Oy Vey

 What you see here is a tray of bagels.  The amazing thing about these bagels is that I made them...by hand...from scratch!  I would never have thought that I would ever make bagels.  I mean, they are so easy to buy!  But bagels from the store seem to us to be getting less and less bagel-y and more like a bread roll.  So when I read about making bagels on one of my favorite food blogs, I decided to give it a try.  After all, she made it sound so easy.  And it was!  They take a bit of time (an afternoon and overnight and the next morning) but really are very simple.  The best part is that they taste great...just like real, old-fashioned bagels.  They are chewy and bagel-y.  
 
We love them with a schmear of our homemade cream cheese (also very easy to make).  The only problem is that the recipe makes only 6 at a time.  I may have to double it next time.