BIRTHDAY BANANA FRENCH TOAST

The Background.

I don't "cook" breakfast very often, but thought that my birthday was a good day for an exception. I found this recipe and have kept in my "to try" list for more than five years. My 32nd birthday seemed like a great day to try it!

The Story.

I have a number of memorable birthdays. Having a birthday on April Fools Day provides for a few good stories for sure (one involving a class take over by a sort of Russian CIA who had an important message for me from "Russian Embassy"). This story is about turning 30.

"Bookends" of my identity"

When I turned 30 I had a bit of an existential crisis. Although I was very happy with where I was in my life, I felt like I had to fight silly expectations in order to achieve my contentedness with my life. Turning 30 without being married with children really went against the (conservative Indiana) way I was brought up. I was in a loving relationship that was moving toward lifelong partnership, had great friends, and had a PhD waiting for me around the corner, but I was still aware that I did not yet have that white picket fence that I had anticipated for myself (never mind my backyard was a beautiful gameland preserve). It really felt like a cross roads for me, which, of course, it was not. It was a good reminder of all that was important in my life though.

Gift rom Samantha

I thought about letting my 30th birthday slip by without a big acknowledgment, but decided that would be depressing, so I had a party. With balloons. And streamers. Friends from various times and places in my life came to join me celebrate, trade favorite books, and eat sort-of-food (e.g. Cheetos, giant cake with chocolate ganache, and make-your-own-hot-pockets from college sandwich presses). I asked everyone to bring a copy of their favorite book, and we did a round of White Elephant so that everyone left with someone else's favorite book. I got the list of books (as well as some very thoughtful and unexpected gifts!)

Gift from Heather

I had been working on making a list of 100 things that make me irrationally happy; they were mostly small, simple things. I made a collection of some of those favorite things to pass on in swag bags (cheap graduate school style) and thought that that my 32nd birthday would be a perfect time to revisit some of those happy things. Here is a abridged version of my "happy" list.

Irregular paperclips, The smell of laundry/Drier sheets, Yoder's Tiny Tender Popcorn, Letters, Plantation mint tea and Constant Comment decaf, Homemade caramel, This American Life, Homemade cinnamon rolls, Radio Lab, glow in the dark green slime, Freaks and Geeks, Play-doh, Little Miss Sunshine, helium balloons in primary colors, The smell of rain on asphalt, and French toast made with homemade cinnamon bread.

The Recipe.

INGREDIENTS
2-3 medium Bananas, sliced
¾ cup Milk
1 & ½ tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Cardamon
4 slices Whole Wheat Bread
½ tsp Vegetable Oil

DIRECTIONS:
Blend (in blender) banana, soy milk, cinnamon, & cardamon. Place in shallow bowl.
Dredge both sides of bread in the milk mixture, scraping off excess batter.
Cook 4-5 min on both sides over medium low heat.

The Process.

Dredging whole wheat

I reviewed a lot of similar recipes before creating this one. One of the (many) comments about this vegan recipe was that the bread got really soggy in the middle, so I was conscientious about taking off excess batter, which worked out very well. I was fortunate that I happened to have leftover stale homemade bread (cinnamon raisin to boot!). This recipe would not have worked with fresh bread - it would have been too soft and fragile.

There certainly was a balance between cooking the french toast long enough to avoid the "sog" while avoiding over crystallization of the banana.

I thought about getting the vanilla soy milk that would make this recipe truly vegan, but decided that I would be happy with my local skim milk in the glass bottle. I might be interested in trying soy later to see what it happens, but for such a small amount of the ingredient, I decided to avoid the inevitable leftovers.

We place extra french toast (and pancakes)  in baggies in the fridge. The next day I pop the leftovers in the toaster for fresh french toast!

The Future.

I might be interested in trying soy later to see what it happens, but for such a small amount of the ingredient, I decided to avoid the inevitable leftovers.

Next time I will definitely serve this with Sauteed bananas. Recipe below:

Ingredients:
2 medium Bananas, peeled and cut on diagonal (¼ inch slices)
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Lemon Juice (Fresh)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
4 tsp Light Butter

Mix and add sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon to banana slices.
On med. high heat, add  butter. When it bubbles, add banana mixture and saute (stirring frequently) until slightly caramelized (2-4 min)