Cooking with Homegrown Cannabis

“The freedoms we have to cultivate our own cannabis is a privilege during these uncertain times for full cannabis legalization,” explains Dulcie Sinn, whose Cha Cha Cooking Club is now educating Lompoc residents about how to grow and cook with cannabis at home. “Home-growers in legal recreational cannabis states would be wise to enjoy the opportunities their states provide. The rewards can be great!”

Her first cannabis education class on April 1 was well-received, and she is doing it again on May 6, June 3, and July 1, 6-8 p.m., at the Anderson Recreation Center (125 W. Walnut Ave., Lompoc). She tells the Independent about what to expect. 

Tell us about your club.  The Cha Cha Cooking Club is all about creating healthy and happy homemade fun by educating our community about kitchen gardening, family cooking, compassionate caregiving, and casual entertaining. We are advocates for cooking “FLOSSY” — Fresh, Local, Organic, Sustainable, Simple, and Yummy. And we love partnering with winemakers to present Wine & Wisdom events featuring tastings, food pairings, and philosophical dialogues.

Why teach a cannabis class?  Our cannabis education class is being presented as a safe place to learn about the new legal opportunities for home growing, harvesting, using, and enjoying this plant for healing and fun.

During the two-hour overview, we will be covering topics to help everyone learn cannabis vocabulary, legality, products, jobs, and culture. Information, resources, and ideas about indoor and outdoor gardens, cannabis edibles and topicals, talking to teens, and more. It’s everything about living a cannabis lifestyle that fits you. 

Are you using cannabis in the class?  The class is being held at the Anderson Recreation Center. So, no, there won’t be any cannabis consumed or shared at this event. At this point, the Cha Cha Cooking Club is assessing the level of interest for [growing, making, and using] cannabis products. Participants are asked to self-identify if they are interested in attending a class for hands-on gardening, harvesting, processing, storing, cooking, and creating topicals. If the interest is there, more classes will be planned. 

What is your cannabis background?  I have long been an advocate for medical marijuana. I have personally witnessed cannabis helping members of my family and friends weather cancer treatments, manage chronic pain, deal with PTSD, and a myriad of other medical maladies. And, to be honest, I have witnessed a hell of a lot of people having too much silly fun under the influence. Cannabis may not be for everyone, but for many, it works.

During the past decade, I have actively researched the benefits and risks of the legal and medical uses for cannabis. During my professional career, I worked to connect legislated policy to practical programs to successfully address everyday issues on education, poverty, health, employment, etc. Now I have a chance to educate the community about cannabis.

As a retired educator and community resources coordinator, and now that adult-use has opened up an even wider dialogue on cannabis, I thought that it would be a good fit for me to start sharing what I have learned and listening to what people want and need to know. To prepare for the class, I completed an online Cannabis Training University (CTU) Masters Certification Program. 

What are some benefits that people who grow and cook with cannabis can expect?  You will save money. Thanks to high taxation, the cost of mass-produced flowers and edibles has skyrocketed. If you are unable to smoke, eating or using a tincture can bring relief from any medical issues you want to treat. People also can know exactly what is in their edible, and you create food items suited to your own palate and taste (brownies versus snickerdoodles). 

What are some of your favorite recipes?  We share several methods for making “Cannabudda” or using other fats and oils, or alcohol, to pull the cannabinoids from the plant into a product that can be used to make foods and topicals.

See chachacookingclub.com for more information and to sign up for the $20 classes on May 6, June 3, and July 1.