Friday, November 30, 2012

Laughter is the best medicine!

This video has been floating around on Facebook and it's so wonderful I had to share it here for those who haven't yet seen it.  There are 2 contagious things that we should always share.........
Laughter & Love!
~THChristi




Monday, November 26, 2012

Cannamilk A Shared Recipe Compilation

I'm sure you've heard the expression, "share & share alike".  Well here's what that means to me.  

Today  Natalie @CannaMilkHeals found me on twitter and offered to send me her Cannamilk recipe to help me with my Fibromyalgia.  I mentioned the blog and she offered to share on here so we can all benefit from another healing Cannabis recipe.  She's a woman after my own heart!  When we share we all benefit! 

Here's the email I got from Natalie:



Hey Christi! :)
Ok, so this is a collection of recipes I've gathered     over the years.
Use in good health and Enjoy!Nat
My apologies, firstly, for any redundancies & spelling errors...This is a collection of recipes and suggestions gathered from the interwebs, (unless marked NP), and English is not the first language for some authors.Keep in mind, making canna-milk is a lot like making hash- everyone eventually develops their own 'methods' and techniques often vary slightly from person to person...I'm sure you will come up with your own tweaks and improvements, after making a few batches; (if you do come up with anything that you think is worth passing on, I'd love to hear about it!)
I hope you find these recipes helpful and that canna-milk is as life changing for you as it has been for me!! I promised myself I would share these recipes with other patients who could benefit...
In that spirit, I hope that you will also share these recipes with other patients! Looking forward to hearing how your first batch goes and about your results!
-NP

Canna-milk tips from NP:

  • Avoid using skim or lower fat milks (1%, 2%) for best results.
  • Remember: the higher the fat content, the better- The fat is what the Cannabinoids will be binding to, ie: the extraction vehicle...
  • We use roughly 50/50 whole milk and whipping cream; (occasionally w/ chocolate to make it a little more palatable.) 
  • Vanilla extract, can also be added to make it taste better, (*add vanilla and/or chocolate just after removing from heat.*)
  • Also don't forget H's ice cube tray trick for freezing in dose sized pieces...
  • **Use caution when testing the potency of your first few runs...Cannamilk can really wreck your day if you take too much and can be very unpleasant-- Cannamilk has been known to put grown men with huge tolerances in a lengthy, puke-filled stupors...It can be far more potent than you might expect and catch people off guard, if not cautious about testing the potency of each batch.**
Enjoy!!
-NP

On to the CannaMilk Recipes!


A’s CannaMilk Recipe:
I use 1-2 oz salad mix of sugar trim, small bud, broken bud, and older buds in a quart of whole milk, I preheat the herb to 325 for 10 minutes. The preheating is the key, it is how I define my edible experiences, before I did this, and after.

I cook for 1-2 hours, and try to avoid boiling, simmering is good. Strain, cool, freeze. Add water back into the herb and reheat, then repeat the straining process. I do 3-4 pressings, and mark the bags a,b,c, so I know the strength in that cup. I get 10 full strength hits and about 10 at the lesser concentrations, a one month supply m/l.
Always eat a small snack 15-20 minutes before taking edibles, this engages the liver so it does not reduce the THC digested. The milk works great because it is easy to digest.
I pour the Cannamilk into 3 oz plastic cups, freeze them then bag them the next day, thaw as needed.-A


B's Cannamilk Recipe:


Ingredients:

