Cannabis Cooking 101: Edibles, Entertaining & Microdosing + Spiced Apple & Cherry Cake Recipe

[00:00:00] Ellen Scanlon: This podcast discusses cannabis and is intended for audiences 21 and over.

[00:00:12] Ellen Scanlon: 1906 is a cannabis brand that’s all about microdosing, which makes it easier than ever to get comfortable with weed. You don’t have to fit a certain stereotype and you don’t have to smoke to get the benefits of cannabis anymore. There are discreet and convenient ways to incorporate it into your life.

[00:00:33] Ellen Scanlon: 1906 makes edibles called drops that are as easy to take as a pill. There’s no chewing required. One of their most popular products is their sleep drop. It’s designed to calm your mind and body promote drowsiness and help you fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. And now 1906 ships nationwide.

[00:00:58] Ellen Scanlon: Women love 1906. I love 1906 and I think you will too. Visit 1906. shop today and use promo code, do the pot for 15 percent off your order. I’ll add all the details to the show notes. Thank you for supporting the brands that support our show.

[00:01:25] Monica Lo: So I had flown my mom out to tinker with me in the kitchen, kind of as a bonding experience. That’s how I discovered that her beginner’s dose is my maximum dose. Just after a meal of infused noodles, and I think we had 25 milligrams each, I passed out on the couch and she was like energized, blasting music, and just deep cleaning my kitchen.

[00:01:54] Ellen Scanlon: Welcome to How to Do the Pot, a podcast helping you feel confident about cannabis. I’m your host, Ellen Skamlan.

[00:02:09] Ellen Scanlon: You just heard from California based Monica Lowe. Monica is the chef and creator behind the beautiful blog and Instagram account, Sue Weed, and the author of the Weed Gummies Cookbook. This is the final episode in our three part series all about cooking with cannabis. Throughout the series, we’ve been celebrating creative and fun ways to bring cannabis into fall cooking, with apples, the star of the season, leading the way.

[00:02:40] Ellen Scanlon: In the first two episodes, we covered the basics, how to measure THC or CBD for your recipes, and the process of activating cannabis through decarboxylation, or decarbing. Our expert chefs. Also shared their tips for infusing pantry staples like oil and sugar and introduced to delicious apple themed recipes.

[00:03:05] Ellen Scanlon: Chef Christina Wong shared her simple and flavorful infused hot apple cider recipe and chef Jen Felmley brought us her take on a crunchy West Coast inspired Waldorf salad. We’re not the only ones excited about apples right now in a recent New York Times article called how healthy are apples They broke down why an apple a day Really does keep the doctor away turns out apples are packed with dietary fiber That’s great for your gut and acts like a probiotic Apples are also good for your heart And keep cholesterol in check.

[00:03:44] Ellen Scanlon: Plus they reduce chronic inflammation and just a half an apple a day can make a big difference to keep spreading the apple love how to do the pot has partnered with our friends at SAC villain co the women run brand known for their stylish smoking accessories iconic. I love New York, big apple grinder, which has a 50 value.

[00:04:11] Ellen Scanlon: This three tier pop art inspired grinder features a sleek red exterior and a twist off design for easy cleaning. It’s very useful for cooking with cannabis and will make a bold statement on your coffee table. To enter, just complete a quick survey and you’ll automatically be in the running. I’ll add the link in the show notes, and good luck.

[00:04:36] Ellen Scanlon: In today’s episode, we are going to talk about edibles and how to customize your edibles so the effects help you feel your best. If you love throwing parties, get ready for our entertaining tips from preparing for a crowd of people with different levels of experience with weed to childproofing your goodies.

[00:04:56] Ellen Scanlon: And for apple lovers with a sweet tooth, Chef Jen Falmley’s recipe for spiced apple and cherry cake will have your mouth watering.

[00:05:15] Ellen Scanlon: I have some news. How to Do the Pots newsletter has moved to Substack. If you’re not familiar, Substack is a user friendly online platform designed to support writers. If you’re one of our more than 10, 000 newsletter subscribers, don’t worry, your free access will continue. And now you have an option to support our work by upgrading to a paid subscription.

[00:05:42] Ellen Scanlon: I hope that How to Do the Pot is a valuable resource for you. Whether you listen loyally every week, share our newsletters with your friends and family or follow us on socials. Each of the newsletters highlights a featured podcast episode and I’m excited to introduce a new section called Women We Love.

