The Dancing Goat, Claremont

My friend and I went to a place called The Dancing Goat in Claremont today. It was a lovely little place with a nice set up.

We were really happy with the food here. It tasted good and the serving sizes were enough to satisfy us without sending us into a food coma. I also love places that do freshly squeezed juices. 

I ordered the lunch burrito with the chickpea, sweet potato and spinach pattie, with caramelised onion, avocado and salad. I told them I was vegan and they were kind enough to put some olive oil and basil on my salad instead of the garlic aoli. 

Another thing that I like about this place is that it is close to uni. I think I'll definitely be making more stops to The Dancing Goat on my lunch breaks.

The Goat's Breakfast - two poached eggs, Goat's beans, chorizo, wilted spinach and fetta loaf.

Ice coffee. They put ice cream in it :)

Pear, apple and a hint of lemon. Totally delicious!!

Warm Bodies

A lot of people I talk to don't really think watching a new movie counts as my 'something new' for the day, but there are honestly some days where there isn't anything else for me to do. 

I was held up with other commitments today and by the time I was free to find something new to do, it was quite late and I was exhausted. 

I decided to watch the movie Warm Bodies. It's a romantic comedy about zombies. Don't be put off by the genre description, it's actually quite a good movie. In fact, I was in a significantly better mood after watching it :) 

I particularly enjoyed the movie soundtrack. It was lots of mellow songs and lots of classics. 

I would definitely watch this one again. I give it 8/10 :)

Solomon's Cafe, Highgate

I have been seeing a lot of food posts lately of people eating at Solomon's Cafe on Beaufort st. All of the posts were of very healthy meals and drinks. When I jumped on the net at had a look at the Urbanspoon website, it turned out that Solomon's has a completely gluten and dairy-free menu. Win!

If there are specific vegan items on a menu, then I am there! My friend Keenan and I went to Solomon's for dinner tonight. He is also the talented person who made the Reez's Gap Year banner at the top of the blog :) 

There was so much to choose from. I will be back again for sure. I ended up getting the black bean patty sliders with a side of slaw and Keenan got the quinoa, brown rice and mushroom dish with a side of beetroot chips. For drinks I got the vegan mango lassi. 

Firstly I will start by saying that the serving size of the Keenan's rice dish was huge. It was actually a mountain-sized portion. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I ate pretty much all of my meal, and then proceeded to eat half of the rice too. The food was just really tasty and I really like to eat :P

The beetroot chips were cool too. They came with two orange wedges and some salt. The waitress told us to squeeze some of the orange on top and sprinkle it with salt to season it. I would have never thought to eat them this way but it was a great flavour combination. 

Not only was the food good but the cafe itself was so lovely. There were tables in the front and out the back too. As you walked along the narrow hallway/corridor to get to the back area, you actually walk past the kitchen. As we were leaving the chef gave us a friendly "thank you". 

I had such a great dining experience here tonight. The only thing that would have made the night better is if I had of left room for dessert. There were vegan cheesecakes on the dessert menu, but for once I just could not fit it in. However, I have learnt from this and I will be chowing down on some vegan cheesecake soon enough :)

The vegan mango lassi

The side of slaw salad

Solomon's salad of organic mushrooms, quinoa, brown rice, broccoli, almonds and seeds, with fresh Asian inspired herbs and spices :)

Solomon's sliders - purple carrot and black bean patties, with an avocado salsa, on home-made quinoa bread

Vegan butterscotch crème brûlée

I hit the vegan dessert jackpot today when I tried a recipe I found for vegan crème brûlée. I've been looking around for a good crème brûlée recipe for a while now and was tossing up between a few. I made my final decision when I came across a website which listed 9 Vegan French Dessert Recipes. The link took me to a recipe from Vegan Good Eats. I had come across this recipe before, and it was on my list of ones to try but since it was such a straight forward recipe I decided it was going to be the one. 

While I was gathering up all of my ingredients I thought that I had run out of vanilla essence so I decided to substitute it for half the amount of butterscotch essence that I bought from Weigh 'N' Pay. There are times in life when you know you made a really good decision, and this was one of them. The butterscotch essence made this taste like some high quality creme caramel. I'm actually so impressed with this recipe. The texture was what I wanted it to be. Smooth and creamy. 

