I participated in the Ski for Women at Tsalteshi Trails this year, and as I glided through the trees, covered in pink lace, I thought about other scenes I’ve witnessed on “Super Bowl Sunday.” Belligerent men screaming at a screen while their anxious others tiptoe up to deliver yet another frosty can. Wide eyes peek around corners, and shoulders wince as co-opted opponents score again and incite the rage-filled chorus. The rest of the day, and likely longer, depends upon the performance of wealthy strangers a thousand miles away, and they are losing this game. Tempers and volume peak in the fourth quarter, and after the confetti flies and guests wobble off with keys in hand, the women are left to clean up the disaster.
All over the country, this testosterone-and-beer-fueled drama unfolds on this Sunday and every Sunday from September to February. A profitable obsession with aggression and unattainable excess, it reminds small men of a past in which each could call himself a king, free to rule his captive subjects with his fists. I’ve known men like this, but thankfully, I have never felt their wrath or suffered their bitterness at the loss of their unquestioned rule. I have been lucky, but many are not, and I watch with dread as proselytizing policy makers attempt to drag women back to that time by our hair like the cavemen they are. We cannot let them succeed.
Despite my feminism, I am hopelessly conditioned to serve and acquiesce, and my home functions exactly how these men would insist, but I vote and parent with hope for an evolved future where there is only one game day battlefield — a green one marked in yards — and men are no longer permitted to rule from petty thrones.
I served cheeseburgers on that Sunday for my husband, who knows better than to raise his fist or voice to me, and who helps me teach equality and earned, not born, authority to our precious young man. Like all great things familiar and traditional, these sesame seed buns were made from scratch and born of a woman’s labor.
Ingredients:
½ cup warm whole milk
½ cup warm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
Combine the warm milk, water, and yeast in a bowl. You want the milk and water to be at about body temperature to give the yeast a happy home in which to thrive.
Whisk the melted butter, oil and egg together in a small bowl and set aside.
Sift the flour and salt into the bowl of your mixer.
When the yeast is bubbly, pour it into the flour.
Add the egg and butter mixture, then mix on low speed with the paddle attachment.
When the dough begins to come together, switch to the dough hook and knead for 5-8 minutes, until smooth and springy.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, toss the ball around to coat in oil, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 ½ hours.
Cut the dough into 6 equal portions and roll into balls.
Space them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush with a little more oil, and cover with a clean kitchen towel.
Let the buns rise for another hour. You should see air bubbles just under the surface when they are ready to bake.
Beat an egg and brush the top of each bun, then sprinkle on a generous amount of sesame seeds.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the tops are brown and they sound hollow when you thump them with your fingers.
Let cool completely before you slice.
