Photo Contributed by JEANETTE OTSUJI HAGER
This photo from Dec. 29,1945 shows the grandparents of Jeanette Otsuji Hager. Her grandfather, Kiyoshi Otsuji at age 64, was born Sept. 2, 1882, and her grandmother, Sei Otsuji, born Jan. 1,1893, was 52 .
Feb. 19, Day of Remembrance
By JEANETTE OTSUJI HAGER
On the annual Day of Remembrance, February 19, we can reflect on what our families endured during World War II. I am happa and half-Sansei. I never had any conversations with my mother or her parents, or her brothers and sisters about their incarceration. What I know is from what my mother wrote in a draft of a book that was used as material for a book published in Japan about her family’s history after her solo sail from the San Francisco Bay to Yokohama, Japan in 1984, at the age of 63.
My mother’s father was taken away from his family by the FBI and placed in the county jail at the onset of the WWII. My grandfather had been elected as the President of the Japanese Association of Suisun Valley Farmers some years earlier and, since he was a leader in the Japanese community, he was separated from his family in February 1942. Weeks later, the family learned that he had been taken to Bismark, North Dakota. It was unbearably cold in winter, like Hokkaido is in Japan. He was not allowed to write detailed letters to the family. In April 1942, the rest of the family had to leave their home and was consigned to Turlock, a temporary “relocation center” in Central California. Turlock was a racetrack where the family was allotted one stall until they were sent to the Gila River Concentration Camp in Arizona.
Every person of Japanese ancestry had a unique experience during WWII. Some, lost their family home and most all of their possessions including treasured items that held special meaning to them which they were forced to leave behind or to destroy out of fear that owning them would arouse unfounded suspicion of disloyalty. Families could only take what they could carry. Some families, through the kindness of friends and neighbors, were eventually able to return to their homes.
For the Day of Remembrance in 2022, due to the pandemic, we didn’t gather in person, but we can remember, or learn about our families and our community's history, perhaps, journal about our feelings on how such injustices should not be allowed to happen again. Family members should not be forced to separate from each other. We can light a candle to remember. We can educate about how to prevent such injustices from ever happening again.
Many Japanese American Citizens League Chapters had virtual events for the 2022 Day of Remembrance. Please see the National JACL website for events through the various Chapters. Our Chapter will be posting thoughts on the Day of Remembrance on our website.
|
|
Photo by VICTOR KIMURA
The Salinas Temporary Detention Center monument at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds
|
|
< "This monument is dedicated to the 3,586 Monterey Bay Area residents of Japanese, most of whom were American citizens temporarily confined in the Salinas Rodeo Grounds during World War II from April to July 1942. They were detained without charges, trial, or establishment of guilt before being incarcerated in permanent camps, mostly in Poston, Arizona. May such an injustice and humiliation never recur.
California Registered Historical Landmark No. 934. Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Japanese American Citizens League Chapters of Salinas Valley, Gilroy, Monterey Peninsula, San Benito County, and Watsonville, and the City of Salinas. Feb., 19, 1984."
|
|
|
|
The City of Santa Cruz honors its front-line pandemic relief volunteers by sending their group threatening letters
By KEITH HENRY
Santa Cruz was silent. I waved to the only other driver I would see that morning as I steered the Food Not Bombs van along Water Street towards the Town Clock with another load of paper products and bread.
Our communities unhoused were left to fend for themselves. The two public restrooms with sinks were closed. The restaurants were closed. The St Francis Soup Kitchen was closed. The Monday night Coffee house was closed. The London Nelson Senior meal was also shuttered. The city’s solution was triage cages in parking lots where according to the city manager’s office, the homeless would be interned for at least 72 hours without food or medical care. They swept about 20 people from the Post Office into their cage behind Wheelworks but it seems they were embarrassed when the Homeless Union and Food Not Bombs arrived with food and they shut it down before the second lunch.
So the all-volunteer groups, Food Not Bombs and the Santa Cruz Homeless Union, set up the COVID-19 Relief Center at the Town Clock on March 14, 2020. A medical social worker from Good Samaritan’s Hospital guided us through the pandemic safety protocol before we set up that first frightening day.
The streets of Santa Cruz would remain empty for weeks. Access to fresh water limited. Those already suffering from mental health issues before the lockdown had their symptoms amplified as the entire community was in a state of shock. Would millions of us die from this mysterious bat virus?