This recipe is also a bit healthier than your average non-vegan crème brûlée. There was none of that cream or coconut cream (that some other vegan recipes use) which is quite high in bad fats. This is definitely a good alternative to the usual decadent creme brulee. 

This vegan crème brûlée also was so quick and easy to make. It was ready within an hour of starting. 

So in conclusion, what more could you possibly want from a dessert? It's tasty, easy and guilt-free :)

Vegan crème brûlée

Recipe adapted from Vegan Good Eats

Makes 4 large ramekins

 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unsweetened almond milk (I used 2 cups almond milk and 1 cup soy milk...but that's only because I ran out of almond milk)
• 1/3 cup cashew butter (You can also just use a heaped 1/3 cup of raw cashews and put them in the food processor on high until it forms a paste)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1/2 teaspoon butterscotch essence)
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
• 3/4 teaspoon agar powder (not flakes)

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and go to town until smooth.
2. Strain through a sieve. You’ll remove some of the impurities of the cashew butter.
3. Let sit for 10 minutes, enough for the agar to soak up. Bring to a boil slowly, stirring frequently. Once it boils, reduce the heat and stir constantly for five minutes. Do not walk away as it only takes a few seconds for the mixture to over boil and overflow.
4. Distribute between six ramekins and allow to set for 30-45 minutes at room temperature. You can serve it either at room temperature or put them in the fridge and serve them cold (Agar actually does not need refrigeration to set, so it will set nicely either way)
5. Sprinkle a think layer of sugar on top and using a torch, brûlée the crème. Although you can also use the broiler for this, make sure the oven door is open while you do to avoid recooking the custard. It’s a little trickier.

Family photo

Tonight the whole family got together to celebrate my great Aunt's (on my mother's side) 70th birthday. We ate out at the Atrium in Crown Casino. Dining at the Atrium is not something new for me, but at the end of the night we all took a family photo. We've never done this before, so it's something new for all of us. This photo is very special because it shows that we all took the time to come together and celebrate the life of a family member. Family is so important to me and so I love nothing more when we spend time together :)

I'm looking forward to looking at this photo again in 10 years time and see how much everyone has grown :)

Curio Mini Market @ Tea for Tú, Northbridge

Over this last year, I've become quite obsessed with markets. Any kind is good. I like fruit and veg markets, secondhand markets, craft markets, you name it. If the work "market" is there then I'm keen. 

I recently heard about the Curio Mini Market which was being held at the clothing store/cafe Tea for Tú out on William St in Northbridge. I don't always buy stuff when I go to markets, but I love just going to browse all the items for sale. 

I've never been to Tea for Tú before. It's such a lovely little place which has the retro/indie clothing store out the front, a mini cafe out the back which leads to an outdoor area if you make your way up a flight of stairs. 

The market was run by two girls selling their clothing, shoes and accessories as a part of the 2013 Garage Sale Trail (such a cool idea! Checkout the website here and make sure you get involved next year!) I didn't really expect to find anything, but I ended up buying a pair of shoes. Now, these aren't just any random shoes that I liked; these shoes were destined for me :P

In case you didn't know, my friends and I got gold standing tickets to Beyonce's Mrs Carter World Tour in November. I'm not very tall so therein lies the issue of not being tall enough to see past the hundreds of screaming fans, but I don't really want to wear heels because firstly, I will be dancing all night so my feet would probably fall off after all night in heels. Secondly, people will be jumping around so my toes will probably get stepped on. Bloody toes aren't a pretty sight. Therefore, I decided to go for sneakers on the night. Choosing comfort and the safety of my feet is how I roll. Still, I was sad that I'd miss out having that advantage of being taller in heels. 

I started thinking of the perfect shoe (if it ever existed) to wear to the concert. I was thinking that it would have to be a pair of flat wedges for comfort and height, but it would also have to be closed toe in order to prevent bloodied toes. I figured that it would be hard to find a shoe which had all these requisites....that is until I got the market. 

