Scrambled Brains

Mathew Price is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

On the back cover of this “cooking guide for the reality impaired,”
readers are urged to buy Scrambled Brains because it is “offbeat.”
Indeed, with its hep comic-book cover and smart-aleck sense of humor,
the book initially intrigues. Pierre LeBlanc’s main point—that many
“convenience” items that single Generation Xers buy ready-made
(macaroni and cheese, powdered soup) are easy to make from scratch and
likely cheaper too—is a valid one. It’s when one gets to the recipes
that the trouble begins.

Cookbook recipes can be organized by course (appetizers, main courses,
etc.), by main ingredients, or even alphabetically. The chapters in
Scrambled Brains are organized by such annoyingly cute themes as Poverty
Kitchen, Soup Line Favourites, Party, and Cooking with Weeds. The fact
that many of the recipes have Cannabis sativa as the main ingredient
makes it impossible to figure out where a certain recipe should be
located.

The increasingly unfunny comic strips and poor-taste practical jokes
lead one to suspect that the authors may have been enjoying their own
recipes a bit too much. Those who make it to Dog Food Pвté are
advised, “Serve it to yuppies, they deserve it!” The glossary
contains 14 different marijuana-related definitions, none of which are
necessary.

Most nondrug-users will be turned off by all the drug use, serious
cooks won’t learn anything new, and the people who do not use pot
probably don’t need food recipes to feed their habit. Just who is this
book for?