[00:06:03] Ellen Scanlon: It’s a celebration of inspiring women who also like weed. If you’re curious about what’s happening behind the scenes on the show, I’ll be sharing more of my favorite finds along with the products, podcasts, books, and memes that spark my creativity. If you choose to become a paid subscriber, you are directly contributing to our mission of helping women feel confident about cannabis for health, wellbeing, and for fun.

[00:06:32] Ellen Scanlon: I hope you’ll go to our website, do the pot. com or directly to Substack to subscribe. I’ll add all the details to the show notes. Thank you. I really appreciate your support for the show.

[00:06:53] Ellen Scanlon: Edibles are one of the most popular and versatile ways to consume cannabis. They help a lot of people fall asleep every night, or maybe you prefer them before exercise to keep you motivated on a long run. I love low dose edibles, and having two or three milligrams of THC is what works best for me. Yet, over the past few years, the big cannabis companies that run dispensaries across many states have focused on customers who want high potency products.

[00:07:26] Ellen Scanlon: They’ve kind of ignored the low dose consumer. Imagine walking into your local liquor store and the widest variety of products are the highest proof bottles, like ever clear in 10 flavors, and you can only find one or maybe two options for beer and wine. I believe there are many people across the country looking for the beer and wine equivalent of cannabis.

[00:07:53] Ellen Scanlon: And since it can be hard to find low dose products in dispensaries, customer demand has led to the explosion of low dose hemp derived products. You’ve heard me talk about brands like Camino, Happy, Can, and 1906, and you can check out our website for discounts on those brands. They all make great low dose hemp derived products that have effects similar to a glass of wine or a beer.

[00:08:22] Ellen Scanlon: And they can ship their products right to your door. Brands like these are attracting customers who may not want to go into a dispensary or who don’t live in legal states. This is a huge story in the cannabis industry right now. Stay tuned. We have some incredible experts who are going to share all you need to know in our upcoming alcohol and cannabis series.

[00:08:54] Ellen Scanlon: Now let’s talk about cooking. One of the best things about making edibles at home is that you get to decide how strong they are. Chef Monica Lowe felt frustrated with limited low dose edible options, so she took matters into her own hands. The recipes in the Weed Gummies Cookbook give cooks more control over the potency and effects of their sweet treats.

[00:09:18] Monica Lo: So I’ve designed the gummies and the candies in my cookbook to be low dose. I find it so annoying when I have to cut what is already a tiny piece of a gummy into even smaller pieces because it’s so potent. I just want to have something that I can like, grab a handful of and snack on. And that said, I know there are people out there who have a very high tolerance, so you can always make your infusions more potent before you add that into any of the gummy and candy recipes in the book.

[00:09:49] Ellen Scanlon: Try to go easy on yourself if you have a cooking mishap. Even cannabis experts like Emily Kyle, the New York based founder of Emily Kyle Nutrition, can over serve themselves. 

[00:10:02] Emily Kyle: I was filming a YouTube video on how to make can of butter and I must have licked way too much off the spoon. I completely intoxicated myself and about 3 p.

[00:10:14] Emily Kyle: m. my husband rolls around and he tells me I have to go to my son’s lacrosse game and I was not prepared. So I definitely wasn’t expecting that and that’s again where you get the variability on those homemade edibles. 

[00:10:27] Ellen Scanlon: One way to control dosing is to plan out the ratio between THC, which will get you high, and CBD, the non intoxicating part of the plant.

[00:10:38] Ellen Scanlon: Cannabis tolerance can be a complicated thing, especially for women, because of our hormones. Depending on where you are in your cycle, cannabis can be up to 30 percent more potent. Yes, you will feel more high from the same weed the closer you get to your period. We have a chart on our website and a grid post on our Instagram at do the pot with all the details.

[00:11:05] Ellen Scanlon: Monica shares a cannabis tolerance story from the test kitchen that shows how surprisingly different tolerance to cannabis can be from person to person. 

[00:11:16] Monica Lo: So I had flown my mom out to tinker with me in the kitchen kind of as a bonding experience and I, I really wanted to show her how I use cannabis infusions in our family recipes.

[00:11:28] Monica Lo: So I had the opportunity to document her making some noodles that I really loved growing up. That’s how I discovered that her beginner’s dose is my maximum dose. Just after a meal of infused noodles, and I think we had 25 milligrams each, I passed out on the couch, and she was like, energized. blasting music and just deep cleaning my kitchen.

