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This Vegan Cannabis Cheese Is Everything If You Can’t Do Dairy

Vegan cheeses are usually tasty when they come from the shop. There’s delicious feats of food engineering like Daiya slices, spreadable happiness like Miyoko’s Kitchen, and no animal products involved, but some are just not so good. I have high hopes for the future of both vegan food and cannabis foods, and like my dream to one day purchase dairy cheese with cannabis in it, I’ve got my fingers crossed that innovation extends to vegan cheese analogues.

Until the day comes, making your own doesn’t have to be a scary process. There’s recipes that terrify and those that look too simple, but the gist of a good faux cheese is so similar to the process of dairy cheese creation that the entire idea of cheese starts to make much more sense. Scientifically, cheese is (pleasingly) rotten fat solids. Fat solids don’t only come from mammal milk. One if the first similar things that comes to mind is tofu, and you can use tofu to make tasty faux cheeses, but the decadent stuff comes from using tree nuts to achieve fatty glory.

Vegan​ ​Cannabis​ ​Cheese

Danielle Guercio, 2017
Makes 1lb of cheez, 5mg THC per 2oz serving of cheese

  • 1lb raw walnuts
  • 1/4  c sauerkraut juice
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbs sauerkraut
  • 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbs cannabis infused olive oil*
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Pepper to taste
Photos by Maria Penaloza

I’ve seen and tried so many variations of this cheese, but I often come back to the walnut variation as it adds a cheddar-y tang that other nuts don’t have. Using different nuts for different similarities to dairy cheese is smart, cashews make incredible ricotta-similar texture, while pumpkin seeds and fermented tofu (the fat of soybeans) make blue cheese vibes. For experiment’s sake, you can use this basic ratio and sub in any nuts, or an unflavored kombucha or water kefir for the sauerkraut bacteria you need to start the fermentation.

Rough chop the walnuts, garlic, and sauerkraut before adding to a blender. Pulse to grind up a bit more. Add the liquids and pulse again until you get a paste. Scrape down the sides of the blender, then blend for 30 seconds. Repeat this step a few times until it begins to make a paste. If you think you need a bit more liquid, you can add a teaspoon of either the sauerkraut juice or some more lemon, but avoid making this too wet, the drier the texture ends up, the stiffer your finished product will be.

Add the spices and do a final mix to get everything uniform. Taste the for seasoning levels at this point. It should be tangy and rich, with some saltiness but not too much, and a spot of zip from the garlic. You can add more salt and pepper as well as anything you really want, but trying it with no standout spices allows you to get to know the target flavor better than going crazy on your first try.

Photos by Maria Penaloza

Scoop the nut mixture into a plastic wrap lined container, wrap loosely, and allow to sit on the counter for 6-12 hours to start fermentation. Walnuts’ natural dyes will give the mixture a purple-ish glow that will darken as it oxidizes, so don’t be afraid if it starts to look freakish. After the counter time has passed, you can totally eat it, and it will have a spreadable texture. Transfer anything you aren’t eating to a clean and sealable container, the longer it sits in the fridge, the more crumbly and complex the ‘cheese’ will get. Store for up to a month.

*Cannabis​ ​Olive​ ​Oil

Decarboxylate 3.5g of finely ground cannabis at 225-degrees for 20 minutes in a tightly sealed, oven safe container. Put in lidded mason jar or vacuum sealed bag with cannabis and four ounces of olive oil. Heat in water bath just under boiling for at least 1 hour. Strain and chill to use in recipes

Photos by Maria Penaloza

DIY vegan cheeses are really something special, and dosing them makes any party you bring them too that much more fun. This spreadable fatty specialty makes a great sandwich addition, can be spread onto pizzas, and always makes vegans and cheese eaters alike smile extra wide thanks to the cannabis.

Photos: Maria Penaloza 

Netflix Branding Marijuana To Accompany Your Favorite Shows

In honor of its new cannabis sitcom ‘Disjointed,’ Netflix has released 10 different marijuana strains inspired by its premiere shows. Because of federal regulations, the strains will not be available via mail-order, but will appear at a West Hollywood pop-up shop at Alternative Health Herbal Services this Friday to Sunday.

