadic blogger over the last two weeks.
The Holidays
We’ve had lots going on (as I’m sure everyone has). First, it was madly racing to get holiday packages out the door to family and friends not living in Seattle. My dad arrived in Seattle on Dec. 15th and stayed for a week, then went down to visit his mother and brothers in Portland for Christmas. Eric and I drove down to pick him up last Friday. We had some of my favorite animal studies people over for New Years Eve, which was from 3-7ish, making it easy for me to crawl into bed well before the 12 o’clock hour.
The main reasons I have not been so good about keeping up with the blog are that I’ve had a lot of other work on the computer–namely, two major projects. Number 1, I’m teaching my very first class-designed-entirely-by-me starting tomorrow. It’s called ‘Animals, Ethics and Food: Deconstructing Dominant Discourses’ and I have 21 students registered at the moment. I’ve been scrambling to finalize the syllabus and get the reader together for the students. More on the class soon…
Number 2: I’ve been working on building a website for my sister-in-law’s new herbal pregnancy, postpartum, and baby care business. More on that as well. The website is not quite finished, but when it is, I’ll do a special post on her new business, which is awesome and many of the products are vegan.
Inking in the New Year
For about 10 years, I’ve been thinking about the same tattoo idea. It’s a full-back tattoo of a tree with two crows in it. Last March I finally found a tattoo artist in Seattle who I wanted to draw the design. I booked a consultation with her–her first available consult was not until July, so I waited patiently until July to meet her. We talked about the idea and she agreed to draw it. Then I settled into waiting for our art consultation appointment which was scheduled for Dec. 15th. I went in to see what she had drawn and it was better than anything I had visualized in my head. I didn’t have any changes to make. So yesterday, I went in for my first session. I sat for about 3 hours while she stencilled and then tattooed the outline on my back. The tattoo will probably take at least 5 sessions to finish, but I liked the idea of at least getting the outline done on the first day of the new year. More to follow on this new tattoo adventure as it develops!
Projects for the New Year
I’ve never really been a fan of New Year’s resolutions–mostly because I don’t like all the hype. There’s a flurry of New Year’s resolutions in January and then it all tends to die down and we settle back into our normal routines. Plus, all of the media hype and advertising of ‘get skinny in 2012; get fit in 2012, etc’ is pretty unappealing. That being said, there is also something that kind of inevitably creeps up at the end of each year and the beginning of the new one–an itch to be a better version of yourself in the new year. Sometimes this manifests as wanting to improve our bodies–to be healthier, more fit, maybe skinnier. Sometimes it manifests as us wanting to do more emotional work on ourselves–to be happier, more compassionate, more independent, etc. For others, it manifests in practical goals–to switch jobs, to get a raise, to have a baby, etc. There’s something hopeful about a new year starting, about giving us a chance to ‘start over’ in a small kind of way and live our lives in ways that are more in line with our values and our dreams.
I have three major projects I want to work on in this new year:
1. Body: Be healthier and stronger. I’m not sure exactly what this plan will entail yet, but it will certainly involve getting back to gym to lift those weights and do some cardio. It will involve eating more raw foods. It will involve cutting out a lot of the processed and sugar-based foods. And it will most importantly involve listening to my body and trying to give it the best care I can.
2. Spirit: Be kinder and more compassionate. I’ve got quite the temper and lately I’ve been getting pretty furious pretty regularly. I’d like to let go of this anger (wherever it may be coming from) and practice being more compassionate to everyone I encounter in my life.
3. Mind: Research for the dissertation. A very practical goal. I’ve got my dissertation research scheduled to be completed in 2012. So here goes! Another great adventure of the mind, body and spirit all together!
Remember back in October, when I went to New York for a visit… I blogged about the great work that Dick Hughes is doing to bring to light the lasting impacts (through generations of Vietnamese and Americans) of the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. For those not familiar with the history of Agent Orange use as a chemical warfare agent in Vietnam, Agent Orange is a dioxin chemical herbicide and defoliant manufactured by Monsanto and Dow during the Vietnam War for the U.S. Department of Defense. In Vietnam, American troops sprayed millions of acres of land with this chemical, aiming to destroy forest cover as well as the ability of the Vietnamese to grow their own food for survival. The use of Agent Orange has affected at least 3 million people, causing directly the death and maiming of close to half a million Vietnamese and at least half a million severe birth defects in future generations of children who are currently sick and dying from Agent Orange exposure. Click here to read the full post about Dick’s work.
In October, my dad was staying with Dick and some of Dick’s family from Pittsburgh and they were all working feverishly to prepare for an event that brought together Fred Wilcox (author of Scorched Earth and Waiting for an Army to Die) and Noam Chomsky (linguist, writer and cultural/political critic) in a conversation about Agent Orange. The event was so well attended that people were pouring out onto the sidewalk trying to hear the important discussion within. The event covered pressing issues relating to informing people about Agent Orange and engaging in a critical discussion of the impacts of U.S. military policy and the advancement of U.S. corporate interests throughout Southeast Asia. As a real treat, you can WATCH THIS EVENT HERE.
Dick Hughes, as part of Loose Cannon Inc., is challenging Dow Chemical to take responsibility for the continuing damage Agent Orange is doing to millions of Vietnamese. He has begun a ‘Sue Me, Dow Chemical Campaign’:
Pass it along…Post it on your Facebook, Twitter, or whatever other social networking device you use. Let’s see if we can make a difference for the millions of Vietnamese still suffering. Dick’s hopes are that this can go viral and get Dow’s attention.
