One of my favourite things about mornings are breakfast with mommy. It’s not something that happens every day. Sometimes mommy is just too busy to eat with me and instead she uses that time to get things done. On those days I eat while I watch mommy load the dishwasher or tidy up the kitchen.

When I see mommy making french toast I know we’ll be having breakfast together that day. It’s one of our traditions. Mommy makes several variations of french toast and they’re all pretty good but one stands out for me above all the rest. This particular recipe is my favourite.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

2 slices of bread

1/4 cup of milk

1 tablespoon of real maple syrup

1 overripe banana

• Optional:
• Strawberries for garnish
• Butter to grease the pan

Preparation:

Peel the banana, put it on a small plate, and thoroughly mash it with a fork. You want a really ripe banana that will mash to a creamy consistency with minimal lumps. In a small bowl combine the eggs with the milk and beat with an electric mixer until it begins to froth. Add the maple syrup and banana and continue beating until there are no visible lumps of banana.

We like to use real maple syrup as it has a distinct flavour and is a slightly healthier alternative. If you don’t have maple syrup you can use the artificial pancake syrup, sugar, or omit it altogether. If you’re over a year old, you can also substitute honey.

Place the bread slices side by side in a shallow dish. We find that a pie plate works very well for this. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the bread, coating it as thoroughly as possible. Let it sit for a minute and then turn the bread slices over. After a few more minutes the bread should absorb most of the egg mixture.

Generously grease a large non-stick pan and preheat. We like to use butter for that extra creamy taste, but you can use whatever you prefer. The sugar in the banana and syrup has a tendency to stick to the pan so be generous with whatever you decide to use.

Place both slices of bread side by side on the pan and cook on medium heat until golden brown. Then flip each slice and cook the other side. Once cooked, remove from the pan and pat with a paper towel to remove the excess grease.

I like to have my piece of french toast cut into bite size cubes, but mommy prefers to keep her piece whole. We garnish our french toast with strawberries and serve warm. Any fruit would work as a garnish but we just love the fresh tangy flavour of strawberries paired with the sweet french toast.

If you have mastered cutlery, you can add syrup or whipped cream on the top. I prefer to eat with my hands and those kind of extras just make me sticky. That’s why mommy puts my maple syrup right into the egg mixture. It makes me easier to clean after breakfast.

If you’re looking for breakfast for one, you could cut the ingredients in half and garnish with the other half of the banana. There is also the option of sticking with the recipe as is, and just eating both pieces yourself. I’ll leave that up to you.

French toast can be kept in the fridge for a day or two. It doesn’t come out of the fridge the same as it was when it went in. It’s still good, but it’s not the same. In our experience the best way to reheat french toast is in the toaster oven. That brings some of the crispy texture back and doesn’t make it spongy like reheating in the microwave tends to do.