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The Final Draft

S+M Vegan Pop-Up Dinner via Feastly

8/16/2016

2 Comments

 
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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. 
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Watching Shane and Marie cook together was like watching a balancing act. She was very focused and serious about her work, but very graceful. He was supportive of her and engaged with the diners, helping serve the dishes while explaining them each to us. Together they moved like clock work.

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.
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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.
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Dessert was a corn milk cake with mascarpone, blueberry jam, turmeric cashews and tarragon. The cake was dense and sweet, and the mascarpone was salty, nutty and creamy. The jam soaked into the cake was very sweet, a great contrast to the mascarpone. Plating was simple yet elegant, but I think there's something about watching the chefs plate their dishes makes the final presentation that much more delightful.
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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.
2 Comments

Maximum Yield Magazine's Indoor Gardening Expo 2016 - San Francisco

8/4/2016

3 Comments

 
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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. 
House & Garden Nutrients were one of the first booths we stopped at. I am familiar with their root accelerators, but not much else. It was nice to learn about the different kind of additives they carry, as well as different base nutrient mixes for different kinds of growing mediums.
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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.
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Vital Earth was there was so many samples and so much information to hand out! It's kinda crazy when you think about the ingredients in organic fertilizers. Bat and bird poop, fermented fish, and dead worms!
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Organics Alive who's motto was to 'bring biology back to it's roots' is a company that really intrigued me. They create compost teas using a very specific diet fed to Eisinea Fetida Earthworms to achieve a balanced, diverse and concentrated blend of microbiology to achieve 'dramatic yield  enhancing technology.'
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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.
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Ed Rosenhal was there too! It was so exciting to meet a bit of a legend. I bought his Big Book of Buds and he signed it for me. He had all his books on display and for purchase, as well as his line of herbal and fungal combatives. 
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Earth Juice is another brand I came across the seemingly does it all! Pest control to additives to complete nutrient systems. Plus, I am a sucker for good art, and they had it!
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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. 
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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!
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I don't know why I never realized all the different kinds of soil mixes there are! WE saw lots of different companies selling similar soils with a variety of amendments added to each mix. Sanctuary Soils definitely caught my eye, because I liked their art. They are a California based company and produce more organic worm casting than anyone in North America! They use classic techniques to achieve the soil quality they desire. Like the Dutchman Ultra Premium Expanded Coco-Coir  'is produced under RHP style Dutch process to ensure quality and consistency.'
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Royal Gold Soil made me so happy with these stickers for their Turpur mix. They are the first all coco based soil company in California, based out of Humboldt county.
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EB Stone Organics is a family owned company a that made it's first soil blend in San Jose, California 100 years ago. Their newest creation is their only Cannabis specific soil blend, Recipe 420-Emerald Triangle Blend. It's definitely interesting to see what convential argiculural brands step into the world of Cannabis cultivation.
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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.
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Gavita sponsored the event, along with Greenplanet Wholesale, inews, NutiLife, ProMix, Quest, Sprout, and of course Maximum Yield. It made me happy to see a few products I've worked with commercially on display. Like Grodan! They were giving out little shot glass necklaces with little clovers planted in rockwool inside. The giant cubes at their booth made me happy too.
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Dosatron is also a company and product I'm familiar with. The name of the product almost explains itself. They are machines that you can adjust to 'dose' your regular water supply with your additives. It's installed into the water pipes and sends your mix through the pipes and into your watering hose. Mostly used indoors, which is just what I'm guessing, for grows without reservoirs to mix in and water from. It was really cool to see this clear one at the show and see how it all works inside!
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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.
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High Yield Products had their Lock Down Pads on display and they really caught my attention. After getting so many sticky fly traps caught on my arms and in my hair, it was nice to see that these pads didn't stick to you! Or leave any burning, sticky residue on your skin. 
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Secret Jardin had so many different sizes of grow tents available, it really made me wish I didn't live in a tiny San Francisco studio so I could have my own secret garden. From vegetative tents, different lighting options, ventilation and even built-in trellis are all options one can use to personalize their tent as well.
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I love not being able to go to any Cannabis related expo these days and not find a rosin press! Rosin Industries had a booth but unfortunately couldn't press any samples out, since the event wasn't prop 215 friendly. It just makes me happy to see a greater focus on solventless dabs. This expo really drove the idea of organic growing and sustainability home, and I appreciate that from this industry. 
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Happy Cultivating!
3 Comments

Chalice California 2016: prt.2

7/19/2016

2 Comments

 
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I may be speaking for myself when I say this, but I don't think I think about anything quite as much as I think about food. Especially after a few dabs! But the thing that excites me more than munchies, is medicated munchies! I've never been a huge fan of sweets. Cookies and cakes? I'll pass. That's why it's so exciting to see new edibles hitting the market that are falling more on the savory side. Or better yet, can be left up to interpretation! These medicated tortillas, Medtillas, seem like a perfect option for lunch, dinner and even dessert!
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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.
The medicated food was really popping out at me, I wanted to try this herb fired pizza by OG Pizza Company, but I just couldn't keep eating! Kush Tacos was also on the scene, I was sad I didn't get a chance to smash some nachos like I did the first time I tried them at the Nor Cal Cannabis Cup this past year.
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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. 
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Budy Crocker and  Mrs.Von Dank were set up together and it made me happy to see some friends make the trip out for Chalice. I've known them both via Instagram for year and I was so happy to finally meet! There were medicated bath products and sweet medicated treats on display in such an elegant but casual style. They sent me home with some samples and they were both equally indulgent in their own way. Best enjoyed together, I'd say!

