Seasonal Cannabis Cooking: A Cannabis-Infused Pumpkin Pie for Fall

Eating seasonal food has become such a popular trend in recent years that today, almost any chef will tell you: By eating organic local food with the seasons, you are supporting local farmers who choose to grow sustainably. Eating with the seasons also means saving money on produce that is at its supply peak and nourishing your body with fresh food.

Unfortunately, the trend of seasonal cooking has not yet reached into cannabis cuisine. However, in states that allow for homegrown marijuana or in places that have a thriving local cultivation scene, it is easy and environmentally beneficial to integrate cannabis into cooking — both in its various stages of growth and by pairing it with other ingredients — based upon the season.

Ultimately, the best cannabis growing and cooking model for the environment is to grow organic cannabis outdoors with your own symbiotic vegetables and herbs, supporting local regenerative farmers when purchasing your other ingredients and then making the dankest food you can matching what’s available during that time of year.

To fully adopt a seasonal cannabis model, you should start by either sowing seeds or planting clones outside after the last frost. During the summer’s vegetative state, you can pluck a few leaves during pruning and make a delicious, nutrient-dense juice with other fruits and vegetables. As the plant hits the flowering cycle in the early fall, you can prune off the smaller popcorn buds and make live resin or rosin from them, which you could then infuse into different cooking fats or spirits. And of course, after harvest, dried cannabis flowers can be infused into other seasonal ingredients to make edibles that are completely aligned with the season.

Cooking seasonal cannabis dishes and using the plant throughout the different growth stages for food is beneficial for the environment for many reasons. By maximizing the use of parts of the plant that otherwise would be thrown away, such as the leaves, using cannabis as a seasonal ingredient reduces waste and also maximizes the utility of the resources used to grow the plant.

In honor of the harvest season, I bless you with this exceptionally traditional and delicious seasonal pumpkin pie recipe. Happy harvest!

Hashplant Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Ingredients for filling:

• 2 cups organic puréed sugar pumpkin
• 1 can organic sweetened condensed milk
• 2 organic whole eggs
• 4 tablespoons (half a stick) organic cannabutter, infused with Hashplant
• 1 ½ tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg)
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled sweet butter
• 4 tablespoons ice water
• 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions:

Step 1: For this recipe, you need to start the dough the night before or one hour before cooking time for the crust to set properly. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. With a knife, cut the stick of butter into 8 slices and drop into the bowl.

Step 2: Mix by hand until the butter starts to meld with the dry mix. Add in 4 tablespoons of ice water and continue to combine until the mixture is fully incorporated. Press lightly into a semi-flat circle about 6 inches wide and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for 1 hour prior to cooking time.

Step 3: When you are ready to prepare your pie dough, roll out onto a floured surface and transfer to a 9-inch pie tin. Flatten the dough into the tin and pinch the edges to form a crust on the top. Take a fork and pierce little holes throughout the bottom and sides of the crust. This prevents the crust from bubbling out during the baking process.

Step 4: Preheat your oven to 375° Fahrenheit. In a separate bowl, mix the puréed pumpkin, condensed milk, eggs, Hashplant cannabutter, maple extract, vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice until fully combined.

Step 5: Pour your pumpkin mixture into your pie crust and lightly tap the pan against a counter to release any air bubbles. Put into the oven and bake for 55 minutes. Pull from oven and let the pie set at room temperature. Decorate with fresh, organic whipped cream for the most comforting fall dessert. Enjoy!

Dosage:

If a gram of Hashplant flower tests at 19 percent THC, then butter infused with the gram would include 190 mg of THC. Therefore, substitute the number of your cannabis’s THC percentage and the amount of flower you have and do the math to figure out your dosing. If you want a smaller dose, cut the flower down to a smaller portion. For a larger dose, add in more.

Strain Suggestions:

When preparing this recipe for classic pumpkin pie, I would recommend pairing strains that possess earthy, hashy, woodsy or sandalwood-like terpenes and flavonoids. The following strains would be ideal: Hashplant, Alaskan Ice, Purple Haze, S.A.G.E, Herijuana or Burmese Kush. If you do not have access to these strains, then use your nose and taste buds to find other strains that have similar smell and flavor profiles.

TELL US, have cooked seasonal cannabis-infused food?