It should be mentioned that Netflix isn’t developing this marijuana strains. Instead they are re-branding already existing buds to coincide with watching your favorite programs.

As the press release states, “each strain was cultivated with the specific shows in mind, designed to complement each title based on their tone. For example, sillier shows may be more indica dominant, while dramedies will be more sativa dominant to help the more powerful scenes resonate.”

Here is a description based on the press release via Variety:

“Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” gave rise to the Camp Firewood strain, “a very chill indica.” “Bojack Horseman” can be viewed while partaking in Prickly Muffin: “When you smoke this, it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day.” “Arrested Development” inspired Banana Stand Kush, recommended for a “big yellow joint,” and “Chelsea” birthed Vodkush, for the “advanced botanit.”

Peyotea 73, an “uplifting sativa hybrid,” was created with “Grace and Frankie” in mind, and Sassafrass OG, with “the power of one thousand pug snorts,” is inspired by “Lady Dynamite.” The last three strains include Baka Bile, “to really ramp up your appetite” and from “Santa Clarita Diet”; “Poussey Riot,” “for kicking it with somebody, talking, making mad stupid jokes” from “Orange Is The New Black;” and “Moon 13,” “not too strong, so you can ‘keep your sanity, no robot friends required,’” from “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

Netflix made certain to mention in the release it is not profiting from selling these strains and are for promotional purposes only. Be sure to check out preview coverage of Netflix’s Disjointed by clicking here.

Gossip: Jay-Z Explains Twins’ Names; Kathy Griffin And Anderson Cooper Are Over

Jay-Z explains twins’ names; Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper are over

JAY-Z and Beyoncé had good reasons for the names they chose for their newborn twins, who were born in June. The “Empire State of Mind” rapper, 47, opened up on Friday to Rap Radar hosts Elliot Wilson and Brian Miller about how he and the “Formation” singer, 35, came to choose the names Rumi and Sir.

“Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter,” he shared. “Sir was like, man, come out the gate. He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir.”

The father of three also revealed how the couple’s firstborn, 5-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, ended up rapping a freestyle on his new album, 4:44, while they were in the recording studio together.

“She got the headphones and she climbed on the little stool, and then she just started rapping,” JAY-Z said. “I was like, ‘Oh, s—.’ I haver [her full freestyle] on my phone. Five minutes! Five minutes of her doing that. She kept doing that ‘boom shakalaka, boom shakalaka.’ I was like, ‘Oh, she understands the concept of a hook.’ She’s 5, and she understands the concept of a hook. I was like, ‘What the f— is going on here?’ One of the great memories.”

Besides talking about his oldest daughter’s music skills, the Grammy Award winner said his family will be joining him on tour.

“I booked the tour for October so I could have at least four months to just really bond and see their fingers and s— like that,” he said. “They’ll be with me [on tour] anyway, but I’m just saying, like, [I needed] a space where I’m not doing anything,” he continued. “I’m just focused on them. I’m not thinking about a show at night or anything like that. That’s why the tour is so far away from the release of the album.”
[From People]

Kathy Griffin Ends Her Friendship With Anderson Cooper

It definitely stung Kathy Griffin when her friend of nearly 20 years, Anderson Cooper, went out of his way to slam her in unusually harsh language for that picture she posed for, in which she appears to be holding Trump’s severed head.

In a long, deep dip into Kathy Griffin’s mind published in The Cut, the besieged comic tells Yashar Ali she is no longer in an apologetic mood regarding that kerfuffle wherein she posed for a pic holding what appeared to be Donald Trump’s decapitated head:

Why are people still expecting me to apologize and grovel to a man that tweets like this? I’m a comedian; he’s our fucking president … President Trump just pardoned Joe Arpaio, who was essentially running a concentration camp in the Arizona desert. He said there are some good Nazis, and he’s kicking out young adults who were brought here as kids by their parents, and I’m the one who has to continue to apologize?

