Monday, April 11, 2011

Triple Layer Cappuccino CannaBrownies

Ok folks...this edibles recipe is not for the faint of heart. These Cappuccino CannaBrownies have three components: batter, frosting and icing and there is butter in each part! Insane! It's like 2 cups of butter...these are guaranteed to get you faded. Best part is I got the recipe from some snooty gourmet cookbook haha definitely not geared towards this stoney chef, but I bet it will taste better my way ; ) So lets go!










Ingredients:
    
    For batter -
  • 1 cup dark chocolate (I used ghiradelli chocolate chips)
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 3/4 cup budder
  • 1 tablespoon hot water
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 

   


    For frosting -  At first I wasn't going to make the frosting because I had half a container of store bought cream cheese frosting already...but it ended up not being enough so I had to make some. It tastes bomb! The cinnamon in it adds a little spice to the cream cheese and the budder gives it a super fun green color (thinking about dying the frosting next time for a more intense green)! But you can always buy some store bought frosting to save yourself some work/time.
  •  1 cup cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tablespoons budder
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 


     For glaze -
  • 1 cup bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons instant esspesso powder
  • 2 tablespoons budder
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream/whipping cream
 


You will also need -
  • 9x13 baking dish
  • medium size sauce pan
  • medium size mixing bowl
  • large bowl
  • large spoon









Directions:
 Step 1 - Make brownie layer !hey! before you do any of this set out your budder and cream cheese for the frosting, it needs to melt a lil.
Preheat oven to 350. Chop chocolate (I use a 
 butcher knife, with one hand grasping the 
handle and one hand flat against the blunt 
side of the blade, I then rock the knife back 
and forth applying pressure and rotating the 
knife to chop ingredients). This was my least favorite part of the whole recipe, chopping the chocolate chips took awhile and hurt my hand! You don't have to chop the chocolate but the next step is to melt it and it's easiest when the chocolate is in small pieces. The recipe I used suggested chopping chocolate and walnuts at the same time but since you won't need them till the end of the batter recipe, you can wait.

  Now the easiest way to melt chocolate is in a double boiler. If you have one AWESOME. If you don't, no worries! You can make one easy peasy. I made mine with a medium sized pot and a medium sized plastic bowl (the kind you use for mixing ingredients). Fill pot half way with water and put the bowl inside the pot. There you go you just ghetto-rigged your first double boiler! :D
The hot water melts the chocolate slowly through the plastic bowl. Perfection.


 So heat the water in the bottom of your double boiler to a simmer. Mix espresso with 1 tablespoon hot water in a small container (I used a tea cup), dissolve. Add chocolate, budder and espresso. It will take a few minutes for the chocolate and budder to melt. Stir until melted and smooth, do not raise heat! Remove from heat and cool to luke warm.






 
  In a separate bowl combine sugar, vanilla and chocolate. Stir in eggs, one at a 
time, stirring well after each addition and stir in flour and salt. Stir until 
just combined. 
 
 
 
 Chop walnuts and add to batter. Butter and flour your baking dish (butter and 
flour = smear dish with butter and sprinkle flour on that. Not sure if it's the 
"official" method but it works for me!). Pour batter into dish. Bake for 22-25 
minutes. The brownies are going to come out undercooked, almost fudgy when 
completely done. You can try baking for an extra 10-15 minutes for a more cakey 
consistency.

Ok step 1 is done! On to step 2 - frosting!

 
Step 2 - Frosting
If you are making the frosting instead of using store bought combine cream cheese 
budder (by now it should be softened) mix with a fork (or electric mixer) until 
light and fluffy. Add sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, stir well. Spread frosting
evenly over brownie layer (make the brownie has cooled first).
 
 
 As you can see in the picture to 
the right the frosting is white and
green...I ran out of the store bought
I was going to use but this frosting
recipe is simple and tastes way 
better. Chill brownies until frosting is 
firm (at least one hour).
 
 
 
 
 
Step 3 - Glaze
Get out your double boiler! This step is very similar to 
step 1. Chop chocolate. Dissolve espresso powder in 1
tablespoon hot water. Combine chocolate, budder, espresso 
and cream in double boiler. Stir until smooth and melted. 
It's going to look DELICIOUS! Dark, rich and shiny (like
glaze duh :p). Cool glaze to room temperature. Spread glaze
over brownies. Chill brownies, covered, at least three hours.

