Skip to main content

Franconia, New Hampshire and Fresh Bagels


The summer of 1993, when I was doing some research in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, I became addicted to bagels.  After I returned to Alabama, I searched everywhere, and there was not a real bagel to be found.  Sure, there were frozen things available in the supermarkets here, but I'm talking about bagels fresh from the oven, with a big slab of cream cheese in the middle.


In Franconia, New Hampshire, I found some real bagels at this little coffee shop.


They even had a big chicken outside to welcome me.


They were just as good as I remembered.  Hub got an everything bagel and I had the cinnamon/raisin. We each ate half, then swapped.  We do this all the time when we are having different things to eat.


It is hard to say which one was the best.  They were both amazingly good. Maybe more so because I knew it might be years before I have another one.


Back in '93, after looking and looking for fresh bagels, I tried to make some.  I went exactly by the recipe, but when we tried to eat them, they were too hard to bite into.  I gave them to my dog, and she promptly buried them in the backyard, which was probably the best place for them. Making bagels this good likely requires years of experience, like our Mama's biscuits.  If you happen to be traveling in the Northeast, I would appreciate it if you would bring me one. Or a dozen.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee.  It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures.  We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything.  Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

Holy Smoke Pie

I think it was in the late seventies that I first had Holy Smoke Pie.  It was at a party at Debra Morris Harville's house.  After we ate, Debra had to give the recipe to everyone there.  I came home and made it for my family, and it has been a favorite since then.  I always make it at holiday dinners, because I believe tradition is important.  It has become a favorite of our granddaughters. I've heard it called Chocolate Delight, Four-Layer Chocolate Dessert, and other odd things.  We call it Holy Smoke.  Here is how I make it: Chop us a cup of pecans; set aside. Add a stick of softened butter (NOT margarine) to one cup of self-rising flour. Cut the butter into the flour. Add the chopped pecans, and work it all together. Save two tablespoons of the pecans to sprinkle on top. Pour into a 9" x 12" pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Spread it over the bottom of the pan.  It helps to use your hands (o...

Out of the Dirt: Bragg-ing

Like every reader, I have my favorite writers. There have been so many that have stirred my emotions and made me a part of their world, and I'm thankful for that. The one is love the best, the one I cherish , is Rick Bragg. Yesterday, Rick was in our area. We were privileged to see a newly released documentary about his life called Out of the Dirt . Afterwards, he talked to us about family and roots. His first book, All over but the Shoutin' , was recommended to me years ago. Very early in the book, I was thinking, "Who is this? He is writing about me, about my family." I have never actually met anyone in the book, but they are all my neighbors and kinfolks. His other books are just as well-written. In his book, Writing for the Soul , Christian author Jerry Jenkins had this to say about Rick Bragg: I read other writers and strive to be like them. I read others, like Rick Bragg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, and simply surrender, knowing I will ...