She gave the first two sentences of that quote just over three weeks after the photo had hit the Internet causing a maelstrom of controversy, and distracting people for a week or so from the much more serious wrongdoing Trump was either in the act of committing, or attempting to get away with having done during the ’16 election. Their truth is only magnified by the events she refers to in the more recent quotes.

In addition to enduring a ridiculous Secret Service investigation (who could really believe she was a serious threat to Trump, a man who has a verifiable nutjob standing right behind him in many rallies?) and being fired from her CNN New Year’s Eve gig, Griffin also had to deal with close pal Anderson Cooper tweeting his condemnation. Though Cooper more recently said he was still friends with Kathy, that no longer appears to be the case:

In the following days, Griffin says four of Cooper’s CNN colleagues reached out repeatedly to Griffin to check on her and offer private support (I independently confirmed this). But Cooper didn’t contact Griffin until August 10, CNN confirmed to me.

On July 26, when asked about Griffin on Andy Cohen’s talk show, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Cooper claimed that Griffin was still a friend. “Yeah, we’re still friends, and look I said what I said about — I didn’t think what she said was appropriate, but I wish her the best and I hope she bounces back,” he told Cohen.

The fact that Cooper was telling people publicly they were friends, while not checking in with her, hurt Griffin deeply. When he finally reached out to her in a series of text messages, she told him their friendship was over.

A source close to Cooper tells me that Cooper was “shocked and upset by the photo, and while he was not ready to talk to her personally about it, he still considered her to be a friend, and was publicly supportive when asked about the controversy.”

Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!

Setbacks and Delays For Legal Marijuana In Maine

It was November of 2016 when Maine passed it’s recreational cannabis laws to tax and regulate, Question 1. Though the bill allowed for up to two and a half ounces of processed cannabis, home cultivation and five different license types (social club, cultivator, retailer, product manufacturer and laboratory), experts are clueless as to when the program will be put in place and when sales will begin.

One expert wasn’t surprised, however. David Boyer, Maine’s political director for Marijuana Policy Project, said MPP anticipated the delays when the legislature carried out a moratorium on rulemaking until February 2018.

In January of this year, Maine passed LD 88, an emergency bill that set the consumption age to 21, the personal possession limit to five grams and set the rulemaking deadline to February 2018. A Joint Select Committee was formed on Marijuana Implementation so that legislature could form solid regulations for Maine’s cannabis program.

After that, the next bill to pass was LD 243, which transferred authority from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations within Maine’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services. Now the bill is sitting on the Appropriations table and waiting to be sent for the governor’s approval, by means of MPP.

Keep in mind that every time a change is made, legislature has a required grace period in which to garner public comment and to vote on changes, further delaying the program’s rollout. This puts caregivers and dispensary owners at a loss and a standstill.

Boyer pointed out that cannabusinesses had to learn to roll with the legislative punches in order to thrive. “That’s the thing about this industry,” he told Cannabis Business Times, “Your business model has to be dynamic and able to change when a new policy comes out that maybe you didn’t expect.”

He also said that MPP was overall satisfied with the way things were looking, yet there are still bits of contention that they will fight once the bill is rolled out in a few weeks. All in all, however, he said, “It’s created a lot of opportunity.”

They’re not as pleased with the proposed bans on social clubs and public consumption, though. It’s a longtime problem with recreational cannabis legalization, if the tourists come to smoke, where do they go to do so legally?

“We already have thousands of social clubs in Maine. They’re called bars and they serve alcohol, a far more dangerous substance than marijuana, so we’re not sure about the fear from the committee on that,” Boyer added.

In the meantime, they’ll wait until it officially passes to work on the rules. It’s Boyer’s hope that if the committee works earnestly and there are no more delays, recreational dispensaries could be operating by summer 2018, but he also said there’s a chance only retailers will be licensed. The application process likely opens in the spring, once all regulations are in place and licensing will then follow.