In those early days, the then Mayor Justin Cummings, tried to recruit Food Not Bombs to help the city lure the homeless into their cages but we would not use our good name and reputation as bait for their inhumane plans. After the city had made claims that everyone at Ross Camp would be provided a place to live once the survival camp was evicted, they only ended up driving hundreds of people into the doorways, river banks and the woods of the Pogonip. How could they be trusted with their triage cage scheme?
Our volunteers showed up every day for two years meeting the needs of those neglected by the governments. The Democrats ruled by headline announcing millions in aid for the homeless that never materialized. Trailers left empty in storage lots. Empty hotels left vacant. The celluloid avatars of the Santa Cruz City Council ridiculed the volunteers at Food Not Bombs from their comfy couches.
The world of the quarantined fortunately had no idea of the reality on the streets, and still don’t. Those in government who didn’t cash out in the first days sat at their computer screens snug in their pajamas dictating orders and watched the flat screen of unreality. Their hands stayed clean. It is more than Class Blindness that fuels their hatred for our unhoused neighbors. It's their allegiance to predators of their Build Back Better hedge fund managers who dictate the cruelty of government. Thus they began their policy of ruling by decree.
If leaked information about Donna Myer's meeting with members of the County Supervisors is accurate, our property speculator government plans to remove those they view as unsightly vermin in a massive Navigation to a nowhere facility in South County; those who do not comply will be hauled off to a military base like Camp Roberts. They will call this policy "the obligation to accept shelter." Liberals will be fooled into believing this "final solution" is for our own good.
Meanwhile Food Not Bombs prepared for the years of disaster. We brought two more shipping container pallets of dry goods onto our shelves, in the garages of volunteers and offices of supporters. We organized a complex system of preparing meals, setting up a COVID safe serving facility, marking out social distancing dashes on the pavement, making weekly deliveries of groceries and drinking water to the hundreds huddled at the Benchlands. A team trucked our compost to the Homeless Garden off of Delaware and took piles of cardboard produce boxes to Grey Bears. Another team ordered pallets of food from Second Harvest packing it in our Conex boxes for our kitchen and delivered van loads to the kitchens at San Lorenzo Park. That team also recovered food from farmers markets and Trader Joe's.
We organized an ongoing grocery program for the Live Oak School District and our undocumented neighbors. We had another team arrange pallet loads of compostable paper products and hundreds of dollars of coffee, creamer, sugar and cooking oil from Costco. A spinning satellite of dozens of volunteers made sure we never missed a day in two years. UCSC and Cabrillo College students pitched in. The Volunteer Center and Court Referral sent us an army of help. Many who live on our streets stepped up to help. Nearly half of our core members are unhoused.
The people of Santa Cruz arrived to our meals bearing gifts of canned goods, groceries, blankets and clothing. That first week, a load of handmade cloth masks were left off at our site. The North County CZU Lightning Complex fires drove more people to our meals under the apocalyptic red skies. Families who lost everything arrived to replace the clothing they had lost to the flames.
We scrambled to keep our "vehicular-housed" friends from the calamity of the city tow trucks by buying batteries, paying for smog tests and auto parts. Even so, the city confiscated more than we could save, so their next stop was for a free pup tent and a tarp.
We never missed a day even though the city, county and luxury condominium projects evicted us nearly a dozen times. We spoke with the property owners of the lots on Soquel at Ocean and Front Streets seeking to rent their empty pavement. We spoke with the owner of the abandoned Asian restaurant at Water and Market but he gave us an angry "no." I wandered the parking lots of the County Building with Carol Johnson discussing the possibility of sharing our daily meals on one of their cleanable hard surfaces and investigated moving to the site of the burned sober house in front of the jail. But the high paid Dr. Robert Ratner of Housing for Health sent a 3:55 pm Friday rude email killing that proposal.
Finally, the city rewarded our two years of service that spared downtown from being rampaged by the hungry. The City of Santa Cruz sent Food Not Bombs another of their threats to disrupt the only regular hot meal accessible to those forced to live on our streets. You can see from Assistant City Attorney Cassie Bronson’s letter that she has not been to the Town Clock. The only people that were enjoying the park before we returned, were the very same people who enjoy our daily meal. We never leave trash and the landscaping is as it was before we arrived. Those same complaining minority who are filling the screens of Nextdoor.com with hate and rage have never spent a minute relaxing at the Town Clock. The city is demanding we ask permission to share food and community so they can take that permission away.