[00:11:54] Monica Lo: So that was an eyeopening experience for me in terms of everyone’s body is different. Everyone’s tolerance is different. And it just depends on a variety of different things from what you’ve consumed that day, what your hormones are, like your age, your weight. There’s, there’s just so many different factors.

[00:12:22] Ellen Scanlon: Whether you’re a chef, a home cook, or just someone who loves good food, more people are choosing to swap their evening glass of wine or cocktail for a cannabis beverage. I hear from so many women that switching to a weed drink not only enhances their meal, it helps them sleep better at night. Cans delicious cannabis beverages come in yummy flavors like yuzu elderflower and lemon lavender.

[00:12:51] Ellen Scanlon: These are low dose drinks and you can easily customize your experience and feel just the way you want. And now you can try Canned for yourself. They ship all across the country. Visit drinkcan. com, that’s drink C A N N, and use promo code DOTHEPOT for 20 percent off your order. Try a can today and have a great time without a hangover.

[00:13:25] Ellen Scanlon: Cooking an elaborate cannabis infused meal may not be for everyone. And maybe you’re more interested in saving money on edibles. Monica shares how COVID inspired her to provide more resources for home cooks. 

[00:13:41] Monica Lo: So in 2021 cannabis edible sales in medical and recreational States began to skyrocket as an impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.

[00:13:50] Monica Lo: We started to see consumers choosing edibles, especially gummies and candies over the more inhalable forms of consumption, like vapes and. and flour. And it was just the perfect timing to work on a cookbook focused on confections. And the idea behind it is it’s just a lot more cost effective to make your own infusions and your treats at home, especially as dispensary prices are on the rise just due to a variety of different reasons, right?

[00:14:23] Monica Lo: Like from taxes to operating costs. Dispensary edibles also often have preservatives that extend their shelf life. For example, in California, cannabis edibles should be shelf stable for at least a year. But you know, when you DIY and you make your edibles at home, you can do it without all those commercial preservatives.

[00:14:44] Monica Lo: And you can also customize the dosages to your body’s needs. 

[00:14:50] Ellen Scanlon: A question I get a lot is how long does it take for edibles to kick in? When you eat any kind of cannabis, it can take one to two hours to feel. Please don’t eat another. It’s also really important to think about any other food that you’re eating.

[00:15:06] Ellen Scanlon: When you eat cannabis with a meal or even a heavy snack, you will feel more high and After you eat, there isn’t a lot of research on this, but eating after you’ve taken an edible, even a few hours later can trigger the THC and you may feel its effects for longer. It’s the opposite of how alcohol works.

[00:15:28] Ellen Scanlon: The effects of cannabis are enhanced by food. One gummies you’ve made is to include them in your meals. If you don’t have infused olive oil or a cannabis tincture, you can also just add gummies. California based chef Jen Felmley gives us her tips. 

[00:15:48] Chef Jenn Felmley: Chop up some of the gummies you already have and add them into the salad.

[00:15:53] Chef Jenn Felmley: Instead of using a tincture and you still can get your cannabis and it tastes like the cherries or it tastes like the apples. Or it tastes like something in this, but it’s not just a gummy. I’m a massive fan. Camino came out with a blood orange Halloween, so I took blood orange jam, I dissolved that with the blood orange gummy, and then poured it over a log of goat cheese and put it on a cheese board and made a cannabis infused cheese.

[00:16:23] Ellen Scanlon: Are you ready to host a cannabis friendly gathering? It can be a great way to introduce your friends to the wonderful world of weed. As with any good party, the key is making sure everyone feels comfortable. California based chef Christina Wong has mastered the art of entertaining with cannabis. Her approach is all about giving guests options, so they have fun, feel safe, and the food and drinks are welcoming for everyone.

[00:16:52] Chef Christina Wong: I love a good party drink, and I find that when I’m entertaining and hosting with cannabis at my events, I try to make everything cannabis optional. So I put things on the side. I make most all the food and all of the drinks non infused, or if I want to make it with the herbal taste, because I do like that cannabis flavor, um, to do the herbal pairing, I might do just a CBD so that people are not accidentally consuming too much TXC and getting too high at an event because it’s very uncomfortable.

[00:17:23] Chef Christina Wong: And also as somebody who’s been to a lot of different events where like all the food and all the drinks, everything’s infused, it’s hard to have a good time. Because now I am too high. I’m very hungry. I’m very thirsty and their only thing to eat and drink is infused. I offer them on the side with a little sign of how much the dosing is so that people can add in however much optional to get the high that they want and they can control their experience.

