Stasis, Reflection And Bagels
We’re in stasis, or at least it seems that way. It’s that moment when you float in-between it all, the time between now, and what’s next. The pause between the old and the new. Things are changing, I feel it and talked about in my blog post last week, but we’re not quite there yet, or at least it’s not quite meant to be.
After inklings of fall last week, we were pulled rather abruptly and harshly back into the throws of summer. The heat returned with a vengeance this week, and the desert dry with it, roasting the garden that had only just gotten relief by a tease of rain. There’s at least another week of this before cooler temps (and possibly more rain) prevail. Looks like we’re stuck in that cycle for a while longer.
Then COVID-19 reared it’s ugly head again, with French hospitalization numbers finally (inevitably I guess) starting to tick back up again. It’s only a small increase so far, but the trend has already sparked talks about local lock-downs. Hopefully we’ll avoid the worst, but either way we’re definitely stuck with that one a little longer.
But we had a bright spot too. This week we received the final (and I really do believe it might be the final, this time!) approval for our septic tank installation. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out, and of course I remain objectively skeptical (for the sake of my mental health). As I used to say in sales “the order is not in the bag, until it’s in the bag”. But if this really is the final piece of paperwork and everything goes to plan, then work to install the septic will start next week. YESSSS!
So this week we’re just floating, and waiting, hopeful in anticipation, but also somewhat stuck at the same time. I know changes are coming, but we’re also not quite there yet. It’s a set-back, but not a halt. Such is life sometimes. In between it all we have a moment of pause which has allowed me to indulge in a moment of reflection, making this past week rather interesting, despite it all. You could say I went on a journey, even though I stayed right at home. And it was in large part, thanks to you….
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Two weeks ago you guys (yes, you, my dear blog readers!) started me on a journey. It was my post about French grocery stores that launched it all, and more specifically the comments that followed.
Two eagle-eyed blog readers pointed out Philadelphia cream cheese on one of my pics, a brand new item in our local store that I hadn’t noticed before. It was a total revelation!
This kind of new stock happens from time to time, and it’s always rather exciting when it does. My biggest coup prior to this was when our local Carrefour starting stocking Hendricks Gin, a higher-end gin that I’d only managed to procure through online shipping prior to that. It was a happy surprise that happened late last year, and it was followed (even more happily) by the stocking of Fever Tree tonic mere months later. Score! I seem to be the only person who ever buys these two items, but our local stock continues to thrive. Happy days, happy hours..
But the discovery of this new gem, of real cream cheese in the depths of rural France (yesssss!) was a whole different kind of excitement that took me down a completely different route.
Within days I started having intense flashbacks to New York City, and the years we traveled there in the RV. I remembered a crisp autumn morning walking Polly along the New Jersey waterfront by the Hudson River with views of the big city sparkling in the background in the early light. I could hear the bustle of river ferries, the buzz of morning joggers and commuters on their way to work. I could smell the local coffee shop churning out fresh Joe, and I was inundated by the taste of just-baked chewy, dense bagels, toasted and loaded to perfection with layers of unique NYC flavor.
“Cream Cheese and lox with everything on it, please”
Oh yeah, that’s some seriously good stuff….
So my memories turned to cravings, and my cravings to an obsession and an idea that I could not shake. Perhaps my pandemic baking skills had progressed enough to make bagels? Actual, real NYC bagels? Could it be possible to get anywhere close, to re-create that memory? Clearly, there was only one way to find out.
The Bagel Experiment
So I started researching, and thinking, and experimenting.
New York Bagels are astoundingly simple in their ingredients. A good bread flour (T65 here in France), yeast, water, salt and just a smidgen of sugar. The secret is their smoothness and chewiness, the first made possible by creating a dense dough and kneading/working it into a completely smooth ball, the second made possible by boiling the dough in water before baking it. Also, apparently New York Bagels need a full 2-minute boil on each side, a specific extra that creates their particularly dense-chewy texture.
After extensive deliberation I settled on this recipe from Sophisticated Gourmet and followed it to a tee. I made a few miss-steps along the way (not enough rise the first time around), but in the end the bagels turned out brilliantly. A bit on the small side and not quite perfect, but aaaalmost perfect, and more importantly their taste & texture was spot on. I was even able to reproduce the result a few days later, the ultimate test of any good recipe. A very happy success!
New York Bagel experiment….done!
