Bagel Time

I've never been to New York. Not that I wouldn't love to go. But for some reason, I've never traveled to the Northeast. That means I've never had a real bagel. I've only had cheap imitations, mostly from the frozen food aisle. The occasional bakery bagel around here doesn't compare to a real NY bagel, I'm certain. But I trust that native New Yorker Isa Chanda Moskowitz knows how to make an authentic bagel, so when I want good bagels, I make her recipe from Vegan Brunch:

Granted, I sub out whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose in the recipe, and I'm sure that makes my version less than authentic. But they're still damn tasty. And chewy the way I imagine a proper bagel should be.

I ate these for breakfast all week last week. Made a big ole batch and froze half for thawing out each day. I served them with Isa's version of Vegetable Cream Cheese:

It's just Tofutti whipped up with diced celery, carrots, and red bell pepper. I topped each dressed bagel with a sprinkle of Cavendar's Greek Seasoning (because I LOVE this stuff!). Perfect weekday breakfast.

Now maybe someday I'll get a chance to travel to New York to compare. For now, Isa's bagels are the best I've had.

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