Raw Nutter Butters

Everything that rises must converge.

Really, though, has anyone else ever suddenly become overwhelmed with interconnectedness? That feeling that, as Murakami might write, “something of great importance is about to happen?” It often strikes me in times of stasis, where I imagine all the mundane elements around me might transform and mesh at the very drop of a hat.

It’s a difficult notion to explain, but it’s wondrous.

Anyways, sometimes I even get that very feeling in the kitchen. I watched a TED Talk recently about the creative process, and it was mentioned that ancient Greeks thought that spirits came through the walls of one’s studio space to guide an artist with certain ideas. It’s a fun thought, for sure. Here’s a more in-depth explanation:

“Gilbert explains that in ancient Greece and ancient Rome people did not believe that creativity came from human beings. Instead, they believed there was a divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source.

The Greeks called these beings “Daemons”. It is well-known that Socrates believed that he had a daemon who spoke wisdom to him. The Romans called the disembodied creative spirit a “Genius”. That is, a genius was not a particularly clever individual, it was a magical entity that lived in the walls of an artist’s studio and would come out and invisibly help the artist with his work.

Elizabeth argues in her Ted talk that adopting a belief similar to that held by the Romans and Greeks is a good way for a creative person to establish some distance from their work. By believing that there’s a being that works through you, you keep your ego in check: after all, if your work is a success it wasn’t entirely you that created it, you had help. At the same time, it keeps performance anxiety at bay: if you create something that fails, that wasn’t entirely about you either: your genius or daemon is also to blame.” [source]

~

Often, my recipes do rely on split second inclusion of ingredients, and vague ideas that seem to wash onto the shores of my consciousness. This cookie is one such creation, and I thank whatever muse came to me through the walls of my kitchen to help me out. Because it’s delicious.

Raw Nutter Butters

Ingredients
10 dates, pitted
1 1/2 cup cashews, unsalted
2 scoops (about 1/3 cup) protein powder, unflavored or vanilla
2 tb peanut butter, or peanut flour
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup graham flour, or sub. whole wheat
Peanut butter, for filling

Add dates to food processor, and pulse until ground. Add in walnuts, and pulse until smooth. Add in protein powder, peanut, vanilla, and graham flour, and process until a thick dough forms. If dough is too sticky, add more flour and pulse until incorporated.

Lay dough out on cutting board, and flatten to 1/2 in thickness. Cut out biscuit sized rounds, and sandwich with peanut butter. Score tops of sandwiches with the flat back of a knife for a lattice pattern. Makes about 5 sandwiches.

Be forewarned, these are gooey. And they can be sticky, if your house is above say 74 degrees. To streamline the nomming process, it might be a good idea to pop them in the fridge for about an hour.

What would these pair well with? I’m inclined to say almond milk, but that’s too simple. You’re going to want strawberry rhubarb jam, which my grandma conveniently brought from North Dakota this week (so I’ve been living off the stuff). The combo will be like PB&J, but refreshingly tart and chewy.

I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow, anyway. 

Happy nomming,

Danny

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