  • 2 liters of Milk (full cream or extra cream if available)
  • 2 full cups of chopped high quality cannabis (a lot of gear).
Directions: 
1. Coarsely chop cannabis
2. To remove water soluble nasties that effect taste, water wash the cannabis. Add it to boiling water and boil gently for 10 minutes, strain through cloth. Do this three times. Each time water will be less dirty and should be clear(ish) by the third wash. Squeeze as much water out of the washed cannabis as possible (let it cool down or run it under the cold tap first).
3. Place washed cannabis on a baking tray and dry in the oven at 50 C. Check every 20 mins until dry then remove. You can open and close the door or turn on/off the oven if you want to be extra careful not to overheat. Alternatively place tray in a warm, dark place until dry (24-48 hrs).
4. Add about 2+half cups of milk and all of the washed, dry cannabis to a pot and boil (very, very carefully) for about an hour. Do this on lowest heat required to get the the milk moving about gently. Cover pot with lid, leaving some space for excess steam to escape. Check every 20 mins, stir and make sure its OK. At this time, add 1/4 cup of boiled water (out of the kettle) as the milk reduces. Then strain through cloth into a container. l do this with the same cannabis and fresh milk three times to get as much good stuff out as possible. Just add each lot to the same batch. Should end up with about 1.5 liters. (Hmmm... wounder if l should just do the whole lot of milk at once. l read some place that three is the magic number in solvent based extractions and so have borrowed that idea.)
5. l like to reduce the total liquid. Place the lot in a pot. There should be about 1.5 liters and simmer over very low heat, stirring every 10 minutes. It takes about 1-2 hours to reduce it by half. Once reduced it will be quite thick and creamy in consistency. l like to get it down to about 750 mls and put it into 100 ml bottles which go into the freezer and one bottle in the fridge. This stuff is very strong and only need 1-2 teaspoons for a nice buzz (approx one hr to kick in and about 3 hours duration).
6. Flavoring. As is, this stuff tastes pretty bad. A teaspoon or tablespoon isn't much l suppose, but it doesn't hurt to sweeten it a bit. 2-4 tablespoons of sugar or honey mixed in whilst hot before bottling seems to do the trick. A few drops of vanilla essence and some cinnamon work nicely too. Leaving it as un-flavored can be handy tho to avoid having too much. Its a bit too easy to have a extra when its sweet, smooth and thick.
*Potency will vary depending on the amount and quality of cannabis used.
*This method seems to work better than the butter and the high comes on MUCH faster. Although it cant be used in the same versatile way as butter for various cooking techniques. *Always be very careful when having a first dose. It prolly wont kill ya if you have too much but it will knock you over. Being raging bent for 2 days non-stop can get tiring, to say the least. Start with one teaspoon and see how it is after one hour. If its only a minor buzz, then up the dose to a tablespoon. Wait an hour. Take it from there. For example, one batch l made was good by the teaspoon (2 tsp for a nice one, 3 or 4 to go hard). The next batch was good by the tablespoon. It can vary, a little to a lot.
l find it preferable to work out a dose that gives me a sort of mildly strong buzz with a peak that lasts about 1-2 hrs. Present batch takes about 2 tablespoons, kicks in after about an hour, peaks at the 2nd to 3rd hr, then start coming down by the 4th hr. Sometimes l will have another tablespoon (or two) after 2 hrs to keep the buzz going longer. By the way, when first dosing its not a bad idea to check your resting heart rate to see how you respond. l find that cannabis raises it to around 90-100bpm, under normal comfortable circumstances. It gets uncomfortable for me when it gets over 110-120 bpm. -B
 More Tips from B:
  • Water boils at 100 Celsius  THC vaporizes at MUCH higher temps. 
  • 2% milk fat is too low. Full cream milk is around double that and extra cream around triple  Adding whipping cream is a very good idea. 
  • 2 cups of GROUND HIGH quality bud is around 2 ounces by weight.
  • Cannabis has a more powerful effect when ingested. It takes about twice as much to get the same buzz but lasts four times as long. Four times divided by twice as much = 2 times OR Double the efficient use of herb. Basically you need half as much to get same effect as when smoked.
  • 2 teaspoons is 10 mls. 750mls divided by 10mls = 75 doses. Two oz by weight is around 60grms. That's very roughly about 1 gram per dose. 
  • Try it with 1 gram of HIGH quality bud into say half a cup of milk and see what you get.
  • One batch took around 2 teaspoons for a buzz, another took 2 tablespoons for the same effect. Couldn't be bothered reducing the 'weaker' batch, hence the larger quantity dosage. Incidentally that 2nd batch was around 1250 mls. It varies.-B


C's CannaMilk Recipe:


Supplies:
  •  oven
  • microwave
  • PYREX measuring cup (Adding milk to a regular cup immediately after you remove it from the oven will cause it to shatter.)
  • 6 oz. of WHOLE milk (more fat content= better extraction)
  • marijuana (I use 1 gram of mid grade pot.)
  • chocolate powder/syrup (I use Ovaltine)
  • something to stir with (I use a fork)

