Easy Bake - Pot Brownies in the Microwave

I've always been a little dubious about the power of eating pot. In most cases, I have failed to do a controlled experiment because I always end up smoking at the same time as I'm eating. Now, this weekend, I had a sore throat and felt like I shouldn't be smoking, so I had the perfect opportunity to give this a whirl.

Usually when I'm baking brownies, it would be a social affair, so I'd make a big pan. But this weekend, it was just me. That's a lot of pot to reach the right level of potency in one or two brownies. And let's be honest, if there's a whole pan - when the munchies kick in, I'll end up eating the whole thing anyway.

So along comes 'Warm Delights' the portion control dessert product pitched for single professional ladies. This is a really exciting breakthrough in pot browies for the same two reasons this appeals to the single gals: 1) it's wicked easy and very quick 2) portion control means you're economizing on the pot.





















Here's how you can bake the perfect pot brownies for one or two people:

1) Crumble or chop the weed into a saucepan and cook with about a tablespoon of butter or veg. oil (butter is better). You want to sautee it on very low heat until it releases that distinctive odor and turns light brown and is crispy to the touch (watch your fingers!). Keep stirring the pot pot - DO NOT BURN IT!















2) Empty the mix into the plastic bowl they include. Pour the hot butter over the mountain of chocolate powder and start to mix it in with a spoon. It will be very thick. You will need to add a little water at a time until it mixes into a smooth batter (like the traditional brownie mix you know and love).















3) Microwave for just 45 seconds. Ah sweet sweet technology. No pre-heating. No waiting. And voila!

4) Then you can fancy it up by squeezing on the chocolate frosting.















5) Eat it.

6) Wait 20-30 minutes and SURPRISE you're easy baked!

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Update: June 2012
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I just stumbled on this post several years after forgetting about the blog entirely.  I am happy it is still up on the web. But I'm shocked to realize this particular post has over 30,000 views - not to mention a whole lot of really helpful comments.  If even a small percentage of you people who have viewed this page get yourselves Easy Baked as a result, I'm so happy to have helped!!!

A few of my own opinions in response to the comments:

For me, the dosage in a brownie is about the same as I would smoke to get the result I want.  If the weed is really potent, I use less, like a bowl.  You can see the size nodule I used in the top picture.  That's about a gram of potent weed, and the brownie was a very strong high.

If I'm using outdoor weed of the sort I'd probably smoke most of a joint over an evening - I use that much.  I don't want to eat more than one brownie in an evening.  I might start with half and eat the other half later.

Baking is like science, you can keep track of how much you use and how long things take in your microwave.  Next time, vary your inputs.  From my experience, my digestive fullness has a big influence on how quickly I metabolize the weed.  If I eat a brownie on a relatively empty stomach, it kicks in much faster and has a bigger impact.  So even though you might be tempted to save the brownie for dessert... you'd be better off starting with it.

I recommend cooking your weed a bit in butter or oil.  Don't skip that step.  That's the slow controlled heating when you're going to activate the psychoactive junk.  The quick heating in the microwave acts primarily on the water molecules.  Steam bubbles in the batter and cooks the cake.  The quick microwave blast doesn't cover you for activating the cannabis.

Eating is preferable to smoking in a lot of situations:

• For people with breathing problems
• On airplanes (finish before security)
• If you're a teenager living in a city
• Family dinners
• Dormitories
• Movies (so you're not most high during the previews)

Enjoy and let me know how it goes :)

Micro rage

There are buttons on my microwave for everything except the shit I want to do. There's one that says 'chicken dinner plate' and then 'reheat pizza.' The 'popcorn' button is ubiquitous. The easy-on button makes it easy to only get 30 second increments. I actually puzzled for a long time before figuring out how to get my cheese-crackers to the right level of meltiness without standing in front of the door absorbing radiation waiting to snatch it out.

Clearly 30 seconds is way too long for a little cheese over Triscuits. That's my favored munchie food at the moment. Using the flavored Triscuits is unbelievably delicious with a little slice of cheddar... Mmmm... My favorite flavor is rosemary/olive oil. They're pretty tasty plain too.

The issue is that for a plate of crackers, the optimal moment of melt comes around 12 to 15 seconds. If I hit 'easy on' I have to watch it and stop it around 18 or so. But that requires me to do math and to avoid being distracted for a full quarter-minute!