The Cream Cheese Trial
Of course I found cream cheese in the store thanks to you guys, but just for extra credit I stumbled across this ridiculously easy cream cheese recipe from Bigger Bolder Baking, and decided (for science purposes, naturally) to give it a try.
It’s a super simple recipe that only requires whole milk, lemon and around 5 minutes of cooking time. The lemon creates instant curdles which you simply strain, and then whiz up with a touch of salt into a creamy result. It’s not an exact cream cheese replica (no cultures involved), but it is SO easy and it really is a wonderful approximation. If you ever have the chance, give it a try.
Cream cheese trial….achieved!
A Figgy Topping
The last part of my bagel adventure was creating the ultimate jam topping, and for that our fig tree came in for the win.
As I mentioned last week figs grow almost wild here, and right now they are going….so-to-speak…bananas. Our garden tree is around 10 feet high and has already generated around 25 lbs of figs so far with no immediate end in sight.
Of course we’ve eaten a ton directly off the tree, although we’ve had to curb that tenancy just a smidgen for the sake of our septic system. You see figs are known to have a rather….errrrmmm…stimulating effect on the bowels, in fact a very stimulating effect. So besides giving you a sugar high, they will also provide you with a bonus internal cleanse, if you eat enough of them.
So we’ve been freezing them (you can freeze figs whole, as long as you lay them out on a baking tray to freeze individually first), making salads with them (fig and feta cheese is a match made in heaven), adding them to greek yogurt (simply yummy if you smash them up a bit first) and of course giving them away.
For the final hurrah, we’ve cooked a bunch into a dense, thick, delectable jam.
Once again, I found a good online recipe, this time from The Spruce Eats. It’s a classic pectin-free mash of figs & lemon juice + lemon rind, which is then cooked slowly for an hour, then heated to 220F (for gelling) before it’s canned. I modified the recipe with a dash of balsamic vinegar (for depth of flavor) and it turned out perfect.
Figgy topping…success!
And Of Course A Lox Ending
So yeah, we’ve been gorging ourselves on New York City style bagels this week. Bagels for breakfast with fried eggs, bagels with cream cheese & fig jam, and of course the ultimate New York statement….bagels with cream cheese, lox and everything on it, including capers, of course (no sane person would go without).
I have to admit that when I took that first bite, I was immediately whisked back in our old RV, with our 2 kitties, Polly and Paul.
It seems like so long ago, even though I know it was only a few years back, and yet it also felt like yesterday. So much has happened in our life since then, so many miles traveled, a country moved, a worldwide pandemic, a life in rural France and of course our kitties who have crossed the rainbow bridge. But that past is also an indelible part of us, something we’ll carry with us forever more.
In this pause, this moment before the next, it was nice to take that trip back in time again. To feel, hear, and taste that beautiful memory. It may just have been a simple pic of some cream cheese, but my-oh-my it took me on a wonderful adventure this week. And for that, my dear blog readers, I thank you.
My question for you this week -> Do YOU have a favorite travel food memory? Something that immediately whisks you back to somewhere you’ve loved? Perhaps something you cook at home to re-live that? DO comment & share below!
You’ve hit on a favorite topic! Did you know that when prisoners of war, survivors in a raft in the middle of an ocean (think “Unbroken”), and others who have been forced into captive states of minds and places (such as migrant camps and our COVID deprivations) almost always result in conversations about food, memories of food, types of food preparation and food stories to past the time? and 25 pounds of figs!!! You guys are SO lucky!
I do believe that food is something that connects us all, and that memories of food can bring us together. It’s such a simple thing, but it can be so powerful.
Nina
Food memories – too many to list, but here goes – can’t have many of these any more in my gluten-free regimen.
a) Italian food in Japan – the best. Perfect al-dente pasta, margherita pizzas, and a perfect, basic tomato sauce. The hot chili peppers to top the pizza pack a kick too !!
b) Green onion pancakes in Taiwan, usually at the night market – hot off the stove, chewy, oniony, packed with some green leafy vegetables sometimes.
c) NYC – When I was dating my wife in NY, there was a patisserie near 100th and Broadway that made a killer Napolean. Brings back memories.
d) Seems like I discover wine favorites on travel. In one of our sales conferences in Maui, at the Ritz, I discovered a fabulous Riesling – Zilliken. Off-dry, with just a hint of bubbles and sweetness, very crisp and with a finish that went on forever. And on a flight from Manila to Singapore, SQ served another excellent Riesling, though a bit sweeter – Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt, a winery from the 17th century that specializes in Rieslings.