Steps:
  1. The first step is decarboxylation of THCA to THC. To do this you will need to set your oven rack to the middle position, then set your Pyrex measuring cup on the oven rack, close the door and set it to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. While the oven is preheating you need to prepare the pot by breaking it up and removing seeds and stems (I like to use a grinder because I feel like trichomes that I should be ingesting end up on my fingertips instead of in my stomach).
  3. Once the oven has pre-heated you need set a timer for 5 minutes, open the door and carefully pour your marijuana into the measuring cup without burning yourself, then close the oven door and start your timer.
  4. Once the timer goes off you need to put on an oven mitt and remove the Pyrex cup from the oven. While you are holding the Pyrex cup use the handle end of the fork to grind the pot to a fine powder. 
  5. When you are finished grinding the pot make sure you look at the end of the fork to see if there is anything sticking to it. If there is some plant material on the handle of the fork you should tap it on the inside of the measuring cup so you do not waste anything.
  6. Add 6 oz of Whole milk to the cup and chocolate powder/syrup then stir the mixture around so that the pot is saturated.
  7. Set your microwave to 2 minutes and put the mixture inside.
  8. Start the microwave let it run for 15 seconds then remove the mixture and stir well. Put the mixture back into the microwave then repeat this step until the 2 minutes is up.
  9. You can strain your hot chocolate if you want to but I prefer to swallow everything because it is hard for me to believe that there is no THC left in the plant material. By swallowing everything you minimize waste.
  10. Drink and enjoy!
-C




D’s CannaMilk Recipe:
This is not for rookies this is XXX strength, I'm not kidding. 
OK so I started with the 1 Quart size mason jar, ground up 1.5 ounces of A+ bud flowers and ground them up in my brand new Toastmaster brand food processor. Best $ you can spend if you like to cook with cannabis or make extracts or even rolling. This thing is compact, portable and really works great. Once it is ground up, take it all and place in Mason jar and fill the rest of the one Quart Mason jar with milk. *This is where you have to be careful with following my directions b/c I am not using any measurements and the amount and grade you use will vary greatly. Just use this as a place to start and adjust your method for your product that your using. My batch is super strong, I would say people could get away with just using a quarter ounce to half ounce if you are using bud flowers or a full ounce or more if you are using shake, trimmings/clippings, stems, etc.
So once the bottom of the mason jar is filled with your procuct, take the Milk (I am not sure what milk works best, but I used 2%) and pure it until you have about 1.5-2 inches to spare from the top. Prepare a large pot of boiling water or use a double boiler/crock pot etc., just make sure the glass jar is not in contact with the metal pot. I just filled a large pot and placed two wooden spoons at the bottom and placed the mason jars on top. Shake the jar for a few minutes while you wait for the the water to come to a boil. It is good to have a little temp gauge to test the water, you want the make sure the Milk in the mason jar doesn't exceed 100 Celsius  I used a little digital temp gauge from the super market for a few dollars. Once the water in the pot is boiling, place the mason jar in, and bring milk to boil, and cook for 5-25 minutes, bring the temp down for a bit after the initial cooking process for a little slow cooking as you slowly bring the milk back to room temp. After a little bit, turn off the stove and let the water and milk cool to room temp together. Once the milk and water are just warm to the touch (be VERY careful) PLACE the lid on top of the mason jar with milk and let cool completely  once the milk is at room temp. seal lid down and place in fridge. if you want you can filter it out right now and consume. Use a PASTRY CLOTH not CHEESE CLOTH, very important, because many cannabis recipes call for cheese cloth. It is good to always have both on hand for any well stocked cannabis kitchen. Take a second one quart mason jar and tie pastry cloth down over lid with rubber band. Pour milk with cannabis through filter and presto. It should 100% free of all product, if its not its OK not the end of the world, just fix your filter and pace it through one more time, do this until it is free of all product. If you don't have access to a pastry cloth and cant get it 100% clean, you can still drink it with some material, but it will be a little tough to swallow the weed chunks (mmmmm weed chunks). I like to let the milk sit with the material in the fridge after I cooked for at least a day or two. You can even heat it up again and add more cannabis to get it super strong. Then filter as above That's about it, now use it to make chocolate milk, cereal, oatmeal, etc.-D


E's CannaMilk Tips:

"I do this ..... heavy whipping cream (the highest fat content available, THC is oil soluble and will bind to the milk fat/butter fat) in double boiler heated to 160-170 (milk burns at 180 and the flavor is greatly affected) crushed/chopped (not to fine) herb added to make the consistency of oatmeal. 30 min simmer on the double boiler, strain and i add that to chocolate chips to make some delicious fudge or a nice creamy chocolate sauce to dip fruit cookies or what ever you want." -E

F's CannaMilk Recipe Tips:


When preparing cannabis milk, I usually rinse the plant matter a few times in hot water (not boiling, just as hot as you would drink a coffee for example) before putting it in the milk. This helps remove that "green" taste you sometimes get. As you rinse the weed, you'll notice the water you dump gets clearer each time.
Try to avoid skimmed milk. The creamier the milk, the better, THC is fat soluble. -F
**Please be very careful** milk can be extremely strong medicine! 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Cheesey Cannabis Crackers

A quick savory snack!
I don't know about you, but I do get tired of all my medicine choices being sweets.  I mean I like a good brownie or candy as much as the next patient, but I've been wanting something a little more on the savory side.  Here's what made today.....




