Last week I had the opportunity to try some really amazing vegan food. If you know me, you know I tried my hand at vegetarianism and it only lasted about a year, and I always broke the rules a little bit anyways. It's definitely a challenge to feel satisfied when you feel like you're missing all these flavors and textures you love. S+M Vegan does such an amazing job at recreating those, I wish I knew how to cook like them!  I've seen this vegan chef couple coming up in the Bay Area food scene over the last few years, so it was really a treat to experience one of their last pop-up dinners in San Francisco. 

Feastly is a service that provide chefs and diners with a unique dining experience. One reminiscent of a home cooked meal, where guests are encouraged to interact with the chefs and fellow diners. This particular pop-up was hosted at a location named The Lab, a warm, modern space located in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood.

The first course of this four course meal was a delicious spreadable garlic herb cheese, whole grain mustard, and a romaine salad with sesame Caesar dressing with pickled red onion and radishes along with some freshly baked ciabatta. At one point I leaned over to my boyfriend and asked 'is the bread vegan too?' and of course it was. I really didn't know it was possible to achieve such soft spreadable cheese without using dairy, or to replace the umami flavor anchovy gives to Caesar dressing.

The second course was hands down my favorite part of the meal. Pheniox Pasticifico fresh eggless organic pasta coated in cheese and black pepper cream, finished with ground black olive, shaved toasted almonds and Arbequina extra virgin olive oil. The noodles were soft but not chewy, and the flavor was tremendous. Lots of black pepper, but I was not complaining one bit.

The third course was a beautiful plate of petite roasted eggplant, seared lemon and herb sauce, roasted cherry tomatoes topped with fresh herbs and flowers. The sauce was similar to a pesto but a little more complex. The eggplant was rich and juicy. The whole meal was served family style, and the eggplant was a little tricky to split up between us all, but definitely worth the work.

I enjoyed dinner with one of my favorite beers, Tangerine de Brettaville by Almanac Beer Co. Part of their Farm-to-Barrel program, varieties of sour beers are created by aging specific yeasts and fruits in oak barrels to create a complex combination of tart, sweet and funky. This particular beer is a favorite of mine because it's the right amount of sour and the right amount of sweet.

Feastly & S+M Vegan did a fantastic job putting this dinner together. I was really happy that my first time enjoying this food was in this setting, and that my first time in this setting came with such highly anticipated food. I look forward to experiencing the food in a new setting and experiencing the setting with new food. Life is about growing, and eating too.

I'll be honest, I don't know much about cultivation. I did work in an indoor Cannabis grow for quite a few months, and my family has been working the land and cultivating food for generations, but for some reason I just don't think I learned as much as I could have, but I guess that's what happens when things just seem like work. 

In all agricultural fields, there has been a huge emphasis on organic growing  in the past few years. And I'm so happy to see that translated into Cannabis as well. In the black market days, harmful chemicals and pesticides were used in the cultivation of Cannabis. Since there were no standards for selling on the street, people didn't need to flush properly or test flowers for residual pesticides. I cringe at the thought of how much dirty weed I probably smoked as a kid.

Veg+Bloom is simple powder amendment 'containing all essential elements and beneficial additives your plants need to succeed.' It's part of a 4-part series by Hydroponic Research. Veg+Bloom, +Life, Push, and Shine.

Terpinator is pretty hard to miss on a table. I don't know much about it, or anyone who uses it but I know it's filled with potassium sulfate to help make flowers more pungent and resinous. 

Fox Farm Ocean Forest was the potting soil I used the very first time I grew on my own! I was happy to see their products, the art is so cute!

Can't talk about soil without mentioning Mills X DNA Genetics Cork Soil. I first saw this at the 2016 Spannabis in Barcelona. You know what they say, mills pays the bills.

Hustle Butter Deluxe is a vegan, non petroleum based and all natural. It was originally created as a tattoo aftercare product, but has been discovered to have many uses. It's a great way to repel and remove resin from the hands and arms of trimmers and gardeners alike.

Happy Cultivating!

When I turned the corner and saw the Shogun Extracts booth, I became ecstatic. Zacatecas is the state in Mexico where my family hails from! Medicated tamales estillo Zacatecas? yes please! it was hard to say if the potency was there, since I maintained such a steady high, but it tasted like home.

Beezle's Creamery took home first place in the edible category for these 25mm medicated mochi bites! This one is Horchata flavored, and I'm sure the rest were just as tasty and I really regret not buying any more. 

Ryno Glass, Matt Roberston, Jared Delong, Reyna Rivera and more pictured here.

There was plenty of glass by artists I didn't know. Here is another Wu-Tang piece by an artist I didn't catch the name of.

The fade one this little banger hanger had me mesmerized. 

And there was some amazing work put into these mini tubes as well, look at the crows! This was a truly talented artist, I wish I had caught his name.

I had to bring my Kaliber Glass baby with me, with the Aaron Vigil quartz nail.

There were so many artists and so much work out that multiple people had worked on, I couldn't keep up, but I still want to share the work even if I don't know who made. Feel free to reach out with the answers if you have them!

The main attraction was this glowing Joe Peters x Hoobs Glass collaboration. 

My boyfriend ended up taking home this beautiful Chaka Glass x Solo Glass mini.

As cannabis events and parties grow, with bigger musical headliners and more diverse crowds, it can be harder, or easier for some, to remember why we attend these functions to being with. To see our friends and family in the community, enjoy the festivities, and learn about new cultivators, products and dispensaries, or to enjoy those who supply areas we don't live in! Jungle Boyz were out selling clones and pressing some of their "Jungle Juice" for patients who purchased their flower. The  Jungle Boyz flavors by Oil Refinery Co we swooped from TLC  Collective was so clean and stable, yum!

I'm never upset when I see Wu-Tang live, wish Method Man would have been there!

We were all making the best of the music, the heat, and each other. Great vibes, honestly.

Until next time Chalice!

Chalice California is an annual festival held at the San Bernardino Fairgrounds in Victorville, California sponsored by Hitman Glass. It's been happening since 2014 and has been regarded as THE summer festival for hash and glass art. This was my first year attending the festival, and the first piece of summer spent in over 90° heat in at least 7 or 8 years. But we were ready for it! With dabs and water in hand, we set out into the heat. 

The two days we were there were full of tasting dabs, seeing friends, eating medicated (and non medicated) foods and generally enjoying the vibes. Being from Northern California and spending most of my life in the Bay Area, I definitely feel I operate on a different wavelength than Southern Californians. It's hard for me not compare the festivals and vibes in Northern and Southern California, but I will say the experience was definitely worth the trip.

I've heard many things about the ambiguous origins of Crystalline concentrates. The CBD Crystalline we are seeing on the market these days is derived from HEMP, not CANNABIS. It unsure what affects these hemp derived concentrates could have on the body, so it's important to be careful. Guild's THC-A concentrate however seems to be legit, straight from Mother Mary herself.

we got almost a gram and a half back!

Chaka (Christian) is famed for his icey drips, hollow cubes and adorable penguin and marine wildlife.

I picked up a textured pink pencil dabber he was nice enough to sign for me, with his personalized Sherbert TI pencil.

Love these Oogie Boogie and Stimpy chips by and artist who's name I couldn't find.

Dapo Glass and Holly Banks Glass are a couple I've also met at other glass expos and connected with via social media. I love how they support each other in their art and collaborate constantly! He makes the chips and she'll use them to make adorable pendants!
​

Holly loves to create tasty looking glass reminiscent of the candies we get when we have the munchies. Gummies galore! This chocolate dipped lemon gummy was something I saw online and was so happy to see in person!