Bagel Bombs

Bagel Bombs

A memo to the kids and newcomers to Chicago: it gets cold here.  It can get really, really cold here.  Sometimes we get lucky and have a mild winter, as has happened for the past couple of years.  Other years we get hit by a blizzard or a cold snap.  It happens.

Today is now on record as the second coldest day in Chicago because there was about an hour that it was -23F.  If you followed the news or social media, you would think it was -23 the entire day but no, it was an hour.  That's it.  I am old enough to have been around in 1985 when the other really cold day happened.  I was 9 years old at the time so I don't remember much but here is the Chicago Sun-Times front page.  See that?  The headline says, "Brave" and that most folks bundled up and kept moving.  Really, the only person who should worry about a blizzard or cold snap is the Mayor.  God help the person in office who doesn't handle it well.

I know I am being nostalgic and sounding as old as dirt when I say this but I miss the days when Chicagoans took pride in their thick skin and ability to put on long underwear and power through a cold day.  I know that in 1985 the deep freeze (-27F) was on a Sunday but I guarantee my Mother had me in church.  I also never, ever remember having school cancelled because it was cold.  The fact that school was cancelled today and tomorrow, when it it supposed to be a balmy 0 degrees, is nuts to me.  Last I checked, I am the Mother of my kid.  If I determine if it's too cold for him to go to school (see never, ever), then I will keep him at home.  Thank you Oak Park School District for parenting for me.  Can you also cook dinner and help with homework?  That would be lovely!

Mallobars

Mallobars

I would like to say that I dropped off the face of the blogging earth because I was doing something like hiking the Himalayas or that I had finally shoved off everything and lived out my dream of moving to Bali to take a deep dive into Hinduism while practicing yoga and meditation, Eat, Pray, Love style.

I didn't go the travel route but I did get unexpectedly downsized in the corporate job I had been at for the past eight years.  This lead me down a path of self-discovery that lead to a Pilates teacher training program and a job at a non-profit.  I am also making bagels with a group of women a few mornings a week that are sold to locals who enjoy a bagel that is not bread in a bagel shape.

Perhaps this new direction speaks to an undiagnosed case of ADD or a mid-life crises.  I don't know but I can say this, I no longer think about everything I am going to do when I retire.  I had to give up the manicures, frequent hair appointments, clothes shopping, magazine/apps/news/music subscriptions, the overflow of flowers I used to have in the garden, eating out and a lot of travel.  I don't have those things anymore but I don't feel like I am missing anything.  We'll see if this hippy live in the moment shtick lasts.  At this rate, who knows, I could be blogging from Bali next month.

This new lifestyle has me extremely busy and my baking/cooking obsession has taken a back seat to following my bliss.  I had a few minutes and it is Mallomar season seeing as it is way too cold to go out and roast marshmallows for a proper S'more.  These are S'mores with the volume turned way up from Melissa Clark's, "Cook This Now".  It's a bit of an undertaking but if you can get to the finish line, it's worth it.  A pile of marshmallow on a homemade graham cracker crust with a shock of dark chocolate on top.  PSA: Support your local library and check this book out.

Happy Baking!