First pair of shoes I find were black patent flat wedges (platforms? is that what they're called?) with closed toe and ankle straps. IN MY SIZE. It's one thing to find the perfect shoe, but when it's in your size and it's the only one left, you know God has worked a miracle :P

Anyways, I thought it was pretty cool how it all worked out. Just had to share :)

This is the outdoor area where the market was. Very cute.

Artic fire tea

I'm not sure if you already know this, but I am a massive tea fanatic. Love it! Sipping on a cuppa tea makes me a very happy girl...especially if I'm sipping from a dainty little tea cup with it's own matching saucer. 

In my mind, tea is an all-occasions kind of drink. Well almost. When I'm having a late night studying, a cup of tea is there. When I'm enjoying something sweet for dessert, a cup of tea is there. When I'm out having breakfast with friends, a cup of tea is there. When I'm out and about in Northbridge and I feel like a cold drink, a cup of bubble tea is there. Tea is my faithful friend indeed. That is why, my something new today was exciting for me, even though other people may disagree. 

I brewed up a nice little pot of a blend of tea I got from Liquorice Gormet Foods In Joondalup. The tea is called Artic Fire and it is a blend of China black tea, mint and blue cornflower petals. I really really liked this blend. The flavours were subtle and a tiny bit floral. What I liked most was that there was no bitter after taste. It was just that lovely subtle flavour from start to finish. I think that no matter how long you leave it brewing, it won't become bitter. But that's just my experience. 

Not only did it taste good, but I love the blue petals in the tea leaves. It just adds a lovely splash of electric colour :)

Vegan caramel popcorn

Whilst going about my food Googling adventures, I came across a slide show for 25 Healthy No-Salt Popcorn Toppings. There were so many yummy flavours to try, but the one that caught my eye was number 20/26 Caramel. The recipe involves simmering 1 1/2 teaspoons of coconut oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup. Pop your popcorn anyway you like (I used my popcorn maker) and drizzle that caramel goodness all over the popped goodness. I then sprinkled a wee bit of salt onto the popcorn too. Just a pinch :)

I put my bowl into the fridge for about 5 minutes to help the caramel harden up a bit more, but you can enjoy it any way you like. I really enjoyed this recipe and will be chowing down on more of this on future movie nights. 

Vegan mac and cheese dog

A couple weeks ago I was flicking through photos of a slide show for 13 Creative Hot Dog Recipes and came across a "mac and cheese dog". I would never have thought of putting mac and cheese on a hot dog. Never ever. However, I made a mental note to one day make this if I ever found a vegan mac and cheese recipe that I liked. 

Well thanks to good ol' Instagram, I saw a post that The Simple Veganista had put up for their spicy vegan mac and cheese recipe. I love The Simple Veganista. Their recipes are amazing, and so I knew that this one would probably not disappoint. I'm not a huge fan of cheese sauces made with nutritional yeast but I figured that I would be in good hands with this recipe. So I just took a leaf of faith with this one. 

Turns out, the recipe is totally yummy and about a million times more guilt free than your ordinary legit mac and cheese. This is one of the perks of being vegan. A lot of the substitutes are quite healthy. You still have to check though just in case. 

I made up a batch of the vegan mac and cheese and scooped in on top of a vegan hot dog which was snugly placed in a fresh hot dog bun I had bought today. I sprinkled some chipotle pepper seeds on top and served it up with smokey parsnip shoestring fries (original recipe from here). I have yet to meet a hot dog which has let me down, and today was no exception. It doesn't matter if you're vegan or not, everybody needs to try a mac and cheese dog. Sooner rather than later please :)



The Simple Veganista also have another mac and cheese recipe that sounds tasty. I think I'll try this one at some point too!

Vegan Chipotle Mac and Cheese (from The Simple Veganista)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. favorite pasta
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 heaping tablespoons flour (spelt, rice, tapioca or all-purpose) - I used white spelt flour
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
• mineral salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook your pasta according to package. Drain and place back in pot. 
2. In a small/medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat, add flour and whisk to incorporate. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Add milk slowly, whisking constantly. Turn heat to low and cook until sauce thickens, about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, chili powder and chipotle powder. Stir until everything is incorporated and smooth again. Taste for flavor. 
3. Add sauce to the pasta, toss well, add more milk as needed and serve right away...or on top of a hot dog!

