Cooking with Cannabis: A Recipe + Conversation with Kitchen Toke’s Joline Rivera

Try this quick and healthy recipe for CBD-infused granola by Kitchen Toke. Its founder and Creative Director Joline Rivera answered our questions on the risks and benefits of cooking with cannabis.

Get-Going Granola

Ingredients
3 cups old-fashioned oats (not instant or quick oats)
2 cups pecans, chopped
3⁄4 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded 1⁄2 cup cacao nibs
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup CBD-infused coconut oil
1⁄2 cup maple syrup
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3⁄4 cup dried sour cherries, chopped

Directions
Heat oven to 275 F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, pecans, coconut, cinnamon, cacao nibs and salt; set aside.

Combine the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla bean paste. Stir.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Press the granola evenly into the pan and bake for 1 hour. Rotate the pan and raise the oven temperature to 300 F. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Do not stir.

Remove from oven. Allow the granola to cool completely before transferring it to a storage container. Toss in cherries. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Makes 6 cups.

CHF: Joline, this recipe sounds yummy, but you’ll hear all these horror stories from states that have legalized the recreational use of cannabis. People will overconsume and end up in the emergency room. And the Surgeon General is no fan either. Our hearts are pounding!

Joline Rivera: First, please know that Kitchen Toke is all about health and wellness, not about getting high. As with any substance, such as alcohol, it's important to partake responsibly. People who are trying cannabis for the first time—whether to relieve pain, sleep better, or increase appetite that's been impaired by an illness such as cancer—should start with a low dose. It can take an hour or more to feel the benefits of cannabis when it's consumed in food. If there's no relief, wait a few hours or even the next day and increase the dose a little more. For most people, 5 mg is a good place to start. If you overconsume, it's important not to panic. The uneasiness should subside. Smelling fresh cracked black pepper is known to help.

When you consume cannabis, such as whisking infused olive oil for a vinaigrette, stirring in cannabutter to enrich a sauce, or adding an infused honey to sweeten a green smoothie, it takes longer to feel the effects vs. vaping or smoking. But the effects last longer. That's why when we create an infused dinner, each dish is a low dose. Kitchen Toke is filled with a wide assortment of recipes, many of which are online.

Regarding the Surgeon General, the warnings are not online about vaping cannabis but nicotine as well. Used responsibly, vaping can be an effective delivery of the medicinal benefits of cannabis. The important thing to remember here is sourcing. You should always buy your products from a trusted source. There are too many products that aren’t good, and it’s important to do your research. In our online shop, we only offer high-quality products. They're made by people who are as passionate about the health, wellness, and improved quality of life that cannabis can bring. This means the products have passed our internal standards on many fronts, where we look at the reputation and standards of each company for example.

CHF: Phew, that’s a relief! With legalization imminent in Illinois, how do you see local communities benefiting from this change?

Joline Rivera: Legalization in Illinois will benefit the economy locally and statewide through taxes and small business ventures. It will also drive greater awareness. One of our goals is debunking stoner stereotypes. Today's users of cannabis see it as a way to improve their wellness and health. Legalization, especially in Illinois, will also work toward righting the wrong of incarceration, particularly among people of color. Illinois law is setting a good example of how to address social equity in the cannabis industry. There is not and should not be legalization without social reparation.

It's peculiar and fascinating to me how the federal government continues to tamp down the progress of cannabis. Everyone knows that lobbyists and Big Pharma are not proponents of cannabis, a natural remedy for many conditions that are currently being treated with harmful drugs such as opioids.

I think we'll continue to see more progress with legalization and greater education about the true benefits of cannabis. Now that hemp is no longer a schedule 1 drug, we're already seeing an uptick in research. I'm excited about what follows legalization on Jan. 1, 2020.

Images courtesy of Kitchen Toke

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