Rodeo Glass Gallery is a booth I see at many events in California. It's always such a treat to see these works of art in person. 
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Ryno Glass, Matt Roberston, Jared Delong, Reyna Rivera and more pictured here.
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I spied these pieces by Immaculate Glass, Lamar Glass and Troph Glass, their table was getting great light.
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GrassHoppa Glass was out with some UV reactive glass. There was lots to Wu-Tang themed glass since they were the headlining musical artist on Saturday night. 
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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.
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This unknown artist definitely had a theme going. and I was a fan. Brains and aliens and amazing sculpting. 
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The fade one this little banger hanger had me mesmerized. 
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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.
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This artists work was cute and simple, I've always been a fan of tiny rigs!
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I saw so many minis I wanted to add to my army of minis.
I had to bring my Kaliber Glass baby with me, with the Aaron Vigil quartz nail.
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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!
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The main attraction was this glowing Joe Peters x Hoobs Glass collaboration. 
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My boyfriend ended up taking home this beautiful Chaka Glass x Solo Glass mini.
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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!
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All in all, Chalice was worth it in my opinion. It's nice to have a reason to leave the bay and experience some real summer heat every so often. 
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I'm never upset when I see Wu-Tang live, wish Method Man would have been there!
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We were all making the best of the music, the heat, and each other. Great vibes, honestly.
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Until next time Chalice!
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2 Comments

Chalice California 2016: prt.1

7/18/2016

3 Comments

 
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. 

Live art was everywhere, from live glassblowing to live painting. The musical stage was in the middle of the fairgrounds, so if you were outside odds were you could hear the music playing. There were makeshift misters spraying water at the edge of the stage's lawn creating a haziness that matched the one we were feeling. 
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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.

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One thing I have always noticed about Southern California's concentrate scene is that I only seem to find popular BHO extractors, and not much solventless. 
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Guild Extracts is an extract company that I have always heard great things about but never really tried. I was excited to try some of their flavors and hear more about their THC-A Crystalline. They took the prize for highest THC content for their Jack Herer THC-A Crystalline. I don't think I saw it on the menu, but I probably wasn't looking, but I did see this Sour Diesel THC-A Crystalline.
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Han's Colonial Medicine did have some fire looking and smelling Blissful Wizard Dry sift but at $100 a gram, it was a little out of my price range.
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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.

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Something I've been seeing at cannabis festivals and parties in the recent years have been rosin presses! People with rosin presses, mainly companies doing promotional work of course, who will allow people to walk up to them with their own flower and use their machines to press out fresh rosin! Sashquash Rosin Presses were who we used to help us out. We started with a little over 3 grams of Gorilla Glue cultivated by SPARC that tested out at just over 22% so we knew it would be worth the squeeze.
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we got almost a gram and a half back!

Glass art, mostly functional, some not, all beautiful, were a obviously a huge part of the festivities. I saw plenty of artists I recognized and plenty I didn't. This beautiful electroformed, crystal covered piece to the right made it all the way to Southern California from New York state. Some artists traveled from far away homes, some were local, and some even considered the road their home. Chaka Glass, an artist I've meet at previous expos and someone I've connected with on social medial, is one of these artists driving across country and living in an RV.
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Chaka (Christian) is famed for his icey drips, hollow cubes and adorable penguin and marine wildlife.
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Another artist I recognized right away was Sherbert Glass. His signature pencil dabber can be spotted at almost any glass party. Seeing some of his one of a kind collaborations was a real treat.
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I picked up a textured pink pencil dabber he was nice enough to sign for me, with his personalized Sherbert TI pencil.
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Millies are something that have been practiced in glasswork for years and years, before functional glass art was a thing (I think?). There are so many talented millie artists in the scene, I was happy to see some familiar faces and some new ones! I loved these Oggie Boggie and Stimpy chips by an artist I didn't recognize. 
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Love these Oogie Boogie and Stimpy chips by and artist who's name I couldn't find.
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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!
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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!
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Jayson Keys made hilarious and serene scenes in his Millie Bomb pieces, mostly pendants and marbles.
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Augy Glass was another artist, who I like to consider a friend, I saw using millies, but his glass was functional. Augy is a California based artist of Mexican decent who is proud of himself and his work, and I like to think it shows. It's always great to run into friends and these kinds of events.
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I saw some Northern California based friends too! Goodnight Irene and Lisa's Pieces!  Kayla James Glass was sharing a table with Irene and I was so happy to see some of her work in person! These Renee Patula ice cream carrots were as adorable in person as they were online.
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Kayla and Irene did a 'Squabbit' pendant, signature Irene squirrel who developed a taste for carrots and disguised himself as rabbit to obtain more carrots. Irene was wearing it when I saw her. 
Irene's pieces have great shape and beautiful fuming, and are often accented with horns or her signature squirrels, that are often seen on pendants. The light was hitting these beautifully as the sun began to set.
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Her collaborations with Lisa were also on display, and I actually remember these being made at a Pied Pipers event in Oakland at Acala Studios. 
Lisa had a strawberry theme going on and these hefty pendants caught my eye. The sun began to set and then evening began to cool off. The dusk kicked up in the desert sun added a glow to all the glass in the livestock showarea where the glass village was set up. We continued to wander  puffing on our joints as we pleased. 

part 2 coming soon!
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    stoneyxochi. 33 year old California native. proud pothead, Mexicana and woman. 

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