Be Your Best Self With CBD Infused Avocado Toast

Margaret 00:00:05 Hello friends, we are at episode 262 and today we are talking about avocado toast. Welcome to Bite Me, the show about edibles where I help you take control of your high life. I'm your host and Certified Ganjier Margaret and I love helping cooks make safe and effective edibles at home. I'm so glad you're here. Hello, friends. Greetings. Welcome back to another fantastic episode of Bite Me. If you're just tuning in for the first time, you may have missed last week's episode where I get a little bit vulnerable and I talk about how I am going from Marge to Margaret. So perhaps you didn't know that I was calling myself Marge for a long time. If you're listening for the first time, then it's probably not relevant. I'm just Margaret to you, but if you've been a long time listener, I am doing the process of going back to my original name. That suits me so much better, I think, than Marge. Don't you think I haven't really asked anybody else what they think? Because in a lot of respects, doesn't matter.

Margaret 00:01:07 Does it matter what other people think? If what is what I want? And you know what they say. Opinions are like assholes. Everyone's got one. In any case, we're not talking about assholes or opinions or nicknames. Today, what we are talking about is avocado toast. And I don't really have any anything to discuss before we get into the meat potatoes, if you will, of today's episode, because I happen to be recording this at a little Airbnb in a small town north of where I usually reside, because I just wanted to get away for a weekend by myself, and I know a few people in my inner circle don't necessarily understand that desire, but I had such a strong desire to get away and just be on my own for a weekend, to do whatever I want to listen to, whatever music I wanted. I wanted to get some work done. So I was doing a little podcasting work, totally undistracted because I can turn off my phone or put on Do Not Disturb and not have to worry about answering text messages or work calls or any of this stuff.

Margaret 00:02:17 I'm so glad that I did it. Now, this isn't my first time going away alone. I traveled to Mexico once on my own and that was a really cool experience. I ended up going to Shanghai once on my own. That was more of an unexpected solo trip, and I actually did a wine tour one time. I took myself on a weekend to wine country, not far from where I live. It's a beautiful place where there are so many wineries, insiders, and distilleries that have popped up over the years because it's a fertile region for a Pinot noir grape in particular. And I've been there many, many, many times because it's it's an easy drive from where I live, but I went on a weekend there on my own as well. And the fun part about that particular wine tour was that I showed up for this wine tour. I don't remember what day of the week it was, because I ended up being the only person on the wine tour, and so maybe it was like a shoulder season, so it wasn't as busy.

Margaret 00:03:15 Or maybe the wine tour actually fell on a weekday and not a weekend, because how else would you end up on a wine tour tour all by yourself? I don't know, but the fun part was that this was a full day wine tour and the person who was conducting the tour, it was her first day on the job and let me tell you, we had a blast. And it started out by her saying, hey, you know, there's a few wineries that they recommend that we go to. What do you think? And I was just like, I'd been to this wine region before. And I was just like, you know, those look good. But here's some other ones I would like to visit because I visited them before and I'd like to go back. And she's just like, you're the only one on the tour. It's your day. We do what you want. And it was such a great time, such a great time. By the end of the tour, she actually had a few drinks with me, even though I'm not really sure the hosts are supposed to do that, or the tour guides are supposed to do that.

Margaret 00:04:11 But you know, it was the end of the day and these are like little samplers of wine. So it's not like she was consuming whole glasses or anything. But what a fun day. We would walk into the various wineries and she would announce, this is my tour. And then I would give my little wave. It was it was a really great day. So sometimes just getting away on your own, if that's something that you're ever interested in doing, it's worth trying. Sitting in a restaurant eating alone as well is a different experience. I've done that many times myself because I've gone on trips by myself, but you also end up interacting with people that you might not otherwise. Not all the time. I can be pretty introverted. Introverted, which you may find hard to believe by the fact that I do a podcast, but I was drawn to podcasting because one I can still hide behind the mic and that allows my introvert tendencies to thrive. And of course, where else was I going with that? There is the component where you have to put yourself out there a little bit because you are talking, and then of course, you know, there's social media and all these other things that you use to help promote your, your podcast and the work that you're doing.

Margaret 00:05:16 But that feeds the extrovert side of myself, which I consider myself. I'm ambivalent. I don't know if you've ever heard about that, heard that term before. I don't I definitely didn't make that up myself. But as somebody who has both introvert and extrovert tendencies, I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. I can feel super recharged by hanging out with somebody that just nourishes my soul and those social settings, and I do need those social settings to really feel like my life is complete. But I value my time alone. And every so often I get these really strong cravings to just go out, strike out on my own. And I've had people try to invite me on their trips and and one friend in particular actually just doesn't seem to get it. Now she's way more extroverted and than I am, so perhaps that makes sense. But for me, I was just craving this time to myself. And so far I have been thoroughly enjoying it. I'm cooking whatever I want, and it's not like I don't do these things when I'm at home as well.