These MicroDose Marijuana Oral Strips Will Change Everything

Agritek Holdings announced the first orders for its “MicroDose” marijuana oral strips for the medicinal market of California. First orders and samples are being sent to dispensaries and local delivery services in both San Diego and Orange County this month. Agritek Holdings will provide the licensing and packaging to produce the exclusive line of 10mg and 50 mg oral strips as a medicinal alternative for patients.

According to the release,  the Microdose brand will be produced and expected to be distributed through its permitted manufacturer and collective to 140 plus dispensaries throughout California over the coming months. AGTK will receive a flat fee per single package designed exclusively by Agritek Holdings with the first 10,000 units being delivered by the end of the month.

The new Microdose Strips, or MD Strips, are a discreet, dose controlled, evaporating oral strip which offer a unique and smoke-free alternative to patients initially residing and holding medical recommendations in California. The medicated oral strips will be distributed to dispensaries and sold in a single pack and eventually multi-packs.

“MD Strips are a unique medical alternative to both smoking and vaping and are a completely discreet product sold by our licensed vendors on behalf of patients,” said to Aritek CEO B. Michael Friedman. “We are proud to be one of the first public companies in the cannabis sector to create packaging and alternative medicines on behalf of real patients suffering from effects of chemotherapy to multiple diseases that need an alternative to smoking or vaping. We plan for MicroDose Strips to become an important medical brand and rising trend for a safe, discreet alternative to smoking or vaping as an effective medical sublingual application for cannabis in multiple jurisdictions.”

Doses for one oral strip will consist of 10mg and 50mg strips, and are manufactured through a consistent organic sun grown cannabis base. The strip is utilized by being placed under the tongue or between the cheek and gum of the mouth with the strip dissolving directly into the bloodstream.

For more cannabis business coverage, visit the MJ News Network.  

Here’s What It’s Like To Dine At Disneyland’s Most Exclusive Restaurant

For most of us plebeians, getting to eat at Disneyland’s Club 33 would be a dream come true. Heck, just even getting a glimpse inside would be super cool  (“Can I just use your bathroom? I promise no selfies!”). For others, it’s a reality.

Insider spoke to three lucky park goers who can hang their hat on the latter. Lily Hopkins, her brother Max, and his girlfriend Christina Martini all dined at Club 33 during the club’s 50th anniversary celebration June, thanks to a hook-up through Max’s co-worker.

Walt Disney came up with the idea for the Club, which was intended to entertain corporate sponsors and special guests near his home. But he died just six months before it opened in 1967. Club 33 underwent a huge makeover in 2014, riffing off the original design by Disney’s wife Lillian.

To gain entry into Club 33, members need only to swipe their membership cards; “regular” people must be buzzed in. Hopkins tells Insider:

After confirming your last name and reservation through a speaker outside the secret door, the staff buzzes you in and you enter a beautiful courtyard where they offer to take your photo before walking upstairs to the actual restaurant.

As Insider reports, membership costs up to $100,000 annually, with a reported $12,500 to $30,000 in additional annual fees. As of 2012, there was a 14-year waiting list for membership applicants.

Good thing there are photos, including the ones Hopkins and Martini snapped, for us slack-jawed regulars to gawk at. Here are five fun facts about the exclusive club, in case you never plan on going yourself.

Club 33 is home to the only Disneyland restaurant that serves booze.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYF97sWl9SA

There’s an homage to the Haunted Mansion inside the Club.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXhDXsqhDRY

The “Le Grand Salon” is Club 33’s restaurant.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXzFH-6gqMT

A staircase at the back of the Court of Angels leads up to the actual entrance to the Club.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYCmiDYDUrC

This is the original entrance to Club 33, pre-2014 renovations.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYOQQIzDX4W

 

Zoo Worker Ends Up Dead After Attempting Sex With An Alligator

Jimmy Olsen, one of the zoo keepers of the Naples Zoo was found dead in the alligator enclosure on the morning of August 21st. His body was discovered a couple of hours after his death by several employees, who found its dismembered pieces floating around the pool.

