French Toast: Sometimes the Simplest Recipe Teaches the Greatest Lesson

By Rose Hedgemond Founder, Red Carpet Girl® Mentoring Program

There is something special about an old family recipe.

The worn paper. The handwriting. The measurements written the way Grandma understood them. And perhaps most importantly, the knowledge that someone we loved once stood in a kitchen, followed those very instructions, and prepared something for the people she cared about.

This month's Recipe for Success comes directly from my grandmother's handwritten collection—a simple recipe for French toast, dating back to approximately the 1950s, and possibly even earlier.

At first glance, there isn't anything particularly complicated about it. Eggs. Milk. Sugar. Salt. Bread. A little butter or fat for the pan.

But perhaps that is exactly what makes this month's recipe so appropriate.

Because success doesn't always require a complicated recipe.

Sometimes it begins with learning to follow a few simple instructions well.

A Breakfast With a Very Long History

Although we call it French toast, the basic idea is much older than modern France. Versions of bread soaked in milk and egg and then fried can be traced as far back as ancient Rome. Centuries later, variations appeared throughout Europe. In France, the dish became known as pain perdu, meaning "lost bread," because older or stale bread that might otherwise have been discarded could be transformed into something delicious.

I love that history because there is a lesson hiding inside it.

Something does not have to be perfect—or even new—to have value.

With the right ingredients, attention and preparation, something seemingly ordinary can become something wonderful.

And sometimes the same is true of life.

Grandma's French Toast

From my grandmother's handwritten recipe:

Ingredients:3 eggs½ teaspoon salt2 tablespoons sugar1 cup milk8 slices of breadButter or other fat for frying

Directions:Beat the eggs slightly. Add the salt, sugar and milk. Dip the bread into the mixture, turning it so that both sides are coated. Fry in butter or other fat until browned on both sides.

Grandma added another little instruction for making Melba toast: slice the bread as thinly as possible, toast it on both sides until brown, and serve without butter.

There are no fancy gadgets in this recipe. No elaborate techniques. No long list of ingredients.

But there are instructions.

And that may be the most important ingredient of all.

Life Has a Recipe, Too

At the Red Carpet Girl® Mentoring Program, we often talk with our girls about becoming confident, prepared and equipped for the different "carpets" life will place before them.

That doesn't happen by accident.

Just as a recipe provides instructions for creating a successful dish, mentorship can provide young people with guidance for building a successful life.

Some recipes are short. Others require many ingredients.

Some can be prepared quickly. Others require patience.

Some allow substitutions. Others require us to follow the instructions carefully because leaving out one important ingredient can completely change the outcome.

Life can be much the same.

Education is an ingredient. Character is an ingredient. Confidence is an ingredient. Communication is an ingredient. Integrity, preparation, accountability, kindness, perseverance and knowing how to conduct yourself are ingredients, too.

And then there is something young people sometimes underestimate:

the ability to listen and follow instructions.

Whether you're learning in a classroom, preparing for college, beginning your first job, developing a relationship, starting a business or simply learning how to navigate adulthood, there will be instructions along the way.

Learning when to listen, when to ask questions, when to make adjustments and when to patiently follow the process can make the journey a little smoother.

This Month's Recipe for Success Challenge

This month, I want our Red-Carpet Girl® mentees to do something wonderfully simple:

Get into the kitchen with someone you love.

Invite Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, a guardian, sibling or another special person to make Grandma's French toast with you for a Saturday or Sunday breakfast or brunch.

Put the phones down for a little while.

Gather the ingredients.

Read the recipe together.

Measure everything.

Follow the instructions.

Set the table.

Sit down together.

And talk.

Talk about school. Talk about goals. Talk about something funny that happened during the week. Ask the adults in your life what they dreamed about when they were your age. Ask them about mistakes they made and lessons they learned.

Because although you may think you're simply making French toast, you could actually be creating a memory.

My grandmother could never have imagined that decades after she wrote this little recipe on a piece of lined paper, her instructions would still be teaching another generation.

Yet here we are.

And perhaps that is the greatest Recipe for Success of all:

Learn from those who came before you. Follow good instructions. Add your own gifts along the way. And when you discover a recipe that works, pass it on.

Because the best recipes aren't simply the ones that feed us.

They're the ones that teach us how to live.

Confidence. Character. Class.®

Red Carpet Girl® Mentoring Program