Q: Chef Scott, I am a dispensary owner. I recently checked out your website www.SimplyPure.com and have been following your company for some time. How do you and your wife as business owners deal with all the stress, crazy changes, and federal threats this industry presents? Can you recommend a few meals and snacks for your fellow business owners?
A: For all of us in this industry, stress meets us at the kitchen table each morning: unemployment is at a record high, Occupy Wall Street is everywhere, corporate greed is out of control, politicians are clueless and the White House, our President, who promised us “Change” has reneged on his stand on Medicinal Marijuana.
We have once again become a society that creates laws to put innocent people in prison; this is what happened during prohibition. It is the same shit all over again. We as Americans must go back to school and read up on prohibition. It is also our road map to legalization. The most important thing we can do in our battle to legalize marijuana is not to give political donations to any candidate who does not support marijuana and make it clear that you will not vote for anyone who is not pro medicinal marijuana. Make sure you tell them why. A recent Gallup Poll shows that 50 percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana. So just imagine if that 50 percent made their vote and donations count regarding cannabis. Hell, isn’t that what got our current President elected? We now have to bond together at the ballot box to end this foolish game.
So before we fire up the grille, lets rap about things we can do in conjunction with cooking cannabis to relieve stress. Take time out each day for yourself, your family, and your friends for at least an hour. Laugh each day, there is plenty of funny stuff out there to laugh at. Heck, I even watch cartoons - especially Bugs Bunny. What I am trying to say is, give yourself a break every day. You deserve it!
Now back to cooking, cannabis and stress relief. These recipes are dedicated to help you to relax, so enjoy and medicate responsibly.
Chef Scott
Morning Cannabis
Mocha Hazelnut Coffee
(2 servings)
4 oz strong fresh brewed coffee of choice
1 tsp raw sugar
4 oz melted high quality chocolate
6 oz infused milk, whole, rice or soy, no low fat *
add condensed milk – sweeten to taste
splash of natural hazelnut flavoring
top with whip cream
In a small pot, melt chocolate slowly and add infused milk, and stir until smooth. Slowly stir in all remaining ingredients and simmer on low, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from heat, add whip cream, top with cinnamon, and enjoy a great morning drink that will help you handle whatever gets thrown at you.
*Infused Milk - Whether you use Sativa or Indica will determine the medicinal benefit of your recipe when using infused milk. I recommend ¼ to ½ oz of ground high quality bud with 1 quart of milk, more cannabis if pain or a sleeping disorder is your ailment. Soak milk and cannabis in a tightly sealed container and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, shaking three times daily for 30 seconds.
Strain the milk on the 4th day, removing as much cannabis as possible. You now have infused milk for recipes. Pot Milk?
Banana Nut Muffins or Bread
(serves 12)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ cups of chopped walnut
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla flavoring
¾ cup raw sugar
½ cup melted infused coconut butter
1 cup of ripe mashed bananas
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a 9x5x3 loaf pan, or 12-muffin pan, grease sides and bottom of pan and set aside. Combine eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla, melted infused coconut butter and sugar in a medium sized bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and soda, nutmeg, and salt. Create a crater in the middle of mixture and slowly pour in egg mixture. Stir slowly (batter should be lumpy). Add nuts and continue to stir until batter is mixed completely.
Spoon batter into loaf pan or muffin pan. Move pan back and forth so batter is even in pan. Place in the middle of the oven for 50-60 minutes if making bread, or 20-25 minutes if making muffins.
50 minutes during baking, insert a wooden toothpick in the center of bread to check to see if bread is finished (20 minute mark for muffins). If not, cover bread with foil until bread is finished. Let cool completely and serve.
Lunch
Carrot pumpkin ginger bisque (vegetarian)
(serves 3 to 4)
16 oz 100% pure pumpkin puree
¼ cup condensed milk
½ cup coconut milk
½ cup fresh carrot juice
½ cup unfiltered apple juice
2 tbsp infused coconut butter - Indica or *Sativa
½ tsp fresh grated ginger root
Pinch of sea salt
If you have a juicing machine, I suggest juicing your apple and carrot juice together. If not, purchase the freshest juice you possibly can.
In a medium size pan, add pumpkin puree, condensed milk, coconut milk and canna butter and cook on medium low until the mixture is smooth, stirring constantly from bottom of pan for 10 minutes. Slowly stir in juices, ginger and pinch of salt and cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon as an option.
*This recipe works great with Sativa Canna butter as a great way to help with tension headaches during the day.
Dinner
Cannabis Comfort Pot Roast
(serves 8 to 10)
3.5 lbs Beef Chuck Roast - medium fat
1 lb washed organic red baby potatoes
1 lb organic baby carrots, whole
1 cup sliced green and yellow zucchini squash
½ sliced red onion
1 cup cubed celery
1 tsp fresh ground thyme
1 tsp dry basil or 2 fresh chopped sprigs
¼ cup fresh minced garlic
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
¼ cup dry red wine
¾ cup infused olive oil or coconut butter - Indica
¾ cup beef broth
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup flour
2 oven roasting bags or 6 quart pot with cover for oven
Hand rub chuck roast with ¼ cup infused olive oil or butter and let sit overnight. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove roast from refrigerator and trim off excess fat. Brown fat in a skillet pan on medium heat. Remove excess fat from skillet and add wine, beef broth, ¼ cup infused oil, Worcestershire sauce, and let simmer for 5 minutes on low. Add flour and whisk to gravy consistency and remove from heat (add water if gravy is too thick). Gravy mixture should be soup consistency. Add remaining infused oil to gravy mixture and set aside ¼ cup of gravy for later.
Season roast with black pepper, thyme, garlic, onion powder, and sea salt and place in roasting bag (double up roasting bag for strength) or roasting pot. Mix and toss all chopped vegetables and potatoes with ¼ cup infused oil and evenly place in roasting bag or roasting pot on the top and bottom of roast. Pour remaining gravy mixture evenly over roast and vegetables.
Secure roasting bag (place bag in roasting pot) or cover pot and place in oven for 1 ¾ to 2hrs, or until beef is tender. Once roast is ready, take juice from and add to ¼ cup of gravy that was set aside and heat on low. Pour gravy over entire roast and enjoy.