Security footage showed just why Olsen died so brutally. Initially, the video showed him having sex with one of the younger and smaller reptiles of the zoo. He was lying on top of the animal, with his pants around his ankles and his back turned to the other reptiles of the enclosure. Not a smart move Jimmy. In this position, Olsen found himself unable to defend himself or even notice when one of the larger reptiles of the pool attacked him, grabbing him by the neck and dragging him to the depths of the water. Experts believe he died very fast.

“The poor guy didn’t stand a chance! We can see him being dragged in the water, then he disappears from sight. He was probably dead within thirty seconds of the attack.”

Said Captain Henri White, spokesman for the Naples Police Department. We’re not sure if we agree with the poor guy part, because wow, this guy just raped a teenage alligator.

Jimmy Olsen was one of the reptile specialists of the Naples Zoo and had been working with the animals for over two years. He’s the first person to die while having sex with an alligator on the zoo, but he’s not the first to be caught engaging in sexual acts with them. A couple of years ago, 3 members of the zoo were condemned after allowing people to have sex with some of their animals. What we can learn from this tale is to stay far, far away from Naples Zoo. And Florida.

Meet The Man Who Rode Out Hurricane Harvey In Pickup Truck

You can’t plan and predict for a hurricane. Oh, people try. Those folks in suits on the television screen tell you what will happen. But what they’re really saying is what they think will happen. Because, like the rest of us, they don’t really know what’s going on.

One Texas couple assumed they knew what to expect when Hurricane Harvey made landfall this past weekend. Bill and Paulette Rogers live in Port Aransas and had lived through worse storms. Harvey was only supposed to be a Category 2 Hurricane when they decided to stay. By the time the storm upgraded to a Category 4, it was too late to leave.

“This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” Bill later told a Dallas News reporter.

As Harvey raged, trees fell through their two-story beach home, forcing them to evacuate to their Ford Focus parked in the garage. When the water rushed in, they retreated to Bill’s white Ford F-250 Super Duty. Trying to maneuver the vehicle to a higher patch of land, debris got lodged in the truck’s axel. So Bill opened the door to see if he could dislodge it.

Via Dallas News:

He stepped onto the running board, and his feet instantly slipped under him, his body claimed by the surge rushing back to the harbor 200 yards in the distance. With all he could muster, he held on to the door and his life. Paulette reached out and grabbed him.

“If you’re dying today,” she remembers saying, “I’m going with you.”

Bill eventually made it back into the truck’s cab and the couple, along with their four dogs, waited out the storm in the truck as water rushed to the couple’s shoulders. They couldn’t move and had nothing to do but wait.

“If you had to pee,” Paulette said, “you just peed.”

Thankfully the Rogers made it out alive. Their house experienced significant damage due to the storm, but what’s important is they made it out alive. What’s worth noting is they never doubted they would.

“Death?” Bill told the Dallas News. “I ain’t afraid of death. What I’m afraid of is the IRS.”

Hopefully Hurricane IRS doesn’t come anytime soon then.

Gossip: Mexico Offers Hurricane Relief To Texas; Kanye West Has Forgotten Who Taylor Swift Is

The Mexican government expressed its solidarity Sunday with the United States following the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey and offered assistance to Texas. Mexico offered to help Texas deal with the disaster, “as good neighbors should always do in trying times.”

On Sunday evening, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray [photo] and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke by telephone. Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, the Mexican consul general in Austin, said he has been in constant communication with the governor’s office to determine how Mexico can best help.

“As we have done in the past, Mexico stands with Texas in this difficult moment,” Gonzalez said. Twelve years ago, following Hurricane Katrina, Mexico sent troops and a vessel filled with food, medicine and water to aid victims in New Orleans.

Kanye West Has Forgotten Who Taylor Swift Is

A source claims Swift, who dumps all over West in her new song “Look What You Made Me Do,” “isn’t even on his radar,” and that Kardashian was under the impression that their feud—if you can even call it that—ended last summer.

Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!

Can’t Afford $50 Marijuana Tampons? Here’s How To Make Your Own

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Marijuana prohibition remains harshly on the books in many American states and it continues to ruin lives through lack of access as well as enforcement. This is achieved through a myriad of legislative and judicial actions that are carried out against citizens caught burning or eating a plant. In more enlightened locales, companies are rushing to create products catering to a new breed of cannabis consumer: the medical user not looking to get high, many of them women or first time users.