Margaret 00:06:14 But when you're in a space where you're sharing your space with other people as I am, well, in my particular instance, I'm living with somebody. I'm living with my father, who I've not lived with since I was 19 years of age, and he is now a man in his early 90s. There are certain things that I don't do or say when I'm at home. Like, for instance, I don't blast my music all through the house because I can guarantee you he would not appreciate the music that I listened to. He would probably wouldn't even appreciate most of the podcast that I listen to. And I'm doing this out of respect for him because we're sharing a space together. Do I ask him to turn off Fox News when he turns it on? God bless him. I love this man. He is my father. I am blessed to have a wonderful father who gave me a really great childhood. I mean, it wasn't perfect religion notwithstanding, but if I could just yank the remote control out of his hand and turn it off, sometimes I think he just doesn't know what else to watch.

Margaret 00:07:12 If I'm being completely honest. But whatever. I'm not going to change the ways of a man in his early 90s. But, you know, like I have to listen to that. And and it's pretty easy to tune out. But also my dietary choices are often different when I'm at home, I'm doing a lot of the cooking because I prefer my cooking over his frozen meals that he has gravitated to over the last decade, especially since my mom passed away. But, you know, so I'm not necessarily always I'm always having to consider other people, this other person in particular, when I'm cooking. Thankfully, he's got an adventurous palate and he likes spice. God bless. Because if he did not, that would be really difficult for me because I love spicy food too. So he's also pretty happy to have someone cook for him. And by extension, that means I usually do get to cook what I want. But again, when you're on your own, you're really just do whatever you want. I've already had a couple of dance parties.

Margaret 00:08:08 I'm drinking coffee in my underwear, like just all these things that I can't do. And so if you've ever thought about taking a trip on your own, I say do it. Just do it. I mean, I don't think you would regret it. And, you know, at the end of it, if you're like, wow, that was okay, then you never have to do one again. But for some people, it's a really wonderful way to sort of get away and recharge and just sort of do whatever it is that you want to do. And so that's what I'm doing right now. And did I bring recording equipment with me? Yes, I did, because I'm always working on this podcast and I love it. And I want to talk about avocado toast, because I did bring the fixin's for avocado toast. And I made this back at the house as well before. So this is not my first time. And I feel like avocado toast is an important thing to talk about because there wasn't a point in history, recent history where many financial pundits, oh cool, I can see a hummingbird at the flowers outside the sliding door where I'm sitting.

Margaret 00:09:12 I shut the sliding door for now because there was some people cutting the lawn. I just wanted to keep this noise to a minimum, but I can still observe the wildlife here, but I digress. Avocado toast. To many financial pundits, there was a period when they were saying that it was the avocado toast that was keeping the younger generations from being able to afford to buy homes. Now that we are in this reality for longer, I think we all know by now that that's bullshit. And avocado toast is a healthy and delicious way to get high, because this particular recipe came from the book. I actually did another recipe from it recently, the CBD Handbook Over 75 recipes for Hemp Derived Health and Wellness. And I think my sister gifted me this book. She was at the store and it was on sale, and she was like, okay, I thought I might like this. And I have picked out a couple recipes. I think those cereal breakfast bars that I did recently were from this book as well.

Margaret 00:10:05 So the recipes are hemp derived. They're healthy and delicious and pretty easy to put together. Now, of course, the book says CBD Handbook. But of course, as you know, if you've been listening to this show for a little while, I love to modify recipes to suit what I have in the fridge, to suit me, to suit, suit, suit. Because we live in a world where we can customize everything. And if you're making your own edibles, that is the beauty of being able to do so. You can customize. And so if you don't want CBD toast, avocado toast, you don't have to make it that way. You can make THC avocado toast. You can make Virgin avocado toast, you can make a ratio. This is what I love about taking control of your life by growing your own. Making your own edibles. Like all those things. Those are all little acts of defiance, if you will, in this capitalist world that we live in. And also just a way to sort of promote your own creativity.

Margaret 00:11:04 And perhaps if you're a grower, you're using up some of that stuff that might otherwise the trim that might otherwise end up in the waste bin or your compost pile. So that's a little bit of radical self-reliance, I think. So this this recipe is called CBD avocado toast with sauerkraut, sea salt and lemon zest. And I think that's why this particular recipe stood out to me, because I actually really enjoy sauerkraut. I've made it many times in the past myself, super easy to make. It is basically cabbage and salt, and most of the time you don't have to add any water because you are salting the cabbage and it's going to release the juices and which it it ferments. So obviously fresh cabbage is the best to use in this instance. If you have access to a local farmer's market, you can buy yourself a fresh cabbage and in a few weeks you're going to have sauerkraut. Delicious stuff. Now, of course, if you don't want to go to the trouble of making it, I do.