A few days later, the county reneged on their agreement to honor our global policy of never requesting permission to share food with the hungry, and the Calvary Episcopal Church gave us 60 days notice to leave their kitchen though they have a commercial license that we paid for and pay $4000 a month for its use.
We all know that America is facing the most dire economic and political crisis since the Great Depression. This is evident every day as we struggle to make even more five-gallon hotel trays of food than we had the week before. We had to pay to have our dumpster picked up more frequently. Our paper product orders are larger and more often.
The very investment firms and hedge funds that own our city government and influence our local media are using the billions the American people gave them in the CARES act to drive up the cost of housing. The LA Times article on Feb. 20, “Rents reach ‘insane’ levels across U.S. with no end in sight,“ reports that “In the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, median rent rose an astounding 19.3% from December 2020 to December 2021, according to a Realtor.com analysis of properties with two or fewer bedrooms.” Thousands of units already stand empty as investment properties across Santa Cruz and many more ghost condominiums are at varying stages of construction sterilizing our once lovely community.
A stock market crash surely wouldn’t be a surprise and we can only hope we are not on the brink of the Third World War so surely it makes good sense to seek to drive Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs off the streets.
Could this moment of full court press to erase the city’s principle source or material and political support for the homeless be a warning that Donna Myers's proposed plan to round up the homeless and remove them from the community is in the near future?
Thankfully Food Not Bombs is free of the chains of the governments that refuse to support their poor. Our autonomy is our strength. We will never become the controlled opposition, bought out by foundation money and promises of inclusion in their system of violence and death.
Join us on the second anniversary of our daily meal at the Town Clock at noon on Sunday, March 13 and celebrate with Johnny and the Free Thinkers. Thank you people of Santa Cruz for making our daily gift of compassion possible.
|
|
Rev. Darrell Darling - Presenté
Photo by ISAAC KLOTZ
The Resource Center for Nonviolence community is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own, Rev. Darrell Darling. Darrell passed very peacefully in his home surrounded by family on Feb. 3. He is survived by his wife Karen Darling, daughter Denise Wyldbore and son-in law-James Campbell, beloved son Robert Wilson, granddaughter Kylie and her husband Gabriel. He is preceded in death by his beloved sons, Matthew and Adam.
His loss resonates throughout our entire RCNV community. We are deeply appreciative of Darrell and his devotion to people, love and faith in all of us. His commitment to civil rights, justice, peace, democracy, interfaith community, reconciliation, and nonviolence were steadfast.
Darrell was a pillar of the RCNV community from the 1980s into 2022, lovingly serving on the board and steering committee with his conviction and perceptions. Darrell was instrumental in working with Scott Kennedy to locate the current facility of the RCNV on Ocean Street in 2011.
Darrell also served in the NAACP Santa Cruz County Branch, the local Democratic Party Central Committee, and Palestine Justice Coalition. He also supported efforts for community policing, the Not In Our Town movement against hate, and interfaith work for peace and justice. Darrell guided, mentored, and supported many leaders and community organizers in Santa Cruz.
Darrell Darling, along with his whole family, answered Dr. King’s call to the Selma, Alabama campaign for voting rights in 1965, joining in the historical Selma-Montgomery march. Rev. Darling graduated from Yale Divinity School in 1966 and was ordained days later in the Illinois United Methodist Conference. Rev. Darling’s Pastoral service included churches in Illinois, New York, and Connecticut, starting churches in Pleasanton and Dublin, California, and pastoring at Davis United Methodist Church for seven years. Rev. Darling served the First United Methodist Church of Santa Cruz from 1978 to 1983.
After leaving the ministry, Darrell and Karen Darling operated the Darling House Bed and Breakfast on West Cliff Drive from 1984–2017. Darrell loved meeting and conversing about life and politics with guests. Darrell and Karen offered the Darling House in community ministry, hosting many fundraising events for justice-led political candidates and organizations. They also contributed to the work of RCNV by providing support and hospitality to guests involved in nonviolent struggles around the world. The Darling House supported the Santa Cruz Sister Cities program, and hosted the Alushta, Crimea mayor’s delegation in 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck.
Darrell Darling put his faith to work. He did not gloss over the deep conflicts and oppressions our society and world suffer. Darrell sustained many of us with his persistent conviction that reconciliation is possible in every situation. We honor the light and dedication he has given us.
A memorial is tentatively being planned for May 7.
