MagicalerDIY.qxp:Finn.Aquarium Age.June08.q5 11/28/12 8:47 AM Page 1
24
December 2012
CATALYSTMAGAZINE.NET
FEATURE
Magical DIY gifts If only you lived someplace else BY TRISHA MCMILLAN
Removing the milk solids and sugars allows the pure fat to remain without going rancid for a much longer time. Cannabis ghee can be used in place of butter in many recipes, or spread on toast or crackers alone or with jam. • 1 pound sweet cream butter • 1 ounce good quality marijuana, finely ground. Melt the butter in a pan at low temperature, just until it begins to bubble and clarify. A froth should form on the surface of the butter—skim this off with a spoon. Keep simmering and skimming until no more froth appears. Add the finely ground marijuana, stirring often. Simmer on very low heat for an hour. Strain with cheesecloth, reserving the liquid, discarding the marijuana solids. Hypothetical ghee-makers
Cannabis ghee can be used in place of butter in many recipes, or spread on toast or crackers alone or with jam. should store sacred ghee in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or gift it out to friends in small decorative jars tied with ribbons. WWW.GQ.COM/FOOD-TRAVEL/RECIPES/ 201207/WEED-AND-STONER-FOODRECIPES-ROBERTAS-BROOKLYN ary Jane was a big winner in the November election. Two U.S. states, Colorado and Washington, fully legalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, and Connecticut and Massachusetts both passed medical marijuana laws. Eighteen states plus the District of Columbia now allow pot use for various health conditions, and representatives from Maine and Rhode Island have also announced their intentions to introduce legislation to tax and regulate marijuana. The mood in the nation is decidedly pro-cannabis. In Utah, however, pot and many other psychoactives are still decidedly illegal. Herewith, CATALYST presents a magical hypothetical holiday gift guide, featuring mind-expanding items you could make and give with love, if only you lived in a different time and place.
M
Bhang Bhang is a flavored milk drink native to the Indian subcontinent, where they have drunk it for thousands of years during Shiva festivals and the Holi festival of colors. It is part of traditional ayurvedic medicine, and is taken as a pain r eliever, muscle relaxer and sleep aid. Traditional bhang recipes involve grinding the green plant in a mortar and pestle and boiling it with milk, but here’s an easier method, a little like preparing Tibetan butter tea: • 1 tbsp salted fresh butter • 3 cups whole milk • 1/8 oz good quality marijuana, finely ground • 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger • 1/8 teaspoon garam masala • 1/2 teaspoon rose water
Melt butter in a medium pan. Sauté marijuana in butter for a minute or two, but be careful not to burn it. Add milk and whisk briskly, then add spices and rose water. Bring just to a simmer while continuing to whisk, then remove from heat. Strain liquid through cheesecloth, reserving liquid, and discard the solids. Serve (hypothetically, of course) with a teaspoon of honey.
Sacred cannabis ghee Ghee is clarified butter, traditionally made in India where refrigeration is scarce.
Psilocybin mushroom ginger-mint teabags Magic mushrooms have been part of the human culture since the dawn of recorded history. The Aztecs of ancient Mexico called psilocybin mushrooms “teonanácatl” or flesh of the gods, and used them as a sacrament for divining the future. Mexican Mixtec culture also revered the mushroom. Driven underground by the Spanish conquest, the sacred mushroom ceremony fell out of sight, but was kept alive by Mazatec natives in Oaxaca. In the 20th century the divine fungus was re-discovered by Western academia, and thereafter by Western culture at large. Magic mushrooms are illegal in most of the United States, but are allowable if grown for personal use in New Mexico. They are legal in the British