In the Etzlenu Test Kitchen

So I was charged with delivering a very specific vegan patty for a family member who is holding strictly to a very special health food diet, using broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cornmeal, lemon juice, onion, garlic, and a handful of spices. No oil, no salt, no pepper, and none of the ingredients I like to use in our standard soul food vegan burger (black beans, sweet potato, whole grain rice, walnuts, mushrooms, etc.).

I’d like to claim that it was a resounding success. I’d be lying. On paper, the recipe seemed promising. And the final result from an aesthetic standpoint was pretty good. But oh my god. Shoot me if I ever end up eating like this on a regular basis. No really: shoot me.

OK. I know that health is paramount — and that in this particular case, the emphasis on detoxing out the bad shit and supplanting this with really healthy cooking makes perfect sense. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? But this particular dish caused me to reflect on the wide swath of impulses and needs food typically responds to: health, nutrition, survival, aesthetics, pleasurable sensations, socialization, memory, longing.

I don’t know where I would be if I had to jettison virtually everything on this list. Not any place I would want to be for long. So long live (occasional) failure in our soul food kitchen. It’s good for the soul.