Margaret 00:12:03 If you can recommend getting the sauerkraut that you get in the refrigerator section, because if it's not refrigerated, it's going to tell me that it probably wasn't fermented the same way, and it's not going to have the same bacterial benefits as it would if it's refrigerated. Does that make it more expensive? Typically. But either way, sauerkraut is a wonderful way to get your vegetables in that you can add on to things. I love sauerkraut often on sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, all that kind of thing, and I don't find that it has a super strong flavor. If you want strong flavor, go for kimchi. That is the same idea, except they're adding other vegetables to it and it has a much stronger taste, flavor and smell. Let's get on with this particular recipe. It says it serves two as it's written. So these are open faced sandwiches and you're going to use two slices of artisan quality. Thick sliced whole wheat pumpernickel bread or other favorite bread. Well, my particular instance again, keeping to my theme of taking control of your highlight high life and customizing things as suits your own needs, I used the other favorite bread.

Margaret 00:13:16 And in this case it was Silver Hills. I really like the Silver Hills brand of bread. I buy it at Costco because I can buy a two pack of bread, a two loaf pack, and I stick one part, one loaf in the freezer for when I need it, and the other one I usually keep in the fridge because I don't eat a ton of bread. But I love sandwiches, so I do like to have it on hand, but that just keeps it fresher for longer for me. And the reason I like this bread is it's sprouted grain, so they've sprouted the grains ahead of time to make this bread. And that is supposed to make the grains far more bioavailable and healthy for you. So that is kind of wild in that way. But of course, if you want to use pumpernickel or whatever favorite bread that you have, then by all means you're going to need a large, ripe avocado, peeled and pitted. Now, of course, this is going to be the most challenging aspect of this particular recipe.

Margaret 00:14:11 I was admittedly shocked when I went to the store the other day. I don't buy avocados a lot, and I don't know why because they're delicious and I love them. I was putting avocados in my smoothies every single morning when I was on the smoothie train. I've kind of since gone away from that a little bit, but Costco used to sell large bags of frozen avocados. And then somewhere along the lines during the pandemic, they stopped. And it was heartbreaking because buying smaller bags elsewhere was almost prohibitively expensive. But I found that frozen avocado was really handy to have for my smoothies, which I like to include. Would it be as good for using it to make things like guacamole? Probably not, but I've never actually tried it, so I can't speak to that. If you have experience with frozen avocado to make things like guacamole, please let me know. So of course I went to the store to buy the avocados for this particular recipe not that long ago and I was like, Holy shit, a single avocado, which feels like I'm I'm in the grocery store feeling all these loose avocados and trying to determine which ones might be ripe.

Margaret 00:15:17 And I'm like these things. I forget how much it was per avocado, but it was like $4 or something like that. And I was like, that seems so expensive. And a bag of avocados was more like six, so it made more sense to buy the bag. But of course you buy the bag, and most of the time they're all hard as rocks and then you have to wait to use them. And by the time you wait and then they ripen, then half the time you cut them open and they're all brown and gross looking inside. Fortunately, that didn't actually happen this time, but that's happened to me enough that I'm sometimes reluctant to buy bags of avocado. But the first world pains if I ever heard them. You're going to use they suggest using a full spectrum CBD oil, which of course I can get behind. I always recommend full spectrum over a distillate, because you're just getting more of that entourage effect from the cannabis that you're going to be enjoying. So they're recommending a full spectrum can CBD oil.

Margaret 00:16:10 But of course, there's other ways to manage the infusing of this particular recipe. Then it calls for a great quality sauerkraut drained. You do want to drain it, because if you can get as much liquid out of it as possible, then it's just going to make the topping less wet, if you will. A teaspoon of lemon zest and Maldon sea salt, or some or some sea salt. Now, I think what you were supposed to do was to your you're going to toast your bread, and then you put the avocado, the sauerkraut, lemon zest and salt in a bowl and kind of mash it all together. And then you put top each piece of toast with it. Funnily enough, the pictures that they put in the book for this thing does not show this mash that they put on top of the toast at all. And if I'm being honest, that's not even how I did it. So you can do that. That is one good way, especially if you're doing I mean, you don't even have to do it with the oil because you could always drizzle the oil on top as well when you're all done or right on top of the bread.

Margaret 00:17:13 Or you could use an infused butter as well and spread and infuse butter on it. So there's a few different ways you could do it, but I didn't even bother with the mashing of it. I, I salted or I spread the, the butter on my bread. And then I added this, a little bit of sauerkraut and I topped it with the Sliced avocado. And then I did the sprinkle of lemon zest and salt on top. And that seemed to work just nice. And presentation wise it was far superior than the mash. And I think the cookbook author must agree, because the photo they showed was a lot more in line with what I just described of just topping it, not mixing the ingredients all together, but just topping it. And it just creates a nice presentation. So I suggest you give this avocado toast a try because you have the the sauerkraut with it. I think it makes it even more particularly healthy. And it's just a few ingredients and it's going to be filling and delicious and medicated.

Margaret 00:18:09 And what's not to love? You know, it's not going to keep you from being able to buy the house of your dreams. The products and services on the Mars Recommended page. If you enjoyed this episode, consider sharing it with someone that you care about and I hope you are enjoying a fabulously wonderful summer. I'm your host, Margaret. And until next time my friends, stay high.