Menstrual pain and cramps are not taken seriously, and are more often joked about than addressed legitimately. Some women experience severe pain during their period while others have no problem at all, and just like many women’s concerns, research isn’t done in great detail. This condition that over 50 percent of the population has once per month, but little is known other than basic hormonal treatments or OTC pain medication, which come with side effects.

Companies like Foria have created a cannabis suppository to address menstrual cramps, the dosage and size look a little concerning. And most importantly: the price is severely prohibitive. Foria claims you cannot get stoned from taking a vaginal suppository, but from personal experience I think that 72mg of THC is enough to get anybody stoned through a membrane like the vag.

A product of this nature can easily be made at home to a much more suitable-for-everyone dosage and price. With just three ingredients, you can make this to your own specifications and share with your friends. Suddenly everybody can have a better time of the month!

To Make This Product You Need To Sail The C’s Of Cannabis Infusion:

Cocoa Butter- ½ cup

Coconut Oil – ¼ cup

Cannabis- 1 gram of concentrate (can be equivalent amount of raw bud, roughly 5 grams)

Clean- Probably the most important thing, since you will be shoving this up your jaybird. Quickly blanch any plant matter with boiling water (it’s not hot enough to cause potency loss), strain, and dry. Skip this step if using wax or hash.

Convert- Heat finely ground material to 225 degrees fahrenheit to convert THC-A, which is inactive, to its psychoactive auntie we all love, THC. This action is precisely what happens when you smoke, the flame and combustion transfers all of the cannabinoids to their most active form which enter through tissues in the mouth, throat, and lungs. For topical use, it needs to be converted for maximum pain relief.

Cover- ALWAYS keep material covered or sealed when heating above boiling. Vapor lost is potency lost.

Careful- ALWAYS stay below 350 degrees anything higher will boil the cannabinoids which are close the the boiling point of most cooking oils.

To Make Cannabis Infused Coconut Oil:

Put ¼ cup coconut oil in a clean mason jar with your starting material.

Seal the Mason jar and placed in a warm water bath for 1 hour.

Cool the Mason jar to room temperature and place in a freezer overnight.

The next day, defrost and place in a water bath once more, just to heat through.

Strain if using raw cannabis. If using a concentrate or hash you won’t have to strain the material.

To Make Marijuana Pain Melts (Not Just For Periods!):

Melt 1/4 cup cocoa butter in the microwave short bursts until fully melted. Add the warmed infused coconut oil and stir well.

Quickly pour into a candy mold or ice cube tray. Alternatively, you can pour it into a tin and use as a topical rub. Allow to cool until set before digging in.

The best way to determine a suitable dose is to start with one small piece at a time. Putting one internally and rubbing one externally on your abdomen works great for a n00b. If you don’t feel any relief within 15 minutes, trying a second chip and so on until you feel better will tell you an ideal dose for your body. The dosage for one single chip is so small that you likely won’t get intoxicated unless you were to eat it. As you can see by the ingredients, you can do so without concern. There has never been anything that has worked faster and hasn’t caused any side effects other than using cannabis to address cramps in my personal opinion.

This makes enough product to last at least four really bad periods, using daily for three days and maybe six mild ones, less time if you’re generous and share with friends, which is always good vibes.

These little melts also make amazing muscle rub for any other body aches and pains. If you are feeling particularly witchy, you can use essential oils to spike your recipe if you won’t be using it internally, like your own weed Tiger Balm!

Cannabinoids have been being used for generations for all types of ailments. In many cultures it’s the first grab for menstrual and muscle aches, before the over the counter drugs that America markets to death.

You would think that men would just want women to have no more cramps so that they would never have to hear about it again, but alas keeping people in jail and keeping people’s pockets fat is more important than simple cures made from simple things that keep everybody happy.

Photos: Maria Penaloza & Danielle Guercio

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