Considering just how much food will crowd onto your Thanksgiving table this year, it could almost be considered rude not to get baked before dinner. After all, if your Aunt Margaret went to the trouble of making her special marshmallow sweet potato soufflé, you damn well better have a few bites!

But what if instead of hitting a quick bowl in the basement or rocking a few puffs of the vape pen in the bathroom, you could integrate some THC into your meal from the get-go? That’s what Natalie Martinez, an L.A.-based chef for the popular DIY weed-cooking website Stoner’s Cookbook, suggests: a few cannabis dishes, especially on the early side of the meal, can make all the difference when helping you politely try everyone’s contributions and stay hungry enough for dessert.

]

“Instead of bringing a bottle of wine, bring an infused dish,” she says, “like roasted Brussels sprouts with fingerling potatoes and herbs, tossed in cannabis coconut oil.”

In 2014, confused potheads no longer have any excuse for throwing a pile of raw bud into brownie mix and calling it a day. Recipes on The Stoner’s Cookbook, a mostly user-generated compendium of recipes and tips for how to cook with marijuana, range from cannabis-infused oils, butters and teas to more elaborate dishes like Sriracha Peanut Noodles and Pulled Pot-Pork Sandwich. With nearly three million Facebook likes, Stoner’s Cookbook is likely upgrading the quality of marijuana edibles for everyone, from professional chefs in Colorado to curious teens in Connecticut.

Martinez is one of a handful of hired chefs who submit well-tested recipes alongside the suggestions of hundreds of amateurs. She graduated from college with a degree in culinary nutrition in May, spent some time working at Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, and happened upon The Stoner's Cookbook in August. She immediately e-mailed the site’s CEO, Matt Gray, letting him know that she felt the site should carry more vegan recipes.

Sure, he said. Can you do that for us?

Now, from her home kitchen in Hermosa Beach, Martinez practices and then offers up to the world instructions for how to make weed-infused fall dishes such as Pumpkin Spiced Canna-Pancakes and an avocado dip meant to go with crudité and pita chips. For tables where not every person wants to partake, Martinez recommends cannabis salad dressing.

Just one warning, Martinez says, when it comes to having a happy, but not toooooo happy, Danksgiving: “Don’t infuse every single section of your meal!” 

Like us on Facebook at LAWeeklyMusic

Marijuana Pizza Has Arrived in L.A.
What Kind of Weed Do These Five Rappers Smoke?
These Bracelets and Headbands Let You Sneak Weed Into Festivals

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.