Cheesy Cannabis Crackers:

What you'll need:

  • 1 3/4 Cup of shredded cheddar cheese
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 Cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground coarse pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 3 grams decarboxylated kief
  • 2 Tablespoons evaporated milk
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

mix until crumbly texture
Place all ingredients except for the evaporated milk in your mixer.  With the paddle attachment mix the ingredients on medium speed until it is crumbly.  About 2 minutes.

Add your evaporated milk and continue mixing for 1 minute until ingredients form a dough.


On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4" thick. Cut into desired shape.  Pierce cut outs with a fork to make small venting holes.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.  

Remove from the oven and place immediately on a cooling rack.  Allow to completely cool on the rack. 

Makes about 2 dozen 2 inch crackers.
  
Store in a sealed container.

Enjoy!



Thursday, November 15, 2012

Tincture Teddies

After 2 day soak
Today I'm sharing a recipe for Tincture Teddies.

What you'll need:
  • 1 package gummy bears
  • A good amount of Cannabis Tincture (enough to cover the bears)
  • Mason jar and lid or other glass container with a lid
  • Time and patience

After 3 day soak
Instructions:

Place your gummy bears in mason jar. Cover bears with Cannabis tincture Place jar in fridge.  Shake jar daily.  When your gummy bears have doubled in size they are ready.  Store in sealed jar in the fridge and eat 1-4 bears as a medicated dose depending on your tolerance.  

Any tincture that didn't absorb into the gummy bears is now flavored like the gummies and can be taken by dropper full under tongue for a sweetened sub-lingual medicine.

These little Tincture Teddies help the medicine go down.  The sweet chewy little bears soak up the marijuana tincture and lend their fruity sweetness to what can be a very medicinal tasting plain tincture of cannabis.

Stay Elevated!

When good weed goes bad or the trouble with teddies

Once again I'm working on a new recipe for medibles to share with other patients who want to make their own medicine.  The thing with creating new recipes is that they don't always work out.  Like that 1/2 pound of Cannabutter I wasted trying to make a butterscotch candy.  The first recipe I had the heat on too high and it burnt the sugar and the 1/4 pound of Cannabutter that was in there too.  


"So what it's all R&D." I told myself "I'll try a second batch and turn the heat down"


Cannabis Tincture

Well the second batch didn't turn out either so there went another 1/4 pound of Cannabutter.  There I went back to the drawing board with this recipe and there it sits, on the drawing board.  

No biggie, I just won't share that attempt until I get the recipe figured out and no one will be the wiser.

Tincture infused bears

No such luck with today's fiasco! I've been sharing on twitter for the last 3 days how I've been working on a batch of Ganja Gummy Bears.  So this morning I pull the beautiful little bears all fattened up with Cannabis tincture out of the fridge with the intention of evaporating the alcohol and leaving behind little bears full of Cannabinoids.  I decide to place these scrumptious little yummies in the food dehydrator on low and let the alcohol evaporate in the machine.  Seems like a grand idea!  What could go wrong?  I couldn't even think of one bad outcome.


That just goes to show that no matter how much cooking experience you have, there's no way to predict all the results. 

  Disinigrated Gummy Bears

Here's what happened.....  All those delicious little plump tincture bears disinigrated!  Cannabis goo melted all over my kitchen counter and throughout my food dehydrator!  Ugh!  There went a lot of work all in the name of research.  $100s of dollars of high CBD tincture just oozed over my counter top!  When I think of all the work that went into growing these beautiful plants, making tincture and then infusing the gummies I cringe!  But again it's all in the name of research and development and in the long run it's a small price to pay when I remember all the wonderful Cannabis recipes I've been able to create and share with other patients who are looking to make their own medicines.  


So here I am sharing one or two of my failures in working out Cannabis recipes just to let you all know that it's love that keeps me at it.  Thanks for supporting my efforts with your words of hope and encouragement and letting me know when one of the more successful recipes has helped you with what ever ails you. 

And all is not a loss.... I did find that the little bears infused with tincture make a potent medible.  Lucky for me I kept one jar of gummy bears out of the dehydrator.  Those little teddies will stay in the fridge soaking in the tincture and I'll be enjoying them as needed for my fibromyalgia pain.  So even if the intended recipe was a flop, I have a great recipe to share with you if you'd like to make little tincture infused gummy bears.  I'll share that in my next blog post.

Stay Elevated!


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