In Light and Peace, the Resource Center for Nonviolence Board and Staff.
|
|
Watsonville Film Festival's 10th year
By CONSUELO ALBA AND THE WFF TEAM
We are so excited and proud to celebrate 10 years of sharing incredible stories featuring amazing filmmakers and building community through film.
|
|
This year we will feature more than 30 films online and host a very special in-person screening of "Real Women Have Curves" at the Mello Center, 6 pm, March 12. Our special guest will be L.A.-based playwright and the film's screenwriter, Josefina Lopez. We want to introduce this powerful and relevant film to a new generation of young Latinas. The event is free. If you want to secure a seat, register here.
For more information and a list of this seasons films featuring many local filmmakers, click here.
|
|
ART
Mothership: Voyage Into Afrofuturism
and Oakland Museum of California
By SARAH RINGLER
Mothership: Voyage into Afrofuturism runs only a few more days until Feb. 27 at The Oakland Museum of California in downtown Oakland. The show highlights science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra, filmmaker Kahlil Joseph and more. For the price of admission you also get free posters like the one at the left, or go online to print out your own. Young people, ages 13-16, receive free admission.
|
|
"Black people live the estrangement that science fiction writers imagine."
Greg Tate, author and musician, 1994
From Mothership: Voyage into Afrofuturism Show at the Oakland Museum of Calif
|
|
Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A turkey vulture launches skyward from a fence on Bridge Street in Watsonville.
|
|
Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report - Get your free tests here
By SARAH RINGLER
The Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly releases data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. Total known cases as of Feb. 24 were 46,094, up 5% from two weeks ago when cases numbered 43,295. There were 13 new deaths at a 5% increase.
Because of all the home tests currently available, the numbers of known cases are underestimates according to Corinne Hyland, County Health Services Agency spokesperson. She recommends people with minor symptoms stay home, isolate and rest.
Mask mandates, are being lifted on Feb. 16 in Santa Cruz and twelve other Bay Area counties. Indoor masking is still required by the State for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, in public transportation, health care settings, congregate settings like correctional facilities and homeless shelters, long term care facilities, and in K- 12 schools and childcare settings.
Confused about testing? Lisa Krieger's Jan. 13 front page article in the San Jose Mercury News has comprehensive information gleaned from various sources on how to make some sense of the various tests, incubation periods, contagion, viral levels, etc.
Hospitalizations stayed the same from last week. Click to view a graph of hospitalizations here.
There have been few changes in the last week.
A new category was added that records whether deaths came from vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals. That data is in the chart below.
On the county's vaccination webpage, as of Feb. 21, 80% of the county has had at least one dose and 74% has had two doses. Both numbers have changed little since December. Here are more details on the county's vaccination data.
This webpage also has a link where you can get a digital copy and scannable QR code of your vaccination record. Keep track of your four digit code because that is your access to the site.
The county's Effective Reproductive Number is below one. See chart below. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing.
To get information of COVID-19 testing locations around the county visit this site. Click here to make an appointment to get tested.
Any Californian age 12 or up can get vaccinated for free. For information on getting vaccinated, click here.
|
|
 |
% deaths by ethnicity:
White - 57%
Latinx - 35%
Black - 1%
Asian - 7%
American Native - 0%
Unknown - 0%
% deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 49%/50%
Male - 51%/50%
Deaths by age/252:
25-34 - 2%
35-44 - 3%
45-54 - 4%
55-59 - 2%
60-64 - 6%
65-74 - 18%
75-84 - 23%
85+ - 43%
Deaths by vaccination status:
vaccinated - 23/252 = 9%
unvaccinated - 229/252 = 91%
% active cases testing positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 9%/12%
North county - 43%/56%
South county - 47%/32%
Under investigation - 1%
Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19, 2020 - 7%
June 19-26 - 23%
June 26 to July 3 - 22%
July 3-9 - 23%
July 9-16 - 40%
July 16-23 - 20%
July 23-30 - 27%
July 30-Aug. 6 - 13%
Aug. 6-13- 12%
Aug.14-20 - 16%
Aug.20-28 - 10%
Aug. 28-Sept. 3 - 10%
Sept. 3-10 - 6%
Sept. 10-17- 8%
Sept. 17-24 - 7%
Sept. 25- Oct.1 - 5%
Oct. 1 - 9 - 4%
Oct. 9-15 - 4%
Oct. 15-22 - 5%
Oct. 23-29 - 4%
Oct. 30-Nov. 5 - 6%
Nov. 5-12 - 10%
Nov. 12-19 - 11%
Nov. 19-26 - holiday
Nov. 19-Dec. 3 - 29% 2 weeks of data for this week only
Dec. 3-10 - 16%
Dec. 10-17 - 17%
|
|
|
|
Dec. 17-24 - 14%
Dec. 24-31 - 19%
Jan. 1-7, 2021 - 13%
Jan. 7-14 - 14%
Jan. 15-21 - 11%
Jan. 21-28 - 5%
Jan. 28-Feb. 4 - 5%
Feb. 5-11 - 2%
Feb. 11-18 - 2%
Feb. 18-25 - 1%
Feb. 25-March 5 - 1%
March 5-11 - 1%
March 11-18 - 2%
March 18-25 - .5%
March 25 - Apr. 1 - .7%
Apr. 1-8 - 0.1%
Apr. 9-15 - 1%
Apr. 16-22 - 2%
Apr. 22-30 - 2%
Apr. 30 - May 6 - .3%
May 6-13 - 2%
May 13-20 - 0%
May 24 - Data readjustment by county means percentages cannot be calculated this week.