My attention span is not that reliable. This is what I want my new microwave to look like...

Cookin with Coolio - Second Episode

I was not impressed with the first episode of this show on My Damn Channel, but the second - has fixed most of my earlier complaints! The recipe is an actual recipe - he's sort of braising a cheap cut of beef with a salt-n-peppa rub (can't believe that joke didn't come up). He probably should have seared the steak first to get a crust, or maybe added the liquid after broiling it on each side for a minute - but his aim is simplicity and he's definitely got a simple attack on the meat.

The garlic bread also totally impressed me. He makes the spread with mayo base along with shredded cheddar and some hot sauce. I pretty recently made the discovery that you can make a pretty mean grilled cheese with mayo instead of butter. This seems bold, simple, and I'm definitely going to give it a shot.

In terms of the gags, he's settled down a bit with the catch phrases and worked them into the framing of the show - good move there! I didn't really laugh too hard at the college kid thing - but it was quirky and helped keep the energy up, so I guess it worked.

I'm really impressed with the turnaround! I'll keep watching after this.

Coolio and Kool-Aid Pickles

I spent a little time on My Damn Channel. The thing that pulled me in was a trailer for Coolio's cooking show - which strikes me as a great thing. BUT, it's not available yet.

The oddball mixed genre thing that really got me laughing was this show called "You Suck at Photoshop." It's actually decent tutorial of photoshop, but it's also really funny.

Worth a smoke-n-giggle. I'll also have to remember to check back next week when Coolio's cooking show is up and running. The Ghetto Gourmet. Mmmm... Maybe he'll do Kool-Aid Pickles. Did you know that's a thing? Anyone tried one?

Shit, I'll try anything once. If ever there was a snack conceived of while stoned, this is it. In the Times article, they're endorsed by a kid as “I like it the same as dipping hot Cheetos in ice cream.”

The Global Sandwich

There is no doubt that we're falling behind in the international sandwich race. In a more global economy, our classics are now competing with a broader range of potential sandwiches. We've got some classic models in the US - I think we're probably leading the volume question with offerings and exports like Subway, Quiznos and others. Our best offerings are going to for fresh soft bread - toasted - and loaded up with a whole variety of fixin's.

Vietnamese sandwiches are a totally different bird and gaining ground in the states. that's a more crusty bread with some killer flavor combinations - like a great funky pate pulled chicken - and interesting texture touches like shredded carrots.

Felafel offerings in sandwiches also offer some great options and are growing in popularity around here. Great sauces and realy nice textures from whatever you load in there. I think felafel - with all the loading up is a lot more like an american sandwich because of all the stuff we jam in there.

One of the big things these two other imports are getting right is on the cost of ingredients. We're getting some delicious sandwich options at much lower prices.

One of the annoying things about Quizno's - and to a slightly lesser extent - Subway is that they're almost $10 for a big-ole sandwich.

Felafel and Vietnamese sandwiches are real good, but rely on cheaper ingredients. Mmmm delicious.

Grilled cheese - art and science

Grilled cheese is one of those god-given pleasures that is very hard to get wrong. There are so many types of pleasures and additions that can really make a grilled cheese something special. There's a video on MSN about a $50 grilled cheese made with Fontina and truffles... that's definitely one way to go. There's sharp cheddar with some smoked turkey or tomato... mouthwatering.

I've enjoyed making grilled cheese in the waffle iron, lean-mean Foreman machine, frying pan and even under a broiler (more cheese toast than grilled that way). Really it's all fair-game except for the microwave. Don't bother with grilled cheese in a microwave- it's too easy to go all rubbery that way. Cheese can be microwaved on triscuits, but not more than 15 seconds for a plateful.

Butter is an absolutely essential component of successful grilled cheese - and about the only essential component. Butter on both sides of the bread is a great idea and buttering one side and then flipping it over is my preferred approach.

Today, I found myself without any butter and some good bread and cheese and a healthy case of the muncheese. My lady friend convinced me that the restaurant she used to work at would use mayonnaise. I was doobious, but a thin coat on the outside of the bread formed a perfect crust. I would definitely give this a shot in the frying pan. Haven't given it a whirl in the waffle iron yet. If you give it a try, keep the heat on medium and try not to let it smoke :)