Eve’s
Fantasy
A Culinary Midrash
A few years ago – back when I still ate sweets
– my beloved, Chaim, and I walked into Starbucks and there was an enticing
looking sweet next to the brownies. So
I asked the server what it was. The
response I heard was "Eve's Fantasy" - a combination of cookie dough
bar, chocolate chunks, toffee, and caramel.
I proceeded to make a whole speech - out loud - about how that didn't
sound like Eve's fantasy to me. I
pontificated that Eve's fantasy would have been more philosophically and
emotionally grounded. This was so
offensive to me, I didn't care that I was speaking my mind to no one in
particular in this pretentiously dimly-lit java joint. I continued, "And come on:
Hello?!?! Fruit?!?!?!?!?"
So, I just had to see what Eve's Fantasy tasted
like - maybe I was missing something.
So, while Chaim ordered whatever gigantic mega-dosed caffeine
extravaganza he drinks, I ordered Eve's Fantasy and a glass of water - no ice. The poetically butch server looked at
me. "What?"
I repeated that I wanted to try "Eve's
Fantasy".
"Heath Fantasy," she said,
"Eve's Fantasy? I don't know what
that would be."
And so, I have taken it upon myself to create
Eve's Fantasy. B'teavon.
4oz applesauce
8 oz fine baking coconut
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups Sucanat (or sugar or date sugar or
fructose)
1 banana, mushed
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups of chocolate chips
½ cup carob chips
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dry cherries
3 figs, chopped
Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth.
Pour into a square 8" x 8" pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until
fully baked. Cool and cut into squares.
It’s necessary that
this be a vegan recipe. The infamous
eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree occurred shortly after Adam was
examining all animals as possible partners, naming them all, per God’s
direction. For food, God had provided
“every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food...’of every tree
of the garden thou may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil thou shalt not eat...’...”. In
Eden, food grew out of the ground - animals were just rejected, albeit
thoughtfully named, helpmates. Thus,
every ingredient in this recipe grows out of the ground. So, maybe Eve ate the fruit because she was
bored of everything she had already tried.
Like many of us, she was someone who needed to be challenged, needed
stimulation - obviously a particularly bright person. She sought something more, new feelings, new sensations, new
ideas - and yes, new combinations - hence this concoction.
There is much midrash
on what the fruit was that Eve risked eating.
Because it is not made clear in the Torah - it is my conclusion that a)
it doesn’t matter and b) it’s up to our own tastes. Traditionally, we learn in school or religious school, in the
media, and often in art that it is an apple.
This recipe honors that childhood memory by using applesauce as a
replacement for the usual fat used in baking such as oil or butter - incidentally,
this also makes the recipe significantly lower in fat (which is more of a
post-Eden kind of fantasy). Whole wheat
flour is used because whole grains are closer to biblical grains and it’s
healthier, higher in fiber. Salt as we
all know helps release flavors. Vanilla
is also used for flavoring - and it grows out of the earth. Here’s more about the rest of the ingredient
choices (not in order of appearance):
Bananas: They grow on trees. A woman naked in a garden of timeless bliss, ‘nough said. Also, in the recipe, they serve as a lower fat,
no cholesterol, animal protein-free replacement for eggs used in traditional
baking for binding ingredients.
Figs: The figs are in there because when I surveyed
friends and teachers as to what they believed the forbidden fruit to be, this,
along with pomegranates, was the most popular response. Figs and pomegranates both represent
fertility - a suggestion that most people perceive that Eve was yearning for
motherhood.
Chocolate chips: There is proof that women crave chocolate
because it releases a hormone also released during sexual activity. This is not to suggest that Eve fantasized
only about sex - but she was becoming human. Chocolate! And besides, what’s a fantasy without
chocolate?!
Cherries: They grow on trees, but they were also
selected for their “fantastic” implications including: “pretty please with a
cherry on top!”
Coconut and Carob: Grow on trees and make for exciting, exotic,
celebratory ingredients. Used also in
this recipe for their creamy tastes and diverse textures.