Recipe Day: Bagel Toast

This is a "recipe" the way that Nickelback is a "band" -- it's more of a Hint from Heloise on what to do when your bagels go stale faster than you can eat them.

Simply cut your bagel into thirds rather than halves, starting with the bottom slice and then splitting the top two thirds with a bread knife. If the bagel is uneven, rotate so that the thinnest side is up, to prevent wedge-shaped pieces.

Toast the thirds in a toaster oven for the same amount of time you would toast halves and then spread liberally with cream cheese. There are multiple benefits to this approach:

• Most of the tiresome, chewy parts are now close enough to a surface to come out crispy.
• There's more surface area to spread cream cheese.
• You'll spend less time tearing and chewing and more time freebasing cream cheese.