About a week ago, generic store-brand bagels were on sale at the supermarket. I bought two bags of 6, which is a lot of bagels for one person to use up before they go bad! I've been working my way through them pretty diligently, and let me tell you, I'm getting tired of eating bagels with cream cheese for lunch every day. Since today is Veterans' Day, I don't have any classes, which meant I had time to make a special breakfast for myself this morning. I had never tried making french toast with a bagel before, but it worked beautifully and used up one of the bagels in the bargain! It was just the right start to my day off, which I plan to spend studying for the physics midterm I'll be taking tomorrow...

Ingredients:
*serves 1
1 mediocre store-brand bagel
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
powdered sugar and maple syrup for serving

In a wide, shallow dish, beat the egg together with the skim milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Use a serrated knife to cut your bagel in half, and remove the crust from each bagel half until they have only a ring of crust around the edge, like slices of bread. (This way, the eggs can soak into both sides of the bagel slice. I found that the crusts are good to nibble on while you wait for your french toast to cook). Lay your bagel slices in the dish with the egg mixture, and turn them over to coat them on both sides. Leave them in the dish while you melt the butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Wait for the butter to sizzle a little before putting the eggy bagel slices into the pan. Cook them for about 3 minutes on each side, until both sides are browned and the middle of each piece springs back when pressed with a spatula. Sprinkle the toasts with powdered sugar, and serve with a drizzle of maple syrup.

The original bagel:


Slices of bagel soaking in egg:


Bagel slices frying:


The end result:

Did you ever wonder what the French call french toast? They call it pain perdu, which means lost bread. Makes sense, since french toast is such a great way to use up bread that's past its prime.