Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/760410
w i n t e r 2 0 1 7 | 8 5 Chocolate- dipped strawberries make an elegant infused bite at the cannabis cater- ing events hosted by Bill Stewart. Adding cannabis to his ginger cookies creates the perfect balance of fla- vor, says Bill Stewart: "I even make ginger cookies covered in green dragon sugar that just don't taste right unless they're covered in my infused rock sugar. The spices blended in the cookies just need the unique flavor the cannabis adds." There are so many ways to work with cannabis and its flavors. I do my own botanical extractions. Coconut oil is very versatile, and it infuses well. For a barbecue that I catered, I used medicated bacon grease, which was a big hit. I've even made microwavable popcorn. Do you know what ghee is? It's an Indian clarified butter and it works great for popcorn. You can infuse most dishes in the kitchen with the right extrac- tion, though glycerin tinctures are the only way I can get it directly in water. I also contract out my services to cook and bake edibles for clients. I can't make edibles and bring them to you, but if you hire me as a chef and I come to your door, you can hand me a bag of weed and say, "make this thing." I got started when a friend's mom had ovarian cancer. I would make her frozen cookie dough, like the pre-cut kind in the freezer section of the grocery store. Her daughter would just take one out, put it in the oven and bake it so her mother could get her dose. I recently had the opportunity to cater a cannabis wedding in Oregon. For the cake, I made a three-tier, medicated choco- late sponge cake with chocolate sauce that had about 5 mg per slice, so a pretty low dose. I also infused chocolate-covered strawberries and individually wrapped caramels for the event. For those who want to experience edibles or perhaps cook with cannabis themselves, do you have any advice on man- aging dosage? One of the biggest things to think about with dosage is that because there are so many factors on how the cannabis impacts you, just the milligrams alone aren't a good enough in- dicator. Some of the factors that affect dosage from indivudal to individual are: body weight, whether you've eaten recently and how the terpenes are affecting you. Start very, very low. Five mg is ridiculous as a legal limit, but for a first-timer, five mg is about a glass of wine for most people. But I emphasize to people when I say, "wait an hour," I do not mean "45 minutes." Until the cuckoo comes out, don't take any more. As you start to find the range that's right for you, try similar products. Once you know the milligram level that you like in chocolate bars, go ahead and try another type. What are your upcoming plans? The pharmaceutical industry isn't ready to take over the cannabis market yet, and Oregon will probably be in the best position when that happens. We have been craft and quality focused as we have developed. I run a bud and breakfast in Portland where people can smoke, vape and eat what they bring, but I can't provide anything yet. I will clean the bong, and there are baby cannabis houseplants around the house. Soon I can be providing medicated treats to guests. I'm about to start teaching cooking classes, too, so people can learn to make these for themselves consistently and dosed correctly. I'm also working with Portland Bitters Company right now about making cannabis-infused bitters. "start very, very low, five mg is ridiculous as a legal limit, but for a first-timer, five mg is about a glass of wine for most people" ■cr