Ahhhh, some wonderful memories there. I could taste those green onion pancakes as soon as you mentioned them (I miss Taiwanese food so much). And Italian food in Asia…..YES. I remember eating at the Italian restaurant in Taipei 101 Tower. One of the best Italian meals I have had outside of Italy.
Thanks for sharing all those.
Nina
Next week you will be able to poop with abandon! Le merde sans limite! Hourra!
I can barely wait…..imagine the freedom…
Nina
I have a lavendar bush here in California and don’t know how should cut trimmingd, etc. Help!
Love your blogs!!!!
Fellow Rver – Roxanna
For lavender there’s a couple of trimming options.
If you want maximum oils from the flowers you should cut the stalks when around 1/4 of the flowers have opened (usually early summer). Then hang them upside down in bunches to dry.
If you wait until the end of the summer (like us) then you can still cut the stalks and hang them upside down to dry. They’ll still have some good scent/oils left, just not nearly as much as if you harvest earlier.
Either way, don’t cut back the plant completely now. Just cut the stalks off (there will still be some leaves and under-bush left). You can then either let the plant winter that way, or you can prune it back harder in late fall. You can also prune it early spring before the first growths.
Here’s a good link with some photos and details: https://homesteadandchill.com/how-to-harvest-dry-lavender/
Hope that helps!!
Nina
Food memories! When I lived in Taos NM a couple arrived from NYC, opened a coffee shop and imported bagel and lox from NYC. Nothing like them! Yes, bagel, cream cheese, lox and capers. Totally. Congrats on your success! And since you’re into adventures, maybe you could learn how to distill the lavender oil.
You know I’ve been thinking about lavender oil. In fact my brain has been bouncing around the idea of essential oil, making soaps and other such luxuries. Could be fun?
My only potential hitch is the harvest time. For maximum oils I know you’re supposed to harvest much earlier (when the lavender flowers just start to open), but the bees (and us) were just enjoying it so much that I couldn’t bring myself to chop it. So now I’ll just have to see how my late harvest turns out after we’ve dried it. It’ll be a good experiment anyway!
Nina
Small pleasures and good memories get us through whatever comes next. Thanks Nina……
I think Polly has the right prospective on things…Life is to enjoy, the bumps are to be expected!
Polly has the best perspective on everything. I need to learn to be more dog 🙂
Nina
The bloggers at Live Work Dream wrote a book on exactly how to do that!
What a brave undertaking – bagels and cream cheese. You go girl!! Being from PA, I’ve given fastnachts a try but never bagels. We are relatively new campers and are still developing our own food traditions. We have begun taking along the ingredients for Reuben Sandwiches when we first head out for a trip, and it is our first meal on road. During our first year, I had avocados and no idea what I was going to use them for. I had read about avocado toast and gave it a whirl. It has become one of our favorite breakfasts.
Fastnachts eh??? You threw something completely new at me there. I immediately looked them up and I think I may have tried them years ago in Germany (as a tourist), but the exact memory escapes me. They look delish!!
And yes, a good Reuben Sandwich. That is something special indeed!!
Nina
Have you ever made candied figs ? Mmmmm, my mom used to make them, we also have an old tree that produces like crazy. They last for months candied, we keep them in the frig or freezer. Time consuming, but not hard to do.
Candied figs? No I’ve never tried that. Sounds wonderfully divine. I’ll look it up.
Nina
Try them, they are wonderful. Here is a recipe that is close to my moms. I add cinnamon and ginger. I also simmer for 20 minutes to half hour each day. Layered in tins or containers, they make great Christmas gifts.
https://pin.it/6CtedsG
Lovely, thanks!
Nina
Strawberry rhubarb pie at a cafe on the McKenzie River in Oregon. Fresh salsa and simple fresh grilled fish on the beach under a palapa after snorkelling in Cozumel over 20 years ago. A fabulous al fresco dinner in Halibut Cove, Alaska. A teriyaki burger with the garliciest fries ever at Lake Tahoe. This was a fun trip down memory lane. Thank you, Nina!
Linda, do you know about the Holiday Farm fire in Oregon-@ 150,000 acres, started on the McKenzie River and burned all the way almost to Eugene. Blue River destroyed and the Mohawk Valley under level 3 evacuation orders until yesterday. It’s been heartbreaking. The farm where we normally spend the summer in our RV is safe, for now, but it was really close. The fire is still burning.