[00:17:52] Chef Christina Wong: And same with the food. A lot of times I’ll host events and everybody always asks, is this infused? 

[00:17:57] Ellen Scanlon: If you’re making gummies at home and have kids around, please don’t forget about childproofing. 

[00:18:03] Monica Lo: I take childproofing and cannabis labeling very seriously. Cannabis gummies and candies look just like the uninfused version, so they’re very tempting for the kiddos, and they just need to be kept out of reach of children.

[00:18:16] Monica Lo: I highly recommend purchasing child resistant jars and creating really big colorful labels and I’ve designed some of those labels for you to download and print. They’re located on my blog and if you have little ones at home, please store your homemade goods in a locked location or high on a shelf. 

[00:18:35] Ellen Scanlon: I hope these tips are helping you feel ready to cook with cannabis.

[00:18:39] Ellen Scanlon: Chef Jen Felmley generously shared another of her recipes with us, a spiced apple and cherry cake. Yum. Here’s how you make it. 

[00:18:49] Chef Jenn Felmley: Now we’re in our full on, we’re cold weather era. We’re pumpkin spice. We’re all in. I love this recipe because we’re going to work with our apples and cherry combination because I feel like that’s really key to keeping that cannabis flavor profile.

[00:19:03] Chef Jenn Felmley: So we’re going to do. A spiced apple and cherry cake with toasted caramel pecan sauce. One, I love this recipe because it is fairly simple to make. It uses ingredients we’ve all seen before. But two, it also is super easy to freeze. You can make a giant sheet pancake and cut it into pieces, put it in your freezer, and anytime you want to like pull a piece of cake out, warm it in the oven, you’ve got a quick and delicious warm winter edible.

[00:19:31] Chef Jenn Felmley: We’re going to start by making an apple spiced sheet cake. So it’s a very simple recipe. We’re going to mix together our apples, this spice cake recipe. I like to use like cinnamon and nutmeg. And you could really quite honestly, like you could use a little bit of pumpkin spice seasoning, like it’s got cinnamon and nutmeg and all that.

[00:19:49] Chef Jenn Felmley: And then we’re going to mix that with apples and dried cherries. And a little bit of pecans. We’re going to spread that onto a cookie sheet, bake it, and then again, this could be either infused in the recipe itself, so the cake, or we’re going to make this pecan sauce on the side. So one of the things I do with like, I would say 90 percent of my dinner parties is infusions on the side.

[00:20:10] Chef Jenn Felmley: Infused sauces, infused garnishes, infused salad dressings. I don’t feel like there’s any two people who really take the exact same dose. So I like giving that option for people to consume more or consume less throughout the meal or to just have it as an option on the side. So with this one we could infuse the butter, we could infuse the sugar, we could even use cannabis infused flour if we wanted to.

[00:20:34] Chef Jenn Felmley: There’s all different ways. So the sauce is essentially a brown sugar caramel sauce. This again, we could infuse cream, we could infuse butter, we could infuse sugar, any of those things. We’re gonna take butter, we’re gonna brown some nuts in the butter, add in a little bit of dark or light brown sugar, get that all to dissolve together, and then we’re gonna pour in some heavy cream and make a really thick caramel sauce.

[00:20:59] Chef Jenn Felmley: And what I love, again, is you could take the cake that you’ve made, this giant sheet pan, cut it into like 12 servings, Freeze them in little squares in your freezer, have the sauce that you’ve made, and just microwave the sauce, microwave the cake, and it’s like a hot edible on a cold winter’s night whenever you want it.

[00:21:15] Ellen Scanlon: Check out the link in our show notes for the whole recipe. We have come to the end of our Cooking 101 series. If you love sweets, Monica Lowe’s Weed Gummies Cookbook will definitely help you find your new favorites. If you make any infused foods, I’d love to hear how it goes. Please reach out on Instagram at DoThePot or send a voice note or an email to hi at DoThePot.

[00:21:39] Ellen Scanlon: com.

[00:21:44] Ellen Scanlon: For lots more information and past episodes, visit DoThePot. com and that’s also where you can sign up for our newsletter. If you like How to Do the Pot, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. It really helps more people find the show. Thanks to producers Maddy Fair and Nick Patry. I’m Ellen Scanlon, and stay tuned for more of How to Do the Pot.