The 420 Gourmet: The Elevated Art of Cannabis Cuisine

438 Pages·2016·11.1 MB·English

by  JeffThe420Chef

Dedication
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO each medical marijuana patient now able to
benefit from the legalization of medical cannabis, to the state lawmakers who are
changing the laws to allow people to medicate with this incredible herb, and to
all those who helped pave the path that we are now on with blood, sweat, and
prison time.
Also to my three incredible sons, Matt, Jared, and Zach, who have
encouraged and supported me from the moment I dreamed up this whacky idea
of becoming a cannabis chef. And to my parents, who were gracious enough to
take me back in as a “starving author” in L.A. after I let go of everything in New
York to bring JeffThe420Chef to life. I could not have done any of this without
you all by my side.
This is not your mother’s cookbook!
Contents
DEDICATION
PREFACE
Part 1: Highlighting Cannabis
INTRODUCTION
UNDERSTANDING CANNABIS
POPULAR STRAINS & EFFECTS
THE ART OF COOKING WITH CANNABIS
HOW TO USE THIS COOKBOOK
Part 2: Recipes
CHAPTER NO. 1
Butters & Oils
CHAPTER NO. 2
Sauces & Dips
CHAPTER NO. 3
Breakfast & Brunch
CHAPTER NO. 4
Small Plates & Appetizers
CHAPTER NO. 5
Soups, Salads & Sides
CHAPTER NO. 6
Vegetarian Mains
CHAPTER NO. 7
Meat & Fish Mains
CHAPTER NO. 8
Pastas & Breads
CHAPTER NO. 9
Sweets & Snacks
CHAPTER NO. 10
Entertaining & Gourmet
METRIC CONVERSION CHART
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CONTRIBUTORS
RESOURCES
INDEX
CREDITS
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Preface
FROM AS EARLY as I can remember, I have loved cooking and
baking. When I was six (and just learning to read), my favorite
birthday present was a kids’ cookbook. I learned how to make all the
basics, like cinnamon toast and English muffin pizza. And I also
learned that the quickest way to make people feel good is to cook
something delicious and share it with them. Like any precocious little
boy, I got into my share of trouble. All I had to do to make things
better was head to the kitchen and make something yummy to share,
and all was forgotten.
While I have always been interested in food and cooking, it wasn’t
until 2012 that I began to incorporate cannabis into my recipes. At the
time, a friend’s mother was being treated for cancer, and she had a
medical marijuana prescription to help with her pain and nausea.
Around the same time, I stumbled upon an interview with Dr. Raphael
Mechoulam—an Israeli organic chemist and professor of medicinal
chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel—who has
been at the forefront of cannabis research for many decades. Through
this interview, I found out about the medicinal compound in cannabis
called cannabidiol (CBD) that helps with numerous health issues,
especially when combined with a low dose of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC).
On the basis of that knowledge, I decided to start making edibles for my
friend’s mother that were different from the average edibles that were being
sold. At that time, you’d buy an edible in a dispensary and have no clue what
you were getting (and you still don’t always know). Was it a sativa or an indica
strain? What was the percentage of THC? Did it contain the medicinal
compound CBD? No one really knew. Dispensaries at that point were generally
selling edibles that were heavy on the THC, which didn’t really help my friend’s
mother at all; they just made her feel loopy, which is not what she wanted.
Instead, she needed edibles made from strains with more CBD, in addition to the
THC—and that’s what I was able to provide.
A close friend was suffering from fibromyalgia and debilitating PMS that
involved joint pain and headaches around the same time. She complained that
although she had a medical marijuana recommendation, she didn’t smoke, and
the edibles she bought didn’t help her either—they just got her high. The more I
researched, the more I learned about certain strains, like Cannatonic and
Harlequin, that could really help with these and other physical ailments. I figured
if I could learn how to properly dose my edibles with the right CBD:THC ratio, I
could help people feel even better. I decided to cook a few dishes with high-
CBD strains in the hope that the benefits of cannabis would help ease her
suffering—and it worked. I was starting to see, firsthand, the incredible
medicinal power of cooking with cannabis.
Another friend suffering from chronic migraines and pain after major knee
surgery asked me to make her a cake with a new strain of God’s Blueberry, a
high-CBD strain that she had gotten from a local dispensary. By then, I was
cooking for several people with medical marijuana recommendations. She called
me the next day shouting, “I have no pain! Please teach me how to do this on my
own.” I did, and I have been teaching people how to cook with cannabis ever
since.
After these early forays, I became obsessed with learning more about
cannabis and how it can actually help people suffering from a multitude of
ailments. Like many people, I had already known about THC, the main
psychoactive compound of cannabis. But I learned that CBD is the unsung hero
of cannabis; this non-psychoactive ingredient is proved to be the powerful
medicinal compound in the plant. And I learned about the entourage effect,
which is the interaction of the many healing compounds within each cannabis
strain that allows the plant to help individuals facing various medical challenges.
I call it “medical manna.”
The science of cannabis is fairly new, and it’s an ongoing learning process,
as new information appears nearly every week. Most of what I have learned is
from the published works of cannabis scientists such as the aforementioned Dr.
Raphael Mechoulam, the grandfather of medical cannabis research and winner
of numerous awards for his discoveries. At the age of eighty-four, he continues
to research the chemistry of cannabis and how the chemical compounds, known
as cannabinoids, help alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, lower high blood
pressure, strengthen bones, shrink tumors, prevent seizures, promote healing,
alleviate many of the side effects of chemotherapy, and even kill cancer cells.
According to the American Cancer Society, several clinical studies have
proved that cannabis is helpful in treating nausea and vomiting from cancer