Puff, Pass & Pastry at Cannabis Creative: Integrating cannabis into cooking classes and beyond

Originally published on Wander Magazine

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Inside Oakland's Cannabis Collective

Work and life has been pretty insane lately. I’ve had to use the critical thinking and logical part of my brain heavily for the last few weeks at work and I’ve found myself mentally exhausted each evening. My workout routine has amped up and I love it, but I’ve found myself looking for more creative hobbies to mellow out my brain and body.

Cannabis has become a huge part in my effort to find the creative side of my brain again. I’ll find an uplifting and creativity-inducing strain and take a long walk in the park, re-organize my room, color, paint, or watch a movie. I’ve always been a creative and imaginative person and cannabis has really helped the functions of the right side of my brain shine through again.

Enter Puff, Pass & Pastry. My love for baking, eating, and weed all in one room? And with like-minded people who also think it’s OK to smoke a little before starting a new creative project?! YES, please.

The Puff, Pass & Pastry event is an off-shoot of Puff, Pass & Paint, a Denver, CO-based company specializing in offering pottery, painting, and culinary classes in a cannabis-friendly environment. Local edibles chef Sallie B of Slim’s Baked Goodies lead us through a 2.5 hour class as we learned the basics of cannabutter and how to integrate medicated oils into everyday cooking.

The class was held at Cannabis Creative in West Oakland at a super rad warehouse in the middle of an emerging neighborhood. Upon walking in, we were greeted by the owners who handed us mimosas, a vape pen presented by Alchemy, and a sweet little joint rolled by one of the lady bosses.

The work room was covered in art from previous Puff, Pass & Paint classes, bright murals, plants, and other adorable accessories. If I had my own creative studio, I’m pretty sure it would be identical to this place. (If you guys make it to the studio, ask about the baby pineapple they’re growing!)

We had some time before class to settle in while all of the students arrived. We sampled all kinds of vape pens and drank mimosas while a FAT joint was passed around. The energy was festive and silly; everyone was in the mood to learn and create.

Chef Sallie told us a bit about her story before diving into the basics of cooking with cannabis. We nibbled on some brunch items she had already prepared before we made our own stuffed French Toast infused with cannabis. The food was awesome, the conversation with everyone at the table was engaging, and I was already thinking about when I’d come again for another class.

Oakland Cannabis Creative and the Puff, Pass folks have definitely helped to shift the way I think about cannabis and its integration into everyday life. I’m still a pretty new smoker, but I’m so happy that the Bay Area is able to offer events like this one.

For more information and tickets, visit www.PuffPassAndPaint.com and www.CannabisTours.com. For more information on Chef Sallie, visit www.SlimsBakedGoodies.com.

My first home delivery with Eaze

Between my move to Oakland, weekend adventures, visitors from near and far, and work, I can safely say that I overdid it in September and October. For as long as I can remember, I've made it a mission to utilize all of the usable hours in the day. From running to a workout straight after work, to somehow managing to be away every weekend for the past six weeks, I've been completely exhausted.

It was just a couple days before my man was coming into town and I realized that I didn't have enough flower to get us through the weekend and I didn't have any time to bike over to my local dispensary for a pickup. And then I remembered I was still holding onto a business card I got at the 420 Games from the guys over at Eaze.

Perfect! I'll just set up a home delivery in between the three other things I was trying to do at the same time!

Goodies from my first Eaze delivery.

I started shopping their deals, created my account and uploaded my recommendation. I was a bit nervous that they'd take too long to review my information and that I'd have to wait to place an order. But just as I was picking out my last joint, I got a notification that my account was active and that I was free to make an order. The turnaround was amazing and a total time saver.

Eaze had some awesome deals on flower that day so I got a couple extra goodies and submitted my payment. What I love about Eaze's interface is that you can actually see the status of your order and when it's en route. I got a text message from my driver asking if there were any special delivery instructions and that she was headed over.

The delivery was so easy and my driver was super friendly. The joints were a perfect travel companion for our adventures. 

Life can be super crazy. And when I have those days where I just want to sit and focus at home, Eaze makes it all the better -- for the busy blogger to the average smoker just wanting to chill indoors.

We did, we totally did...

Microdosing at the 420 Games with Atlas Edibles

Nadia Wanders was inspired by all kinds of people and events. I started incorporating cannabis-friendly things into the way I'd entertain myself and I've met the coolest people at my neighborhood lounge, dispensary, or weed-inspired event. One of these events was the 420 Games in Golden Gate Park. Simply put, the gang behind the 420 Games are producing cannabis-friendly athletic events to diminish the stigma that stoners are lazy couch bums.

The event was held in the Park and was based around a 4.20 mile fun run/skate/walk/bike ride with an after party. I picked up my bib a day early at Harvest, my old neighborhood dispensary, which was also hosting a pre-party. I chatted and smoked joints with fellow neighbors, vendors, and other people in the industry. I ended up chatting with Ezra Malmuth, owner of San Francisco-based Atlas Edibles. 

When I'm having edibles, I try to stay mindful of how much sugar I'm eating. I tend to have my edibles at night so eating a super sugary edible before bedtime can really mess with my sleep. What I love about Atlas is that their ingredients are creative and dare I say artisanal. Their Ember sativa edible has ingredients like caramel, cayenne, cashews and apricot and Nimbus uses dark chocolate, hazelnut, pecans, dried currants and cinnamon. 

The ingredients are high quality and they are actually deliciously healthy compared to the cookies, chocolate and candy you'll usually find. Ezra sent me home with some samples and I decided to micro dose the 10mg samples after the race.

Check out the awesome packaging artwork, designed by local artists.

The 4.20 mile stroll was lovely and I met up with one of the friends I made the night earlier, Jewli. I had my first dose after the stroll and it definitely carried me through the day. Jewli and I were sampling some of the pre-rolls and vape pens we were gifted earlier and the edibles definitely maintained my energy level throughout the afternoon. We did yoga, listened to speakers, made friends and chatted with all kinds of people in the industry. I had my second dose a few hours later and it made for the best way to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening. 

The high was mellow with small bursts of energy and it really made for a lovely day. I hadn't really microdosed before and this event really made for the best place to experience it for the first time. 

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I'm really lucky to have started smoking weed for the first time while living in the Bay Area and I realize it all the time. I've only been smoking a year or so and the quality of flower and the cannabis-friendly environment up here has made life really freaking awesome. Make sure and check out the 420 Games the next time they come to your town and Atlas Edibles if you're looking for a tastier and healthier way to medicate.