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WHEN MY GRANDDAUGHTER RAN WITH GLEE across our backyard this past weekend, spying plastic Easter eggs hidden in the grass, I thought to myself, this is why I speak up. Our little patch of green felt joyful after such an emotionally hard week in Nashville, but less than a mile away, funerals were underway for the three 9-year-olds and three adults gunned down at school on the morning of March 27. Black and red bows—the Covenant School colors—are tied onto mailboxes across Nashville in solidarity so that even those of us who don’t know the victims’ families can do something to display our deep anguish for them. Egg hunting has been a part of my family’s life for as long as I can remember. It goes like this: You close your eyes until someone hides eggs for you to find. It’s a game of hide and seek that placated my three children on rainy days and long weekends no matter the season. We were known to egg hunt for hours. The wonder of finding an egg in the grass or behind a sofa cushion never grows old.
Something’s gotta changeHoliday traditions like hunting Easter eggs or making hot cross buns have given our lives framework. They remind us of people no longer with us, and they keep us childlike and vulnerable, too. You may say dangers are everywhere—in travel, online, and from our more volatile weather. I’ve heard all kinds of theories and rationalizations this past week. Just days ago, Brent Key, Georgia Tech’s head football coach addressed a press conference following his team’s spring training but wouldn’t talk football until he first spoke what was really on his mind. His mother is a third grade teacher, and his daughter who isn’t yet 5 was performing in a school play when the massacre took place in Nashville. Tears welled up in the eyes of this brave father who addressed the reporters, the players, and the fans—people who follow football, who likely own guns, and who feel threatened that their second amendment rights are in danger because moms across America are demanding gun reform. While he has been criticized since for not mentioning the word ‘’gun’’ or ‘’reform,’’ to me he is still a hero because he started a conversation. And he wasn’t a mom screaming with rage and couldn’t be painted as hysterical. To paraphrase the coach, if his words affect one person, even if they make hundreds mad, then so be it, he said. ‘’Something’s gotta change. Everybody please do something.’’ We teach our children to speak up, so why can’t we? Heather Cox Richardson writes eloquently in her Letters from an American Substack newsletter this week about what motivates people to call for change. ‘’As James Meredith recalled of his long struggle to desegregate the University of Mississippi in the 1960s: “My entire crusade at Ole Miss, you see, was a love story. It is a story about my love for America….”
Hot Cross Buns = yeast + flour + joyEach week leading up to Easter, the simple ingredients of flour, yeast, eggs, and butter have been mixed, set someplace warm to rise, then rolled into rounds and baked into the symbolic and revered hot cross buns. The truth is, my mother never baked them for us. She placed an order at Becker’s Bakery on 12th Avenue South in Nashville. They were soft, squishy, filled with raisins and candied cherries, and marked by a thick cross of white icing on top. In the late 1500s, many English citizens believed hot cross buns had magical or even healing powers. They were so popular that Queen Elizabeth I began restricting their sale to only Good Friday, Christmas, and funerals so the magic wouldn't be overused. The buns’ link to Good Friday is understandable as the cross slashed in the top of the dough before baking represents the crucifixion of Jesus. Some people believed by slashing the dough with an X you could let out the devil. The recipe I share today is lovely and deliciously fun to customize. The dough feels good in your hands to shape and let rise. Right now, the ritual of touching soft dough and repeating steps of a cherished recipe is meditational. You can use my dough, which is a riff on the Yeasted Fruit Loaf I shared for St. Patrick’s Day, or make these with your favorite challah or brioche recipe. If you love dried fruit, load them up, and if feeling fancy, soak the fruit pieces first in a little warm water or rum to soften them. Add the grated rind of half an orange or lemon if you like. And vary the flour to your liking. Baking hot cross buns and hiding Easter eggs help me feel more normal, which is temporary, I know, as I drive past the Covenant School daily and its steeple on the hill won’t let me forget the tragedy that took place inside. Gun manufacturing is a $9 billion industry that has satiated a hunger for weapons. There are more guns than people in the United States. How and why America became so saturated with weapons is a topic well worth discussing. My state legislators are spitting out short term fixes to gun violence in schools like fortifying schools and arming teachers with firearms. It just might work if we were all gathered in the basement and this was a middle school video game. But it’s not, and this is real, and I’m as desperate as you are to stop the madness. I’m all for red flag laws, banning assault rifles, and baking hot cross buns. -xo, Anne P.S. This Thursday, another Easter favorite to bake—Mashula’s Coconut Cake. Here are some resources for speaking up & more Easter recipes:
THE RECIPE: Hot Cross BunsHot cross buns have been a life’s work for me. I was raised on them being soft, squishy, and white but as I have gotten older I prefer them with more flavor. So I add mashed potatoes and a little of the potato cooking water to the dough and follow the recipe I shared several weeks ago for Irish Fruited Yeast bread. The cinnamon in the icing is a recent addition. Plan ahead one day so you can let the dough rest in the fridge, which makes it easier to roll into balls to bake the next. And for buns all the same size, pull out the kitchen scale! Makes about 20 Prep: 40 to 45 minutes Rise: 30 minutes proof, overnight rise in fridge, then 45 minutes rise before baking Bake: 22 to 27 minutes
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