There are, of course, myriad reasons to be skeptical about the work of chemical and biotech companies like Dow and Monsanto. Agent Orange is one tragic example. On a slightly different note, for a different angle on Monsanto’s involvement in the food system, watch The Future of Food. It is a fantastic full-length documentary about the state of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply and the revolving door between U.S. government and Big Business (like Monsanto and Dow). A fascinating watch. I’ve included the full video (about an hour and half) here for your viewing pleasure:
Thoughts on Agent Orange, Dow, Monsanto, food, and what we can do? How else can we help to get the word out and educate people on the effects of Agent Orange and, more broadly, the frequently destructive practices of Dow, Monsanto and other large corporations who have so much political and economic influence in the U.S. and around the world?
A friend of mine posted a recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread on Facebook the other day and I immediately wanted to veganize it. It’s been a while since I made a yeast bread, so I was a little nervous. I’ve definitely gone through some bread-baking phases and, in addition to some really delicious loaves, I’ve had some utter fails (imagine a loaf of challah so dense and hard you could use it as a brick-like building material). Needless to say, when I pulled the yeast out of the fridge on Sunday, I felt at least a little bit of trepidation. In the end, it turned out that this was quite an easy recipe.
Cinnamon rolls and Christmas go together in my family. My mom makes cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve every year and heats them up in the oven on Christmas morning. When I was a kid, she would make a set of cinnamon rolls for all of our neighbors and my sister and I were charged with delivering them around the neighborhood. I thought making the pull-apart bread would be a nice tribute to my mom’s cinnamon rolls since I wouldn’t be in Pittsburgh this Christmas to enjoy them.
For the past few years my dad has come out to Seattle for a few weeks at winter break. Each year is a little different. One year he brought his girlfriend (Grace). Eric and Grace are both Jewish and so the four of us had a Chanukah-appropriate meal on Christmas (latkes, applesauce, sour cream, etc.). Sometimes Eric and I go to his family’s Chanukah celebration. One or two Christmases we’ve gone to Portland to spend the holiday with my grandmother and uncles. And sometimes we just stay here and we make a nice dinner and chill out. We also usually try to do something nice for the winter Solstice. This year, we had Eric’s mom and her husband over for a dinner celebration. My dad went down to Portland a few days before Christmas and Eric and I stayed in Seattle. I got up in the morning on Sunday, made the cinnamon bread, and then we vegged out on the couch, watched some TV, took a nap, ate the cinnamon bread until we were both completely sugared out, and in the evening we made dinner (mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, mushroom gravy). We Skyped with my mom and sister and all the extended family on Christmas Eve, and then we opened presents together (via Skype) with my mom and her boyfriend and my sister and her girlfriend on Christmas Day. My mom, dad, and grandmother chipped in on a camera Eric and I have been lusting after for a couple of years. It’s a Canon DSLR and we’re just getting started learning how to use it–so hopefully the pictures will improve (all the blog pictures before this camera were taken with my cell phone!). We also received some great new vegan cookbooks from my aunt and Eric’s mother-in-law and some cookies and beautiful fabric from our neighbor.
And now, what you’ve been waiting for… the recipe.
The Recipe
Makes one 9×5-inch loaf
For the dough:
2 3/4 cups plus 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup vegan granulated sugar
1 Tbls active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
4 T Earth Balance (or vegetable shortening), melted
1/3 cup non dairy milk
1/4 cup water
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used cinnamon applesauce)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the filling:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegan granulated sugar
1 Tbls cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3 T Earth Balance, melted
Warm milk to 105-115 F and add to a large mixing bowl. [Note: The milk should feel warm, not hot. Too much heat will kill the yeast and your bread will not rise]. Add 1 tsp of the sugar and add the yeast. Stir well and let rise (about 10 minutes). While the yeast is propogating, in a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups of flour, the rest of the sugar for the dough, and the salt. Set aside.
When the yeast mixture looks all foamy and puffy, add the melted shortening, water and vanilla and mix with spatula. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add the applesauce and mix until fully incorporated in the dough. Add the remaining 3/4 cup flour and combine. The mixture should be slightly sticky, but kneadable (add more flour if you need to). Place the dough in a mixing bowl with a little oil coating the sides. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour (until double in size). While the dough is rising, mix together the dry ingredients for the filling. Melt the shortening in a separate bowl.
When the dough has risen, knead an extra 1/4 cup or so of flour into the dough until it is no longer sticky. Flour a countertop or cutting board and use a rolling pin to roll out dough into a large rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted shortening and sprinkle generously with the sugar mixture:
add filling to dough
Slice the dough lengthwise in four long strips and stack them one on top of the other:
slice dough into strips and stack
Cut the strips into stacks of squares of dough. Stack the piles of squares sideways into a greased bread pan. Brush the top with the last bits of melted butter if you have some leftover on the brush:
stack squares sideways in pan
Cover with a dish towel and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350F. When the bread has risen and the oven is at temperature, place the bread in the oven ON A DRIP PAN. IMPORTANT: The sugar mixture will drip onto your oven and make a big burny mess. Place a cookie sheet or roasting pan under the bread pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until very golden brown (the top needs to be very golden because the inside takes much longer to cook than the top). Remove from the oven and let sit for 20 or so minutes. Use a knife to run around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread. Turn out and let cool. Alternatively, you can just eat it straight out of the pan–just be careful not to burn your mouth.
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