CONSUME SMOKE-FREE • CHEF JIMBO - “Foods and Infusions”

Hello and welcome to the second edition of Smoke-Free Consumption from your Sens Culture magazine. In this edition, we'll be talking a bit about the culinary history of cannabis and how it has evolved to the present day.

We begin with the oldest known recipe for a cannabis infusion. In 1465, Bartolomeo Platina, a member of the Vatican under Pope Pius II, wrote a recipe book called: “De Honesta Voluptate Et Valetudine” (On Honest Pleasure and Health).

That book contains a recipe for a cannabis-infused beverage. It explains how to macerate the plant using a mortar and pestle, and how to decarboxylate and infuse the oil in a cast iron pot. The recipe suggests using this oil to infuse wine, food, or desserts.

In 10th-century India, there was a drink called Bhang. The name came from the sound "bhang," referring to the "stinging" or "lashing" sensation it caused when its effects began. According to historian KT Achaya, this was the first time Cannabis sativa was experimented with in India. By 1580, Bhang was extremely popular, which led the Catalan Jesuit monk Father Monserrate to visit and observe the effects of this drug. Bhang was made by grinding the flower and plant into a green paste in a mortar, then adding spices, milk, and ghee (clarified butter).

In another recipe, the plant and flower are boiled, then mashed into a green puree in a mortar, to which a little water and sugar are added. This mixture is then rolled into small balls and called "Bhang Goli." It was used as a traditional remedy for insomnia and sometimes as an appetizer.

Alice B. Toklas, a cook who specialized in pastry, was born in San Francisco between 1877 and 1967. She was well-known to several of her friends, including Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Bowles, who wrote a book called "The Sheltering Sky," which contains a verse that reads: "He who uses cannabis is likely to see the truth where it exists and may not see it where it does not exist."

Toklas treated her friends to her famous "hash brownies," a recipe called "Haschich Fudge" that appeared in her cookbook, "The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook," in 1954. This recipe contained neither hashish nor chocolate. Apparently, Toklas didn't invent the recipe; it was given to her by the painter Byron Gysin.

The recipe explains that these "brownies" aren't baked; instead, all the ingredients—pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, dates, walnuts, sugar, butter, and Cannabis Sativa—are mixed in a mortar and pestle until they form a paste. Then they make small balls, similar to "Bhang Goli," and eat them raw.

The arrival of the famous brownies was thanks to actor Peter Sellers in the film "I Love You Alice B. Toklas," where he plays a lawyer who eats these "hash brownies" and runs away from his Venice Beach wedding to live with a hippie instead of his fiancée. In the film, we can see that they were indeed real brownies, as they were baked, and this is also how this famous recipe, a worldwide favorite for consuming cannabis as an edible, was immortalized.

Throughout history, we can see how cannabis has influenced edible recipes, and we've also seen how brownies began to evolve into infused pastries. Now there are cakes, cookies, chocolates—well, countless recipes we can enjoy—thanks to those experiments throughout history.

Always remember to eat your food responsibly.

Good vibes and hugs to my people! Peace!

Jimbo's Brownies

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup of cannabis butter

1 ½ cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of salt

3 whole eggs

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

⅓ cup cocoa powder

PROCEDURE:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat a pan over medium heat, melt the butter, add 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and using a whisk, mix the ingredients until you create a chocolate cream.

3. Add both sugars, the vanilla, and the salt. Continue beating until you create a paste-like texture.

4. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into your bowl and using a spatula, incorporate the ingredients by folding or mixing from the outside in and add the remaining chocolate chips until you create your brownie batter.

5. We're going to grease a 9" baking pan using infused butter (whatever you have left over) or a non-stick cooking spray.

6. We pour our mixture into the mold and, using the spatula, level the mixture until it is even.

7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center; if it comes out almost dry, remove it and let it rest for 10 minutes.

8. We cut, we serve, and we medicate ourselves…

Remember to consume food responsibly.

CHEF JIMBO