MF DOOM : Fig Leaf Bi-Carbonate

“Well your food could soon be good to the last bite”
Inspired by MF DOOM “Fig Leaf Bi-Carbonate” from MM..FOOD
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This is part of the Cooking The Album project for MF DOOM’s MM..FOOD

I mix up some herbs and
I come up with a dandy glass of this
Bicarbonate of fig leaf
That’ll set me free, I’ll tell you

This is the final part of a three-track skit collage break including “Fillet-O-Rapper” and “Gumbo” that’s the only REAL pure food content on the album. Here DOOM addresses the reality every food lover faces from time to time: how to handle all that crazy stuff you’re eating. The answer is bi-carbonate aka something like Alka Seltzer or anything that’ll make you belch. Get rid of that full stomach feeling regardless of whether it was loud.

Now I cannot say, from a culinary standpoint, that fig leaf in any way, shape, or form helps with digestion, but we’re clearly talking an after-dinner item for this track. That means a dessert. As we’re trying to counter all that crazy stuff, let’s get a little healthy with a fig bar. As a bonus, this uses baking soda which is sodium bicarbonate and satisfies the fig and bi-carbonate of the title.

I am not a baker. I have no real intention to be a baker. Anything I’m baking is going to be simple as hell and pretty much one bowl. I’m not buying an expensive mixer or getting a bunch of special pans. That’s why this recipe is pretty much everything in my wheelhouse. One saucepan, a food processor, a mixing bowl, and a baking pan. Dead fricking simple. It’s definitely nutritionally better than a lot of my MM..FOOD dishes and probably would help with digesting all this crazy shit

FIG LEAF BI-CARBONATE
Fig bars with a brown sugar oat crumble
Makes 16 bars

1 cup chopped dried figs, stems removed (8 ounces)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ cups rolled oats (I used quick oats)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg white
Cooking spray or butter for the pan

Place the figs, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer until the mixture starts to thicken about 3 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Put filling in a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add butter and egg white to oat mixture and stir until combined.

Press half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking pan. Then, carefully spread the fig mixture on top. Finally, spread the remaining oat mixture over the fig mixture and then gently pat it down. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Cut into even squares.