 
 
 
 
Ok this recipe might seem loooong and complicated but it's
really not! It takes a total of about 5 hours with all the 
chill time but each layer (brownie, frosting, glaze) take 
10-20 minutes and all the steps are super easy!!

Now that I've made (and eaten) these I can say with confidence they are BOMB!
They come out on the fudge side, chewy, rich, uber chocolate! The cream cheese 
frosting in the middle helps tomellows out the intensity of the dark chocolate (I 
love the spice form the cinnamon)and the walnuts add great texture. And OMG they 
will knock you out!! So intense...definitely a bed time/nap time treat. 
So enjoy! 



Hand me downs.

 So recently my mom gave me a whole lot of her old craft stuff: fabric, sewing goods, stamping supplies, magazines, ribbon, beads, how to books etc...basically a whole bunch of goodies in the making. While looking through everything I also found a few hand embroidered cloth pouches with different herbs on them that are so freakin' ADORABLE! I already know what I'm gonna do with them, stay tuned! My mom was a hippie back in the 70's who made her own clothes and drove a moped...I guess now I'm carrying on that legacy.  : P






























I really want to teach myself to sew again (it's been about 10 years)...I have a sewing machine but it needs a tune up. I already have all the supplies I need from what my mom doesn't use...I'm so excited!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Adventures.



  








Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Mini Better Butter Grilled Tuna Salad Sandwhiches

Say it ten times fast...








Grilled cheese. One of my comfort foods. Great with soup, salad, chips, dip, fries, cole slaw, potato salad, pasta salad (basically any kind of salad). Very simple and easy to make. I like foods I can make on auto-pilot. Tuna salad is a great recipe to experiment with. Try some new flavor combination like lemon and red pepper or wasabi and pickle relish or dill and basil. Since most GCS recipes call for butter when grilling, it's a perfect recipe for adding a little CannaButter  flavoring. Now it won't be enough to knock you on your ass or anything but if you enjoy the flavor of budder in food give it a try!



Ingredients:
Now I don't like rules, and I REALLY don't like rules when I'm cooking so whenever possible I ignore them. Measuring is a rule I REALLY REALLY don't like and with the exception of baking, most recipes leave a lot of room for experimentaion. It's all about fun!  Measuring is something where the more you cook and the more comfortable you become in the kitchen you will learn how to "eye ball" it with out having to measure every ingredient out by hand. Less dishes = less clean up! That's what I like :P 
This is how I measure out ingredients for tuna salad:
  • 1 can of tuna
  • a couple squirts of mayo (I use Kraft mayo w/ olive oil, yum!)
  • a dollop of pickle relish
  • a small sploodge of wasabi sauce or mayo
  • a handful of chopped celery
  • a squeeze of lemon
  • a few grabs of banana peppers
  • a twist of pepper
  • a dash of dill
  • a sprinkle of salt
  • cheese of your chose (I used provolone)
  • Enough CannaButter (or regular butter of course) to smear on the out sides of the bread
  • 2 sour dough english muffins (just the bread I had on hand, they are small and perfect for grilling, the sour dough gives it great flavor. But of course you can use any kind of bread you want, this recipe makes 4 small sandwiches or 2 big sandwiches)
You will also need:
  • a skillet
  • a spatula
  • a few pieces of lettuce (added after grilling)
Directions:
  • Combine all ingredients in bowl (save cheese, butter and bread lol)
  • Place on piece of cheese on each piece of bread
  • Spead tuna salad on to bread
  • spread CannaButter on to the out sides of the bread
  • place in skillet on medium low heat and cook 3-5 minutes each side, checking for desired done-ness. I like mine to be golden brown , with a little bit of black
  • when done grilling add some lettuce for extra green crunch!



Basic Canna Crispies Recipe

  So easy a stoner could do it...


 If you are looking for a quick and easy edible to make then here you go. Everyone knows children can do this. It requires virtually no cooking. And they taste bomb! And cheap too...only three ingredients for a simple base recipe and you can add pretty much anything you want to them. Make sure you have room in your fridge and do not eat while operating heavy machinery! ;)


Ingredients:
  • 5 cups rice cereal
  • 5 cups mini marshmallows
  • 1/2 cup CannaOil or Budder (I used oil this time)
            Yup, that's it!