Pauline – It’s been heartbreaking to read about all the fires in Oregon, many in our old favorite RV stomping grounds. I still have many friends in the area evacuated or displaced by the fires. I really hope rain and relief for everyone comes soon.
Nina
Linda – Oh yes, really garlicky fries….they’re an American specialty that I miss. I may have to try making them here.
Nina
Lavender tea, lavender honey, lavender lemonade, lavender vinegar, dried lavender sachet, lavender soap. Just off the top of my head
So many good ideas…I hope there’s enough essential oils left in my (very late) harvest to whip some of these up.
Nina
The bagels look incredible. I remember you went gluten-free…I take it you’re back to gluten in your home? I’ve been gluten-free since 2016, and perhaps the biggest victory of my last NYC trip was finding a place to get the PERFECT New York gluten-free bagel with cream cheese and lox at a New York deli. Such a treat and so worth going out of my way.
For my birthday each year, I get gluten-free bagels, lox and cream cheese, and capers of course. 🙂
You are absolutely right. I was gluten-free for many years. I’ve managed to incorporate some gluten back into my life now, and I don’t know if it’s because the wheat is different here in France (??) or that my digestive system has changed, but I seem to tolerate it much better than I used to. I still can’t eat bread everyday, but I can have a few bagels and be ok (apart from a little gas…probably TMI I know lol).
Gluten-free bagels are such a treat. And NYC does have some amazing places that make them. Glad you add capers too (it’s a must) 🙂
Nina
It does seem like we make a few steps forward then have to dance backward a few. Stasis indeed. At least if you can get the septic done you’ll have something that gets all the way over the hill :-)) Your bagels and toppings are a work of art – I’m so impressed!!!
We seem to be in a perpetual dance around the circle this year….the little wins keep me sane 🙂
Nina
Loved your New York city blogs. I’ve not tried to make bagels, maybe I should try! I spent lots of time on Staten Island working and fell in love with New York bagels, stopping by a bagel shop on my way to the airport and tucking the bagels into my luggage before checking it. Did you knead the dough by hand or use a dough hook?
For my first batch I used a hook, but I felt I may have overworked it a bit, so for my second I kneaded by hand. To be honest both turned out fine. It’s a very “dense” dough, so it’s pretty easy to handle. Getting the dough-balls smooth (for the individual bagels) is the hardest/longest part….you really have to work the little balls (roll, lightly press, roll etc.) for quite a while to get them smooth. But if you do that step well, the final bagel surface will be beautiful.
Nina
Oh my goodness … nothing beats an extremely RIPE finger of apple banana right off the stalk. They take me back to the condo we stay at in Maui. They have banana trees everywhere on the grounds, including the parking lot! They cut a huge stalk and hang it outside the laundry room for the residents to help themselves. Apple bananas are so much more superior to the standard supermarket bananas. Banana bread made with them is simply heaven. Once in a very great while they can be found in the supermarkets in Northern NV as “baby bananas.” Love love love them!
Ah yes Miami Apple bananas. Amazing!!! We used to eat them when we lived in Asia too.
Nina
Mmmmmm… Food is often the best travel memory! The meal at The Cellar Restaurant in Anstruther, Scotland — appetizer of salmon three ways, followed by the most sublime halibut I’ve ever eaten. The fluke (wall-eyed flounder) my assistant’s husband caught fresh, which I soaked in milk, rolled in cornmeal, and sautéed in butter (we were at a vacation house, so I count this as travel food). Pretty much any lobster roll at a shack along the coast of Maine. The venison stew in Prague. The beef goulash at La Trattoria Bohemia (a weird but utterly delicious little Italian-Czech mash-up restaurant in Sacramento). Pretty much everything we ate onboard the Norwegian Breakaway on a western Caribbean cruise a couple of years ago. Sigh. One day we’ll travel again! In the meantime, you’ve got me craving bagels and lox!
What wonderful memories! Thanks for sharing them.
Nina
I was up in the Seirra’s in Strawberry Valley CA where the power lines end. A simple sign on a tree said Peaches and up the gravel road we met the drunken caretaker who also mined for gold and he gathered us some peaches that had fallen from the tree that morning. The sweetest memory. I can recal the redolence of those peaches at will.
