Saturday, July 26, 2025

In preparation of peak tomato season...

... perhaps we should brush up on our bagel-making? 🥯🥯🥯

Hi Friends,

There is a bakery* in Bolton Landing that makes excellent bagels, chewy but light and perfectly seasoned. Every time we visit Lake George, we pick up a dozen and eat them all week, toasted, slathered with cream cheese, and topped with juicy, thick tomato slabs:

It's heaven.

This week I found myself missing those bagels, so I decided to make a batch. I hadn't made bagels in ages, and I had forgotten how quickly the dough comes together: 60 seconds in the food processor! Or slightly longer if you use a stand mixer.

And while bagels are a little fussier than other breads — shaping! boiling! egg washing! — they are so much fun to make, and they are so, so tasty, deliciously chewy, and so nice to have on hand, especially this time of year.

If you're up for a little weekend baking project, I hope you'll give this recipe a go. I typically mix the dough at night, stick the bowl in the fridge immediately, then proceed the following day, but you can mix the dough and let it rise at room temperature if that timing works better for you.

Hope you love them, Friends. Have a great weekend 🥯🥯🍅🍅

Deliciously Chewy Homemade Bagels

*Should you ever find yourself in the Lake George region, the bakery is called Bear's Cup. I love their sesame and everything bagels in particular because they coat the entire bagel in seeds.

PS: It is not peak tomato season up here yet, but we're getting there!

Review of the Week

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fresh Corn Polenta with Blistered Tomatoes

"This has so much flavor and was so simple to prepare! What a great way to use fresh corn during peak season! I added sautéed Chanterelle mushrooms (in green garlic butter and thyme) on top and it was perfect!! I will be making this again and again!"

— Emma