The Recipe of the Week from The Happy Chef: Bagels and Lox

When I was little I was a bit on the particular side when it came to food. Growing up in Charleston WV, I lived on the following: bagels and cream cheese from Ray’s Deli, ravioli from Leonoro’s and grilled cheeses and chocolate pudding from the Charleston Tennis Club. These items (and pizza) pretty much constituted my entire diet in my younger years. (It was a tough regimen to maintain but I somehow managed to pull it off until roughly the age of 16.) Obviously, I have branched out a bit (is there anything now I don’t like?) but the old favorites still do something for me. I still bite into a bagel with cream cheese and feel the comfort of home – that warm, soft, carefree place called childhood. It can transport me to that time growing up in Charleston, much like those familiar smells that take us all back in time. Chlorine rushing into my nose always takes me back to my life as a competitive swimmer. There I am on those blocks at age14, as if it was yesterday. I can’t step into my church, Raleigh Court Presbyterian, without thinking of the church I grew up in, Kanawha Presbyterian, simply because they both have that old church smell. It is so wonderful to remember the Jesus I first met as a child as I rediscover Him, now, in my late 30s. Our memory of the past is a funny thing, it informs us about who we are today more than I think most of us realize. I am extremely thankful that my past consists of warm bagels, a well-loved smelly old church, hours in the pool, the mountains and woods of WV and a loving family that helped me discover all these things and so much more. As you may note below, however, I am a tad more sophisticated with my bagel toppings these days . . .