5 February, 2008
Raw “Food”
It’s pancake day, not that it means much to a raw foodie. I do remember the taste of pancakes though, I had the batter mix down to an art, despite my lack of traditional chef training (I’m not including my years working in Burger King as a teenager, here).
I used to love pancakes - lots of lemon and sugar, and occasionally some jam. But I don’t miss them now (I think it’s a shame I’m so good at making them but my talent doesn’t get used - I could even double-toss!). I’ve been asked if I have a recipe for raw pancakes, but I have to say that’s where I draw the line…
There has to be a point where raw food relies less on mocking cooked food, and is celebrated and recognised as a dining experience in it’s own right. That time is now.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m first in line for the raw pizza when it’s made for me, and I know we have to make a distinction between dairy cheese and nut cheeze, or “cheese” (depending on your preference of distinction). But I’ve had it with spelling nut mylk that way. I’ve had it with eating inside inverted commas. I’ll put my hands up at this point - I’m guilty as charged; have you seen my raw lasagne, complete with nut “cheese”?
I say all this with my tongue wedged firmly in my cheek, I know there’s always going to a reference to cooked food, but I do have a serious point here (stay with me, it’s worth the payoff!)…
There are so many creative and talented raw chefs out there, doing amazing things, bringing raw to the masses and inspiring people, that we don’t have to pretend to be something else so much anymore.
It’s time raw for raw food to break out of those inverted commas that have been its prison for so many years, and step forward into the limelight, proud and beautiful, like the people who enjoy it.
I’m off to finish the recipe for the pomegranate cheesecake for this week’s eZine, hmmm, this might be harder than I thought! But no “pancakes”, okay?
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I think I’ll have to agree with what you’ve said above, but actually, I think I’ve seen a picture of raw “pancakes” in a magazine that the author of therawtable.com have been putting out. I don’t have the recipe, but somehow I doubt that it’d taste much like real pancakes … :) Oh, and now that I think about it - there is a pancake recipe (Apple Crepes with apple walnut filling and cinnamon maple cream) in Raw Food Real World by Sarma Melngailis and Matthew Kenney, if you or anybody else, for that matter, should change your mind. But again, the taste of real pancakes is hard to copy, I think - but then who’d actually want it (referring to that typical greasy taste of them)?
From Russell: Perhaps pancakes was a bad example! Lol. I’m sure all the pancakes you mentioned taste fantastic, the point I’m making is that mocking cooked food can leave some people, particularly new people, baffled. They just can’t see how you can have a raw burger or raw pizza - which leads to raw food being dismissed as a joke.
Thanks for your comments.
Alexandra on / 6 February, 2008
And when I look trhough your flickr photos, I see that you actually do have a picture of pancakes, blueberries and cream AND another of chocolate crepes. *lol* Why not post some of these recipes? I personally would love to have the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies … :)
From Russell: Hi Alexandra, those pics were taken whilst I was at The Pant in NYC, and so I don’t have the recipes as they’re not mine. Now you mention it though, those pancakes - which are actually more like Scotch pancakes, not the pancakes you have on pancake day - were actually very tasty :-)
Alexandra on / 6 February, 2008
Hello Russell,
Your point is well-made and I agree for the most part. Without question, there is a lot of talent out there, and plenty of dishes that require no comparison to other “food”.
The only place where I differ with your point is that it is better to eat the raw food version of pancakes then it would be to succumb to a craving of butter and syrup drenched stacks of white-flour fluffiness.
One last thought, as raw foods keep gaining in popularity, perhaps it won’t be long before comparisons are made with the assumption of cooked foods being inferior.
From Russell: Hi August, thanks for your comments. I seem to have not made myself clear, in that, I also wouldn’t say that traditional pancakes would be favourable over any raw version, at least in terms of health. It wasn’t my intention to give that message. Thanks again.
August Garner on / 6 February, 2008
Hi Russell,
Thanks for posting this, I absolutely agree with you! It reminds me of when I first went veggie and I’d make veggie versions of meat-based classics. We made up new names for these recipes, too (one of my more recent favourites is Quottage Pie - Cottage Pie made with Quorn) but if you are copying a cooked dish then what do you do? “Pasta” made from courgette - it’s certainly not pasta, but what is it instead? Personally, I like how my food choices these days are walking away from traditional thinking of how we eat. I might have 3 or 4 apples for breakfast, and my favourite lunch is a green smoothie and we eat thali-style for dinner more and more often, with four or five different dishes served together. Much more interesting.
I think it’s understandable that we continue to imitate cooked food dishes in our raw creations, but I am excited about shifting mindsets around how we eat and looking forward to seeing raw food breaking the mould.
From Russell: Thanks, Lou. The Quottage Pie made me smile. Your Thai style evenings sound very interesting, keep your eye open for my Thai-Style Raw eBook - it’s in development.
lou on / 6 February, 2008