Vamping on French Toast

Being vegan doesn't always have to mean being healthy. In fact, I have seen a number of people who are vegan, but continue to eat shitty diets full of carbs and oils. So, this conception that all vegans are rail thin with perfect skin is not something that is always true. Although, it is something that this particular vegan aspires to, and 95% of the time, I eat meals that further this goal. On the other hand, sometimes it's the morning of my birthday and I feel entitled so something just a little more special.
Before moving to West LA and becoming one of those people who needs to work up the motivation to journey east of La Cienega, I used to reside in uber-hip Los Feliz. Out of habit, I still go to the doctor over there every couple of months. I used to always round out the trip with a little visit to Fred 62, which used to be my favorite kitschy diner until I discovered Swingers' and her vegan pancakes.
Fred's is a great place, if you are willing to look past a less than stellar wait-staff and the fact that sometimes you have to wait an hour for a table. The food is absolutely delicious, and one of my favorites was always the Bearded Mr. Frenchy, a french toast coated in corn flakes and then deep fried. Even before I went vegan, I felt that the dish was a little heavy, which means that to someone with normal taste buds, it probably tasted like a lard parade. Anyway,I made this special occasion-only breakfast in April when I wanted something absolutely bananas for my birthday.

A joke I heard the other day.
How many vegans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Answer: Two. One to change the lightbulb and one to read the ingredients. Ba-dum-ba. Here's the recipe.

Corn-flake Crusted French Toast

• 3 slices of whole wheat bread
• 1 1/2 tsp. egg replacer
• 1/4 c. soymilk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• dash of cinnamon
• 1 c. cornflakes
• oil for frying

Mix the egg replacer, soymilk, vanilla and cinnamon and pour into a shallow bowl or dish. Crumble the cornflakes (each flake only needs to be crumbled in half) and place in a seperate dish.
Dip both sides of the bread in the milk mixture (don't let them sit in it for too long) and press into the cornflake crumbs. Flip the bread and press in the other side.
In a large frying pan, heat 1/4" of oil over high. Wait until the oil is piping hot (I'm talking close to smoking here) and drop the coated pieces of bread into the pan. Let them cook for a minute on each side and drain them on a paper towel before serving.
Serve sprinkled with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar and maple syrup.
Serves 2 at a bazillion calories.