Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Refresh, Renew & Lime Walnut Bread Too!

Happy New Year, here we go for another trip around the sun.  2011 was a good year here in Bagel-land, but personally I am ready for 2012.  Something about the new year, resolutions, fresh starts ..it all makes me very hopeful.

An ongoing tradition at Los Bagels is that we close from December 24th through January 2nd, this gives everyone a nice break and time to actually enjoy the Holidays with family and friends.  It also gives us a chance to do major upgrades to the shops and some serious deep cleaning.  The truly great part of this break is that everyone comes back refreshed, and in good spirits.  We employ about 45 people, most doing customer service and production work, our staff is a tight knit group.  However, by December 23rd even the most diehard Bagelero is pretty well "over it", tempers flair, limits are pushed and friendships are tested.  Keeping the shops running smoothly can be a little touch and go right up until the closed sign gets flipped at 5 p.m. 

Coming back to work after New Year's is really a treat. Everyone is talking about their adventures while we were on vacation.  Who headed south to LA? Who saw a great New Years Eve concert in San Francisco? Who stayed up here and got Redwood National Park to themselves?

All of us in the Los Bagels family are lucky to have this break to recharge, refresh and renew.  It is only unfortunate for Humboldt natives who live out of the area and return for the Holidays, only to find their favorite bagel shop in the world closed.  We hope you understand and it's a good excuse to visit at another time of year.

This year our most popular Holiday Bread was our outrageously good "Lime Walnut Bread"  to start the year out on a generous note, here is the recipe.  Feel free to share this with your friends and family to keep them warm and toasty through the coming months.  This recipe and all your other fav's are in Los Bagels Recipes & Lore, 3rd edition. Feliz Año Nuevo!