May 27 - June 3 - 0%
June 3-10 - 0%
June 11-17 - .25%
June 18-24 - 0%
June 25-July 1 - 0%
July 2-8 - .3%
July 9-15 - .2%
July 16-22 - .5%
July 23-29 - 1.2%
July 30-Aug. 5 - 2%
Aug. 6-12 - .7%
Aug.13-19 - 4%
Aug. 20-26 - .7%
Aug. 26-Sept. 2 - 3%
Sept. 2-9 - 2%
Sept. 10-16 - 1%
Sept. 17-22 - 1%
Sept. 23-30 - 2%
Oct. 1-7 - 0%
Oct. 8-14 - 1%
Oct. 15-21 - 1%
Oct. 22-28 - 1%
Oct. 29-Nov. 4 - 1%
Nov. 5-11 - 1%
Nov. 12-18 - 2%
Nov. 19 - Dec. 2 - 2 weeks 2%
Dec. 2-9 - 2%
Dec. 9-16 - 1%
Dec. 16-23 - 1%
Dec. 24-30 - 2%
Dec. 31 - Jan. 6, 2022 - 5% Growth of home tests underestimates cases-see above
Jan. 7-13 - 9%
Jan. 14-20 - 15%
Jan. 21-27 - 9%
Jan. 28 - Feb. 3 - 31%
Feb. 3-10 - 3%
Feb. 11-24 (2 weeks) - 5%
|
|
|
|
Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Fashion Street - A spaniel walks with its owner on a street in Santa Cruz.
|
|
Labor History Calendar for Feb. 18 - March 3, 2022
Feb. 18, 1916 - Magon brothers arrested near Los Angeles, charged with treason for publishing "Regeneración."
Feb. 19, 1942: FDR sends 120,000 West Coast Japanese, including US citizens to concentration camps.
Feb. 19, 1948: Death of Joe Ettro, IWW organizer.
Feb. 20, 1908: Rally for unemployed becomes riot. 18 arrested for demanding jobs in Philadelphia.
Feb. 20, 1990: UMW settles 10-mnth Pittston strike.
Feb. 21, 1934: Augusto Cesar Sandino assassinated in Nicaragua.
Feb. 22, 1855: Trials of Eureka Rebellion miners begin, end in acquittals for all in Australia.
Feb. 23, 1904: Hearst's San Francisco Chronicle attacks Japanese workers.
Feb. 23, 1996: 2-day general strike begins in Hamilton, Ontario.
Feb. 23, 2018: Teachers strike shuts down public schools across West Virginia.
Feb. 24, 1834: Six farm laborers arrested and deported to Australia for organizing a union.
Feb. 25, 1913: IWW Paterson silk strike begins.
Feb. 25, 1941: 2-day Dutch strike against Nazi deportation of Jews begins.
Feb. 25, 2010: 21 killed in Garib sweater factory fire in Bangladesh.
Feb. 26, 1877: Vancouver Island's first Coal Miners' Union.
Feb. 27, 1943: Mine disaster kills 75 miners in Red Lodge, Montana.
Feb. 28, 1921: El Salvadoran shoemakers win strike for higher wages but prompts government crackdown.
March 1, 1907: IWW strikes in Portland, Oregon sawmills.
March 1, 1921: Kronstadt rises demanding workers' rule in Russia.
March 2, 1911: IWW wins Fresno free speech fight.