Notes: 

This recipe is just a template. Add as much of the salt and spices to suit your taste. You may even like to omit the chili and chipotle opting for a mild mac n' cheese. Or use either the chili or chipotle powder alone.

For the nutritional yeast, if using powder form reduce amount to about 1/4 cup. You can try playing around with the amount. I have used less, 1/4 - 1/3 cup, and still had a nice cheesy flavor. You may opt to start with less and add more to taste. 

Toss in steamed or roasted vegetables of choice with the pasta...broccoli, brussel sprouts, sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, spinach, kale and corn are a few that come to mind that will work with the flavors. I'm sure I missed a few and would love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.

To reheat, add a small amount of milk and heat over low until warmed.
You may also like to top with some almond parmesan! 

Quinoa salad with apricot and pistachios

I was lucky to have my friend, Michelle whip up a delicious and healthy dinner for me and another friend tonight. Since I normally do all of my own cooking, it was really nice to have someone else cook for me :) I have such lovely friends!

Mich made quinoa salad with apricot, kale and pistachio nuts. She made some changes to the original recipe, adding kale and capsicum instead of the romaine lettuce and raisins. The original recipe can be found here.

I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. It was light, flavoursome and very filling. You might not think that salads are a substantial dinner, but this one left us all feeling very satisfied. Although, we still had room for dessert of course :P

Homemade guacamole & corn chips for starters :)

Chard wrapped polenta with mushrooms and caramelised onion

Today was another day where I wanted to use up some of the ingredients in my fridge and pantry to make something new. This is always a fun exercise because it feels like such a celebration when I find a recipe on the Internet that I have all (or most) the ingredients for. 

I found an interesting recipe for chard (aka silverbeet) wrapped polenta from Mollie Katzen. The original recipe was not vegan, but I changed it up to make it vegan friendly. I also found a mushroom and caramelised onion recipe which I threw into the wrap too.I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, and would most definitely make this again whenever I feel like eating super clean :)

Here's my vegan friendly version:

Chard (silverbeet) wrapped polenta, mushroom and caramelised onion

Serves 4-6


Ingredients:

Polenta:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon onion powder or onion flakes
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black pepper 
• about 12 perfect large chard leaves

 Mushrooms:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups mushrooms
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced in thin strips.
•  1 clove garlic, minced
•  1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
•  1 teaspoon agave, or sugar of your choice
•  1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
•  salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Put on a large pot of water to boil.
2. Meanwhile, place a medium saucepan over medium heat for about a minute, then add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Toss in the onion powder/flakes, garlic powder and cumin and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
3. Add another tablespoon of oil, if desired, and sprinkle in the polenta, stirring to coat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sauté the mixture for 5 minutes or so, or until the grains become lightly toasty.
4.  When the water boils, add 3 cups, 1 cup at a time, to the polenta mixture, stirring it in, then covering the saucepan between additions so the polenta absorbs it (as if you were making risotto, but with less stirring). This should take about 10 minutes. (Leave the remaining water simmering in the pot on the stove.) When the 3 cups are incorporated and the mixture is tender, 6 to 8 minutes, remove it from the heat and immediately stir in the nutritional yeast. Set aside, covered. 
5. Now to start on the mushrooms. Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add onions, mushrooms, garlic and a few generous pinches of salt and a grind of pepper. Cook for 5 or 6 minutes or until onions and mushrooms cook down and caramelise. Leave aside.
6. Pick up each chard or collard leaf, one at a time, hold it by the stem, and immerse the entire leaf in the boiling water, down to the base, keeping it there until the spine becomes supple enough to bend without breaking, 20 to 30 seconds, depending on the size. Shake off any excess water and pile the blanched leaves on a plate as you go. Pat them dry with towels and, using scissors, trim off the stems at the base of the leaves and discard.
7. To assemble the packages, place about 1/4 cup of the filling (slightly more for larger leaves; less for smaller) near the bottom of each leaf and roll it up tightly, folding in the sides. Place all the filled leaves seam side down on a plate. If you have leftover filling, keep it handy.
   
