Humble Family Rituals

At one point during my childhood, my dad was in charge of waking me up in the morning. He'd tip toe into my room with a whole-hearted grin on his face and sit quietly at the foot of my bed. With my small body snugly secured in basal metabolic mode, my eyes full of sleep, and my hands clutching my ragged stuffed animal dog "Waldo," I had no intention of leaving the comforts of my bed for the realities of the conscious world. In fact, as soon as I felt that foreign weight pinning the sheets against my legs, my heart would fill with the dread of having to open my eyes and face the music. Indeed, my dad loved to sing:

"Good morning Kelsey sunshine! How are you to-"

and that's when I'd sock him. Right in the shoulder. There was nothing that would get between me and my 6 year-old sleeping needs! Luckily, my dad had pretty quick reflexes, so he dodged most of my throws.

Yet, Sundays were different. Sundays carried special meaning. Whereas most children were woken up, scrubbed down, and dragged to varying religious institutions in their Sunday best, I had quite a different ritual to expect. It was all my dad's idea- Bagel Breakfast Day. And there was no way that I'd lay a punch when there was a trip to the bagel shop in store.

It wasn't necessarily the bagels that I liked, but rather the trip itself. My dad would lift my brother and me out of our beds as my mom pulled sweatshirts on over our heads and wrestled shoes onto our feet. Once settled into our mismatched outfits of sneakers, pajama pants, and hooded sweatshirts, my brother and I would jump into my dad's red Ford truck. We'd all drive to Berkeley, and as my dad entered the bagel shop, we'd stay outside and talk to the man selling newspapers on the street. We'd skip around the storefront, blinking into the morning sun, and laughing at whatever things six-year-olds find entertaining. Then we would run straight towards my dad as he emerged from the steam-filled shop with a giant paper bag full of bagels, lox, and cream cheese.

When we returned home we'd join my mom for orange juice and hot chocolate (both of which somehow would end up all over the morning paper- clumsiness is already present at early stages I suppose). Then would come the time to dive into that brown paper bag and hand the bagels to my dad, who was qualified to wield the coveted bagel knife because he was above the age of 10 (might I add, the knife looks like it's right out of the seventies, with a long thing serrated blade and a faded wooden handle). Needless to say, we would then engage in a glorious and gluttonous feast.

Bagel Breakfast Days slowly faded away as my parents split and my brother and I grew busy with other things. Yet, I'm constantly amazed as to how comforting rituals like that can be- it always seems that when one disappears, another surfaces in its place. I have so many with family and friends that I cherish so deeply, and will remember quite fondly if they happen to disappear. Those that have departed are still etched in my memory with such detail that I love to reminisce over them as I stare at the clouds. I guess that in such a routine world, everyone needs a little tug at the heartstrings once in awhile.


Ironically this recipe doesn't fit too well with the story (that's partly why I can call this a "Stream of Consciousness Blog"!) As far as I know, beets are the only food item that my dad refuses to eat, and I'm not so into bagels myself. So I thought I'd make some kind of compromise. This is something I've dreamed about making as I walk through the Berkeley streets and pass by open markets bursting with Spring vegetables. It's an open-faced beet panini with a chive-ricotta spread. Don't ask me exactly how I got here from Bagel Sundays, but I think the cheese spread is a decent connector :)

Beets are in season right now- so go grab some of the good stuff! And don't you dare throw away those greens! They make wonderful additions to stir-fries and scrambles. Let me know what you do with yours!

Open-faced Beet Panini with Chive Ricotta Spread

I actually also used chopped parsley in the ricotta spread, which added a really refreshing note to counter the strength of the chives. Feel free to use real French bread, but I found that a regular slice of whole wheat bread worked just fine.

3 medium to large sized beets
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2-3/4 cup chopped chives and parsley
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil (divided)
2 tbs. lemon juice
2-3 pieces of bread... could be baguette or sandwich bread

Beets:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop the greens and ends off of the beets (discard ends and save greens!) Place beets in a oven-friendly pot with a splash of water and cover. Cook in oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until you can pierce the beet with a fork.

Meanwhile, measure out 2 tbs. olive oil and 2 tbs. lemon. Combine in a medium bowl.

When done remove beets from oven and peel off outer layer of skin with your hands (careful, they can be quite hot). Cut into slices and toss in medium bowl with dressing. Let sit until beets cool down a bit.

Ricotta Spread:

Combine cup of ricotta with herbs and 1 tbs. olive oil in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly:

Lightly toast the bread and let cool slightly. Spread ricotta combination on the toast and slide some beets on top. That should do it!