You will also need:
  • a sauce pan
  • a large spoon
  • a 9x13 baking dish for a large amount of smaller treats or an 8x8 for a smaller amount of larger treats lined with tin foil and sprayed with pam
 Directions:
            Ok now are you ready for easy in four steps?
  1. combine cereal, rice and oil in sauce pan
  2. stir ingredients over medium heat until melted
  3. dump out this sticky icky mixture into the baking pan of your choice and place in fridge for a few hours
  4. eat

              YUM!!

99 Cent Store Love.

  

  So if you're like me and love to decorate but don't have a lot of $$$ you'd probably be amazed to discover all of the amazing little goodies awaiting you at your local 99 Cent Store. I go on a weekly basis with all my change and I always come away with a few awesome things, either for my yard, kitchen or bathrooms. You might have to search the aisles but that's what being thrifty is all about! I'm convinced that one day my home will be completely decorated by the 99 Cent Store.




So this time around I purchased:
  1.  A glass oil bottle (perfect for CannaOil).
  2. A cheese grater (it says Iron Chef America on it 0.0 )
  3. A set of plastic measuring cups/spoons (didn't realize it was both at first, awesome!)
  4. A small yellow flower vase w/ a (pot looking) leaf on it
  5. Three small white candles in glass jars (the one on the top right is my fave, its pretty up close)
  6. You can't see it too well but the plastic plate is pretty cool, brown with a leaf on it
  7. Also I got an ADORABLE hedgehog figurine for the front yard (my photo editing skills are lacking)
  8. And the bright yellow tea towel (so cute!)
 Alright so wandering the aisles of the I found a nice little selection of candles and decided to buy a few for some kind of simple decorative piece in the guest bathroom. I didn't really find anything that was right...but I found a small plastic plate about 7" across. It's brown with a leaf on it so it will work with the "decor" (or lack their of) of the bathroom.





What will it be? I'm going to rummage around in my craft box for some inspiration...

CannaButter Recipe.

Alright so we've already made CannaOil and Cannabutter is pretty much made the exact same way! The only major difference is you have to freeze the budder over night and then separate the budder from the frozen water. Same as with the oil, I'll be using my crockpot for this recipe. Easy peasy!



CannaButter Recipe (with trim)




Ingredients

  • 4 sticks(1 pound)of butter, the higher the fat percentage the better...I used Gold 'n Soft, it's 70%. I've heard that gourmet European butter is the best to use as it has the highest percentage of fat. More fat = more THC bonding.
  • 2-4 cups water
  • 4 ounces of trim, cut. You can always add more...you know I did ;) I used about 1 pound of trim.
                     So the basic equation is one stick of butter to every once of trim :)
  
You will also need:
  • Crockpot 
  • Cheesecloth
  • A large bowl
  • A large spoon





Directions:

 Combine water and butter in crockpot and turn to high. When the butter is melted add your trim (for directions on preparing trim see the CannaOil recipe) and stir. Turn heat to low and let sit for 2-5 hours (every recipe has a different time frame...I have no problem letting my brew sit while I do other things). Remember to stir once every half hour.





 

  Once the cannabutter is finished take the cheese cloth and cover the bowl you are going to freeze your budder in (so it works as a strainer). You can fasten the cheese cloth in place with a rubber band (I couldn't find a big enough one :( ). Be careful as the budder will be very HOT and oily and can make a greasy mess easily. Pour the budder onto the cheese cloth into the bowl. Place in freezer and leave until frozen solid. 











 Once the budder has frozen remove from freezer. the easiest way to remove the budder is to run the outside of your bowl under hot water for a minute or so and then flip bowl upside down unto a plate/cutting board/tin foil etc.













 As you can see in the picture, 90% of the mixture is frozen water with the thin lighter green strip being the budder. Now take a sharp knife and separate the budder from the frozen water. The way I do it it to slide the knife (point first) between the two layers to loosen the layer of butter. It will break off in chunks (that's fine) put the pieces in to whatever container you are storing your budder in.