I’m a loyal reader since 1993; thank you Nina!
What a unique and special memory! Thanks for sharing that.
Nina
Your bagels turned out beautiful. I tried my hand at sourdough bagels a few months ago, they tasted okay, but I thought we too tough. I’ll give your recommended recipe a look over, thanks for sharing. Those figs look heavenly.
If you try them again, go for a classic recipe (not sourdough) and play around will the boil time. I boiled my first batch for just over a minute (each side), and I’d say they turned out moderately chewy. So for my 2nd batch I went for the full two minute boil (each side) and that definitely made them chewier (which I personally like). You may prefer a lesser boil.
Nina
Thank you so much for lavendar pruning info! Very helpful.
Keep up the excellent writing and photos!
We are looking forward to reading about any upcoming travel adventures you may be able to undertake. We have been stuck at home for nearly six months and are looking to getting back on the road in mid-October assuming things remain relatively calm in terms of COVID. So far so good in that regard. I am also so glad that you outlasted “The Man” and finally have your permit!
Can’t wait to follow your travels too Bob. It’s always nice when I see my friends get out.
Nina
Thanks for sharing your adventures. Sounds like it’s time to make apple lavender jam for those bagels. Bon Appetit!
“Laura in The Kitchen” has a marvelous Whipped Feta Dip for figs (and other things) that is to die for.
I lived in New Mexico for many years, so whenever I can get some really good green chile I stock up on it. Also, while there last year, I went to a lavender farm in Abiquiu, NN. They had the best lavender everything! Applesauce, honey, jelly, scones, cookies. Yum!
Memories of food for me was family reunions we had three big family reunions. The smell of everything barbecuing from roast pork chops chicken hot dogs your name it was on the grill someplace that was just one table the other table had all the salads and main dishes we always had about 60 70 people there for your unions depending on which family member we were related to depending on how much food we would bring and when it was it is time goes on it was like you said you just memories I’m kind of like the last Mohican mostly cousins are left about four of them and all the rest have passed in concludes my brothers so every time I get a chance to barbecue smell the beef that’s cooking potato salad they’re always with the best and homemade ice cream what memories they do bring back just miss the people that we had so much fun to volleyball and softball seem like the day started early 9:00 and everybody was during the day loving fun laughter everybody was having a great time now it’s silent The farmhouse is gone the barns are gone and all the building for hogs and chickens for eggs and all the grinders we had doing our own feed gone farm is still in 100 year farm in our family but it won’t be very long before somebody else will want it it was farmsteaded by my grandpa giving to my mom god, I miss those people in all three different reunions were fun so it’s me now and basically only me and one other member of my immediate family that comes over once more times are really changing but the smell is still the same thanks for listening and I hope you’re memories of family reunions are great.
Food and family, two of the best memories. It is truly sad when those things change, as family drifts away or pass. I do hope new memories come you way. Thanks for sharing.
Nina
This post really started a trip down memory lane for us. We have been half-time RV’ers for the last 12 years. So many places we seen and so many wonderful places to eat associated with all these places. BBQ in the Texas Hill Country, The Beef Rib at Black’s BBQ in Lockhart Tx. Finding a great little BBQ place in Farmington NM when in the Four Corners area. Pondering the question: Red or Green? in New Mexico, breakfast lunch and dinner. Mi Casa in Benson Az. A great hamburger from a little hamburger stand near Wallowa Lake Or. Our favorite place in the Palm Springs area. And the list and the thoughts go on. Each place ties into memories, food leads to the place and the adventure, the place or the adventure lead to the food.
Oh gosh….BBQ in Lockhart, TX….I TOTALLY remember that place. Great food. And Mi Casa in Benson, AZ. Fabulous! Thanks for reminding me of those places!
Nina
Food us always a part of our travel memories. Thick chili enjoyed on the outdoors porch of a little place in Wyoming, on a trip 30 years after my childhood adventure “out west” with our family of five in a 13-foot Scotty travel trailer. Fresh walleye fried up on the lakeshore in Canada. Butternut squash ravioli at a Las Vegas restaurant, with a sauce that was plate-licking good. Lobster roll outside a lobster shack on the Maine coast. Apple pancakes at a B&B in The Dalles, OR, that left us full until evening. Falafel from a tiny place in Manhattan. Fresh croissant in Toronto, back before they were everywhere in the US. So many good memories, and now my mouth is watering. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us.