Beats & Treats: These Dinosaur Jr.-Inspired Sweets Will Make You Believe in Love Again

Prince Rama’s Nimai Larson thinks J. Mascis sounds heartbroken on Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not — and she has the perfect cure.

No one understands summertime sadness like Dinosaur Jr.

On his harrowing new album, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, J. Mascis strings together so many heartbreaking declarative statements that I just wanna force-feed him chocolate and make him take a vacation in the woods! And that’s basically what I’m about to do in this edition of “Beats & Treats,” the column in which I whip up recipes inspired by records.

In the fist-pumping song “Tiny,” Mascis sings, “I wanna know/I wanna go/I’m all alone/I wanna know.” It sounds like what he needs is a pal to distract him from his hard times! He says himself, “Calling out/I’m deep in doubt/I need you…the fear is that I can’t be friends for long.” I’m here to be your friend, Mr. Mascis — so just imagine I’m tapping you on the shoulder and saying, “Lighten up, man. And by lighten up … I mean light a campfire, let yourself be a kid again and make some chocolatey s’mores!”

Mascis continues: “Call me back/I’ll get back on track, I swear.” Don’t worry, Mascis! I’ll get you back on track in the sweetest way I know how — I swear! Nature is beautiful and s’mores are simple!

But, there’s just one snag in my heart-mending planI inconveniently live in Brooklyn with no access to nature, so a campfire is out, meaning throw any idea of a traditional s’more into the flames! I’ve made the vegan, city version: “Give S’more of What Yer Not!” No fire required 😉

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GIVE S’MORE OF WHAT YER NOT

Ingredients:

2 packages of dark chocolate chips
9 graham crackers
2 tablespoons of Earth Balance (butter substitute)
6 vegan marshmallows
Muffin tin and baking tins

Directions:

In the track “I Walk for Miles,” Mascis sings, “I walk for miles/I came for you/stopped for a while/I came unglued.” Luckily, you’ll only have to travel to the stove, counter and fridge when making these easy s’mores cups. First, melt both packages of chocolate chips in a non-stick skillet. graham2

Then place about a tablespoon of the melty chocolate in your lined muffin tins and place them in the freezer.

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Mascis continues: “In my state/in my loneliness/the only place I wait.” Well, no more waiting in your loneliness, we have another task at hand while the chocolate hardens! That task is to crush graham crackers. This will be partially for the filling, and partially for the topping. And do you know how we are going to crush these graham crackers? The hint is in Mascis’ gravelly voice in “Knocked Around”: “I got knocked around…It would mean a lot/to get a glimpse of what yer not.”

LET’S KNOCK THESE GRAHAMS AROUND!

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Stuff those nine solid graham crackers into a plastic bag and let out some of that anger! Knock it to the ground! Pound it! A glimpse of what yer not anymore? Traditional graham crackers!

With your hands, mix about 2/3 of the crushed graham crackers in a bowl with two tablespoons of Earth Balance. This will become our wet filling. The dry crumbles will be the topping. Also, take six vegan marshmallows and cut them in half making twelve. Now the real magic begins 🙂

In Dinosaur Jr.’s track “Be a Part,” Mascis asks, “Where’s my time?/where I find I’m right in line/a space to shine.” This is his time to shine; we’re getting to the proper filling for these delicious s’mores cups!

Take the muffin tray out of the freezer. Divide the wet filling evenly in the 12 cups. Then place a marshmallow half on top of the buttery graham crumbles. Mascis continues: “Broken-hearted/that ain’t no way to make a stand/so we started/c’mon explain to me again.” In my song called “Give S’more of What Yer Not,” the way to glue a broken heart together again? Use the same sugary substance I use to bind the filling together: s’more melted chocolate! 😉

Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the filling and top with the dry graham cracker crumbs…

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Say a little goodbye before freezing them for one hour…

When I am going through a heartbreak, I am constantly fiending for chocolate. You may be wondering, “Is chocolate really the glue that makes a broken heart whole again?” In “Love Is…”, Mascis describes what one can only imagine is the effect of the chocolatey cure on his heart: “Careless what I wished for my dear/ruthless once I had a taste if it.” Yes, once Mascis has “S’more of What Yer Not,” he will be ruthlessly eating his way to a whole, loving heart again. He continues to advise this behavior in “Love Is…” singing, “Let it fall on you/let it pin you down/til you tell the truth.” The truth is, I’d let these treats pin me down any day!

A glimmer of hope…

In the track “Good to Know,” Mascis sings: “I’m calling out to meet you…I believe in actual love.” His broken heart is cured! And after a bite of one of these sweet cups, I will believe in actual love, too!

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Nimai Larson, one half of the Brooklyn dance band Prince Rama, loves to write about her passions: music, food and love.

(photo credit: Photo Pink)