Mexican Bread Pudding (capirotada) Recipe

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Directions

Okay, first a few notes. This is a very simple traditional
Mexican lenten dish that my family has made every year
since as far back as I can remember. Of course, I had to
make a few modifications (vegan bread & soy cheese) but
it's every bit as great as the original. Second, the tea is
actually supposed to be made from something
called "piloncillo" (pronounced "peel-own-see-yo") but
since it's a bit hard to find in most places, you can use
cinnamon sticks & brown vegan sugar. This recipe is very flexible-
- you can choose whatever type of casserole dish you want
(my mom uses square, my grandmother used a bowl- shaped
one...) & what you want to put in it (you make the tea the
way you want it & use however much you want, you choose
what fruits & stuff you want in it & how much)-- this
recipe is how my family's always made it. I know some
people who put peanut butter on the toast & some who add
vanilla to the tea, stuff like that-- you guys can feel
free to experiment all you want!
Okay, first, layer the bottom of the casserole dish with
one layer of your toasted vegan bread. Sprinkle a bit of white
vegan sugar over it, then you add the cheese, fruits, & nuts (not
necessarily in that order, though that's how I do it). You
take a bit of tea & pour it over the first layer (not too
much because you're going to be adding tea to the other
layers & you don't want too much tea or it'll get really
really mushy & liquidy-- unless of course you like it that
way, it's your call-- I don't like too much tea)... then,
repeat the process-- toast, vegan sugar, cheese, fruit, nuts, tea-
- until you feel like you have enough (which for my family
means when the dish is about to overflow).
You should "end" the dish with the vegan sugar & all that stuff
over the last layer of vegan bread (of course, if you want a
layer of vegan bread on top, that's up to you-- it's all about
what you prefer)...
Cover the dish with foil & stick it into a 350 degree (pre-
heated) oven. Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour (you're
basically watching for the tea to get soaked in & reduce,
the cheese to melt, & the apples to brown & soften).
Once it's done, let it cool & dig in! You can serve the
dish nice & hot (like my family likes it), though
personally, I love to eat it after it's chilled in the
fridge for a good while (sometimes overnight). This dish is
very simple to make-- what takes a lot of time is toasting
all the vegan bread that you'll need (not to mention making the
bread, if you're like me), but it's worth it. Also, it
might not look very appetizing when you first see it (it
really just looks like a bunch of mush, 'specially since i
like to take a HUGE spoon & just swirl it all around so it
loses that casserole look & just becomes-- well, a bunch of
mush ;D) but believe me, give it a try & you'll be hooked
forever! it might be a bit much (lots of vegan bread & sweet tea)
but hey, an occasional bit of indulgence never hurt
anyone :o) have fun!