March 2, 1937: US Steel, now USX, begins to bargain with CIO.
March 3, 1903: Colorado city free speech fight begins.
|
|
Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Kitty's Cinnamon Babka
By SARAH RINGLER
Even Cinnabons with their sticky sweet frosting can't compete with cinnamon babka with its gooey, rich, cinnamon flavor. Thin layers of rich yeast bread dough are nested against strips of cinnamon and sugar filling, then twisted and baked.
Babka in Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Russian all refer to the name "grandmother" or "old woman," and they were probably the ones who had made it enough times to make it perfectly. Even though I'm already a grandmother and have made the recipe three times, I'm still trying to perfect it and may need another decade to make it predictably good. My biggest problem was to create even layers of dough with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. The recipe is from Kitty's Kozy Kitchen online kittyskozykitchen.com. It was the easiest one I could find, plus I used to have a friend named Kitty Miles in Bakersfield.
Fruit and chocolate can also be rolled into the dough and sometimes the dough is covered with a topping of streusel, a flour and sugar mixture. Parchment paper makes it easy to remove the loaf from the pan and also catches some of the sugary filling that escapes. As you know, burnt sugar is a big smelly mess.
This bread freezes well and I recommend slicing it first so you can remove just the slices you want. Heat in a toaster oven on a baking sheet but not a toaster, which will be ruined by the burnt sugar. Finally, note that you will use the whites and yolks of both eggs by the end.
Filling:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts - optional
Dough:
1 1/2 teaspoons bakers' yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 cup of warm water
1/3 cup whole milk, heated to 110 degrees
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
2 large egg yolks (plus 1 large egg white to be used later to brush on top of the dough)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a small bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast, stir a bit and let sit until yeast is bubbly.
Heat the milk over medium low heat until it starts to form a skin on top. Remove the skin and add butter. Heat until butter melts. Set aside to cool
When butter-milk mixture is cooled but still warm, put into a large bowl. Stir in the dissolved yeast. Add the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla and beat well.
Add half the flour and beat well for about a minute or more trying to incorporate air into the dough. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Let the dough rise in the oven. To prepare the oven, adjust an oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, turn it off. Butter a large bowl.
Beat in salt and then stir in the rest of the flour into the yeast and flour mixture until the dough comes off the side of the bowl. Add more flour if necessary. If you are not using a stand mixer with the dough hook, remove the dough and knead on the floured board until dough is no longer is sticky, adding more flour, for about 5 minutes. Knead about 3 minutes using a stand mixer. This dough is soft and pliable so don't add too much flour.
When dough is kneaded, form into a ball and put into the buttered bowl. Cover with plastic and let sit in the warmed oven for 1 hour.
At the end of the hour, you can punch down the dough, and continue to make the babka or you can punch it down, cover and refrigerate it until you are ready to make it. It will continue to rise in the refrigerator.
Make the filling by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon for later and set both aside.
Line an 8 1/2 by 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper letting the paper drape over the sides. Or butter the pan. Roll out the dough to a 20 by 18 inch rectangle letting it rest now and again. Spread with dough with most of the filling leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges.
Warm the oven at 200 degree and turn off again like before. Working from short side, roll dough into cylinder and pinch along the seam to seal. Position cylinder seam side up and roll back and forth until stretched to 20-inch length. Spread the 1 tablespoon of reserved filling over top of cylinder. Fold cylinder on top of itself and pinch ends securely to seal. Gently twist double cylinder twice to form a double figure eight. Place shaped dough seam side down in prepared pan, cover loosely with plastic, and let rise in warmed oven until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and then preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly beat the egg white in bowl. Remove plastic from pan. Brush loaf with beaten egg. Bake until deep golden brown and loaf registers 190 degrees, about 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and cool completely, about 2 hours.
To make the babka first and bake it later, before the last rising, cover the shaped loaf with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Let dough sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
|
|
Send your story, poetry or art here: Please submit a story, poem or photo of your art that you think would be of interest to the people of Santa Cruz County. Try and keep the word count to around 400. Also, there should be suggested actions if this is a political issue. Submit to coluyaki@gmail.com
If you are enjoying the Serf City Times, forward it on to others. We need readers, artists, photographers and writers.
Thanks, Sarah Ringler
|
|
Welcome to Serf City Times Over time, our county has grown more stratified and divided with many people feeling left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, health, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on, what actions you can take and how you can support these groups.This is a self-funded enterprise and all work is volunteer.
Copyright © 2022 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