   
   
   
8. Shortly before serving, place a large (10- to 12-inch) skillet over medium heat for about a minute, then add about 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the packages and sauté on both sides for a total of 5 to 8 minutes, or until heated through. (You can also sauté any leftover filling or heat it in a microwave and serve it underneath or sprinkled on top.) Serve the packages hot or warm. 

I served my chard packages up with some roasted broccoli and carrot :)

Sunday fun

I love Sundays! They just have their own laid back and chilled vibe. Can't remember the last time I ever felt low on a Sunday. 

I woke up today without anything planned for my something new, but by the end of the evening, I had done quite a few new things :) 

I like to start off my Sundays by going to church. I love going to church because it is an opportunity to renew my covenant with God when I receive the Eucharist. I learnt a few years ago from Arch Bishop Hickey that when the Priest turns the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, it represents the sacrifice of Jesus because he is the sacrificial lamb. Therefore, each week when this is done, then it's like a new sacrifice is made to God and the covenant is renewed for another week. That is the most basic way to put it. The Arch Bishop did a much (much much much) better job. I'm sorry that I can do justice to his wisdom. Apologies!

Another reason why I love going to church is because I gain so much wisdom from listening to the readings and the homily. It's nice to have the scripture explained to me in a way which is then applicable for everyday life. I'm always keen to learn more about the Bible :)

So anyhow, it turned out that the new Arch Bishop Costello was giving Mass today and afterwards I stayed behind and introduced myself to him. It was the first time meeting WA's new Arch Bishop, and he was such a lovely person. 

My second new thing for today was that I made it to the top of the free climb wall at Rockface Indoor Rock Climbing Centre in Northbridge. My friends and I bought a coupon for 5 sessions valued at a good price and we're slowly trying to utilise them. I've been to Rockface a few times now, and each time I've gone, I haven't been able to reach the top of the free climb wall (i.e. climbing without the harness). Normally I don't make it because we leave the free climb wall to the end of our climbing session and by that time we're already too fatigued. 

Picasa web automatically turned some of my photos into a cool GIF. Awesome!

Over at Rockface, the staff change the positions of the rocks every few weeks and so we got lucky today and had a pretty easy free climb wall. Even so, it still felt great to finally reach the top :)

The third and final new thing that I wanted to share with you guys is my stop over to Hi-Tea in Coventry Square, Morley. Hi-Tea is a bubble tea shop (or boba tea for all you Americans) located just on the outskirts of Coventry Village. They have heaps of tea flavours, toppings and other drinks like smoothies and shakes. I got the mango green tea flavour with sago. I was so surprised to see that they actually use real mango! You could see all mango pulp floating around. I like it this way because it just seems more fresh. It was a great flavour too! Will definitely go back for that one and some others some time soon. 

So there you have it, that was my Sunday. As it so happened to be, the sun was actually out from behind the clouds on this lovely Sunday. So it was sun-day in more than one way :)

Aerial Silks

I tried aerial silks for the first time today at Fantasy Fitness and Dance Studio in Wangara. I found it challenging; in a good way. One of the moves we had to do was hold onto the silks and flip ourselves over. I'm not an acrobat or gymnast in the least and so this was challenging for me. I had a hard time kicking my legs over and keeping my arms bent.

After about 20 minutes of desperately trying to flip, my arms started to fatigue big time which made it even harder to perform this move. After what felt like forever, I finally managed to flip over, and then flip backwards back into the original position. It felt amazing to finally do it. I kid you not, I was sweating like crazy because it is a crazy hard workout. I still have a lot more practise to do before I can master these silks, and I am 100% determined to get it in the end.

Aerial silks can be for anyone. I certainly don't have a natural knack for it, but hey, everyone needs to start from somewhere right? If you really want to try aerial silks, then don't let anything stop you!

