Bong Appétit: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Weed

The editors of Munchies, Vice TV’s food division, collect 65 recipes that use marijuana as an ingredient in this helpful introduction to cannabis cooking. The book includes legit tips on how to check the quality of marijuana (look for mold) and half a dozen suggestions on what to ask at the dispensary (“what’s good for an active day?”), plus a vital section on understanding the effects and proper dosages of THC. The authors begin with recipes for infusions, then move on to drinks, appetizers, salads, pasta, and meat, including those from such chefs and cookbook authors as Joan Nathan and Deuki Hong (some enjoy weed, others never have). In the pasta chapter, peanut butter noodles from the Munchies test kitchen are full of bell peppers and onions and tossed in a weed-infused peanut sauce containing soy sauce and brown sugar. New York City butcher Erika Nakamura adds a tablespoon of infused olive oil to her yogurt-marinated lamb along with rosemary, thyme, and plenty of garlic. As for cocktails, there is the apple bong, wherein a carefully cut apple serves as the vessel for a weed-infused mezcal and apple juice concoction (it also works as a pipe). Sober instructions and intoxicating flavors make for an intriguing blend in this high-minded effort. (Oct.)