Thursday, September 25, 2014

Vegan ginger pear pancakes with chocolate syrup

vegan ginger pear pancakes with chocolate syrup

I have a terrible affliction.

This dawned on me yesterday, when I hit “send” on an email to the local newspaper’s editorial department containing a strongly-worded essay on one issue or another, and subsequently realized that I, Baby June, must be a victim of casual narcissism.

This is not to be confused with narcissistic personality disorder, which is far worse and generally does not allow for any kind of self-awareness. No—casual narcissism, so I’ve termed it, is the mind-boggling idea that people actually care about my rather pedestrian opinions, that they give a shit about how I was compelled to watch the movie 300 last weekend in all of its bare-chested glory, or maybe that homework, well, you know. And yes, I just used my own personal blog to tell you that, goddamit!

How peculiar it is, really, that an otherwise sane person could think the world needs to know such mundane details. We all know my image as a kind and benevolent martyr of my own happiness has already been well-crafted. 

the persian king in 300 says "i am a generous god" and apparently it's a meme
Making references already, are we? source

Casual narcissism is also well-known to be a cause of the Blog, a potentially fatal disease if left untreated. Who knows how many lives have been lost chronicling where we went out to dinner last night and how long we ran in the morning after to burn off those dirty dirty calories and the sense of virtue we felt while consuming our kabocha matcha superfood smoothies, complete with (literally) shitty photography and sweaty selfies? Think of the psychological trauma that occurs when we come up for air only to realize that the world actually doesn’t give a fuck if we post on time or Instagram once per day or whatever. Just think of it! Enough to give you a bit of a stroke.

And what about those editorials, eh? Writing long tangents about the state of the nation without a care for rhyme or reason? You guessed it—another pastime of the casual narcissist. Even worse that the newspaper has a habit of accepting them. Of the two times I’ve submitted editorials and had them published, the ensuing response was enough to make me want to write another dozen, which is of course not a good thing at all. We can’t encourage people like myself.

Even worse is the pull of certain *ahem* social websites like Facebook or Reddit, which offer bite-sized ego-boosts in the form of likes and upvotes. On Reddit, where upvotes are tracked in the form of karma points, the search for the upvote become almost siren-like, dictating what we say and how we behave and even how we feel. These magical internet points—indeed, they are the abode of the casual narcissist as well.

dr. who upvote gif OMG amazing
IT'S...IT'S BEAUTIFUL source

In acknowledging this little affliction of mine, I’ve observed how, exactly, it progresses over time:

1. Muddling along, blissfully unaware of the problem

2. Suddenly realizing that one is mildly delusional

3. Denying the accusation—“I’m different!”

4. Accepting the charge at long last, albeit grudgingly

5. Owning the fact that one is a casual narcissist, even bragging about it (god knows why)

6. Drowning in a wave of shame once one realizes that casual narcissism isn’t exactly brag-worthy

7. Developing a self-deprecating sense of humor

8. Slowly, ever so slowly, beginning to see what havoc this issue has caused for oneself and the world at large

9. ???

10. Profit!

Okay. Admittedly, I don’t know how it ends, but surely not well.

But admitting you’ve got a problem is the first step, eh?

All I’m saying is, the internet’s a hell of a drug. Only if I force myself not to care about internet points and Instagram posts will I recover from this spot of weakness.

Now. To assuage my guilt about not blogging for a few days, here’s a pancake recipe.

vegan ginger pear pancakes with chocolate syrup
Ah! Isn't this photography just beautiful?

Last post, I showed you how to make Momofuku’s famous chocolate sauce (to be fair, almost everything they make is famous). Now, I give you an application: for breakfast.

Surprised? I should hope not. This is what we’re all about here.

These pancakes are, shockingly, somewhat seasonal, given their inclusion of fresh pears alongside the ginger and chocolate—a truly wonderful combination. You must try it. Really. My mother may turn her nose up at the sound of the word “ginger”, but...

well...

...just don’t be like that.

___________

Ginger pear pancakes with chocolate sauce

Serves one


Ingredients

62 grams • white whole wheat flour • ½ cup

4 grams • baking powder • 1 scant teaspoon

1 gram • salt • 1/8 teaspoon

15 grams • brown sugar • 1 heaping tablespoon

61 grams • nondairy milk • ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons

3 grams • apple cider vinegar • ½ teaspoon

7 grams • vegetable oil • ½ tablespoon

4 grams • freshly grated ginger • 1 teaspoon

One small pear, finely chopped


Instructions

Whisk together white whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Gently stir in nondairy milk, apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, and ginger. Fold in pear. Fry on a well-preheated pan until golden brown on both sides. Top with chocolate sauce. Munch.

___________

vegan ginger pear pancakes with chocolate syrup
See that shiny chocolate sauce? Mmm yeah.

Notice how, due to my homework-induced martyr status, the pictures here are just as dreary as those in my most recent post, illuminated by artificial light and hurriedly “styled” (if you could call it that). Do I have any shame? Hardly. These are delicious enough to make up for it.

Right?

Right? 

4 comments:

  1. I think we're all afflicted with a little of the old "Casual narcissism" - myself included.... Or is it casually narcissist to say that? I've hurt my brain. Good job Pancakes help with that. Cause these look the bomb. Lush.

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  2. I am looking forward to hear what the response you get is, please keep us posted, ya? :D Also, I reckon you aren't a casual narcissist, but simply a human, and also a good writer at that. Sometime I find that you can slip into this other type of "persona" who has a bit more of an edge to them. You find it easier to joke, be cheeky, or whatever. I wouldn't worry about it :P
    Already, I am a fan of yours... this should potentially trigger your casual narcissism, but just shrug it off, or don't, I don't know, I just wanna eat pancakes now *notdistractedatall*
    Seriously though, fresh ginger, how can you NOT like that?! I just worked in a kitchen for a month and a half and I kid you not, we used it in 95% of the things we made, because you know...it's delicious :D Thanks for the recipe, I might go out and hunt for pears and ginger now, mmmmm ^ ^

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    Replies
    1. Aw, thanks. You flatter me :') And I agree about fresh ginger, it is SO important to this and all recipes. Death to dried ginger! Or not, but the fresh stuff is just so amazing :)

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