Pole Fever

I had another casual pole class at Pole Fever Fitness Studios today. We learnt a new move where we let go of the pole with out hands and hold on only with our thighs and legs. This was a lot of fun to do, but oh man there was some serious inner thigh burn. Not just burn. I'm talking buuuuuurrrnnnnn.

It was such a cool achievement though. I really enjoy the classes at Pole Fever. They are having a grand opening in Wanneroo on the 2nd of November. If you're in the area then I highly recommend that you check the place out. All the girls here are so friendly and are very well trained in what they do. Pole Fever definitely gets a 10/10 from me :) :)

King Edward Memorial Hospital

I went to visit my good friend who had just had a baby at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco. It was the first time I've been to the hospital and it was nice to see what it looked like. It was older than I thought it would be. It doesn't look as modern as some of the other main hospitals in Perth.

The gorgeous baby was about 27 hours old and he was just so precious. I don't think I've ever held such a newborn baby before. They're so tiny and light that it's like you're just holding the blankets. Newborns are just beautiful. 

I'm sure I'll find myself in King Eddys again during my time in med school. I look forward to when that time comes. I hope I get to hold more newborns :)

Vegal bagels

Bagels! Is it bread or a donut? 

To answer my own question, it's definitely more like bread. Yet it is a little bit different. It's denser and a little bit sweeter in my opinion. Regardless, bagels are great! They're not as popular in Australia compared to in the US, but on the rare occasion when I get my hands on one, I will savour every last bite. 

I don't know what got me thinking about bagels today but I decided to make my own vegan bagels. I can't ever remember having anything other than jam or margarine spread on my bagels, so I decided to do something more fancy and make a breakfast bagel. I filled my bagel with fresh slices of tomato, baby spinach leaves, balsamic mushrooms (I also added some dried basil to mine), red wine sauteed onions (half an onion sliced and sauteed in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon red wine) and avocado. It was light but satisfying. Good stuff.

Making bagels is similar to making soft pretzels. You need to boil them in water before baking them in the oven. Not sure about you, but I certainly didn't know that. None the less, these babies were quite easy to make :)

Vegan Bagels
Recipe from Hidden Fruits and Veggies

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• ¼ c warm water (not hot!)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 c white whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 – 1 ½ c water (warm/room temp)
• Cornmeal (optional)
• Bagel toppings (optional, suggestions in notes)

Directions

1. Combine the first three ingredients and stir. Allow to sit 5 minutes, until foamy (if it’s not foamy, something happened to your yeast and the recipe will NOT work)
2. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer combine the flour, salt, and remaining sugar.
3. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour, while stirring with a dough hook (I just used a wooden spoon). Add 1 c water. Allow the stand mixer to run for about a minute, and if all yeast isn’t picked up into the dough add up to ½ c water, 1 tbsp at a time. Stir using dough hook on a slow/medium speed for 5 minutes – you can knead by hand if you prefer (knead for about 15 minutes).
4. Spritz dough with nonstick spray, turn over and spritz again. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 ½ – 2 hours, until dough has doubled in size.
5. After rising, cut the dough into 12 equally sized pieces and roll in balls. Prepare baking sheets with nonstick spray and preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
6. Let the dough rest for a minute or two, then work a hole into the middle of the balls with your finger, until they are bagel-shaped. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 – 20 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, fill a wide saucepan or skillet with water, at least 2 inches deep, and bring to boil. Boil bagels for 90 second on each side – I found it easiest to do 3 at a time, spaced about 30 seconds apart.
8. As bagels are done boiling and while still wet, press tops lightly into desired toppings and bottoms into cornmeal (optional, helps prevent sticking - The bagels WILL stick to the baking paper. I highly recommend covering the bottom with cornmeal).
9. When all bagels have been boiled, bake for 8 – 10 minutes, flip an bake 8 – 10 minutes longer. Adjust time based on how dark you like your bagels.

 My yeast getting progressively more foamy:

 

When I gently stirred the yeast mixture with a fork, this is how foamy it looks.

Before I covered the dough and let it rise.

Before being boiled.