Happy With Hemp

Hemp: Scrumptious, fibre-rich, ample in protein and omegas, and increasingly understood. Foodies, and not just the sock-and-sandals types, but lulu ones, too, are catching on to the wonders of this magical plant. Wonderfully diverse, its seeds (known as hemp hearts) provide a great raw topper/filler. They can be blended into a “nut” butter to rival the antioxidants and proteins of peanuts, or an equally independent allergen-free, raw, milk substitute*. A sweetly nutty taste, this milk can be used in just about anything--beware its consistency, however it won’t curdle with vinegar (but is a fine buttermilk substitute anyway) but will thicken and separate when heated in the pan (quite normal but means you may need to water it down or add more). When ground into a fine powder, hemp is also an antioxidant-rich alternative to whey protein, so the bros can get behind it, too!
Increasingly, foodies and the public-at-large are becoming aware of the multi-purpose plant known as hemp. Boasted as one of the most sustainable crops, it can be turned into soap and a variety of other body care products (as someone with sensitive skin, hemp is a lifesaver)  and is a comfortable, durable, breathable fabric. But this is old news.
Hemp remains, however, misunderstood in some aspects. Eager to cast aside the ‘higher’ or stoning properties of the plant, bloggers have discussed how hemp will not get you high. This is very true, for the plant from which hemp is produced is quite different from the plant producing sticky, THC-filled buds of marijuana.
Award-winning blogger and successful holistic nutritionist, Sarah Britton, claims in her post of delicious hemp bars** that the difference lies in the fact that there are two strains of the plant--Cannabis Sativa vs. Cannabis Indica. Thankfully, this cannabis cooker is here to tell you that when making a hemp-protein shake, for the love of Marley do NOT say that it is a Sativa L. smoothie! Both are in fact marijuana... and both are hemp. But before you queue music from The Twilight Zone, let me explain: the difference rests in that there are two sexes. It is the fertile, erotic female plant that produces the bud. If she is of the Indica strain of Cannabis, she will be a smaller plant (similar to a shrub, bursting with thick leafy foliage) giving you a sleepy body-buzz, relieving tension, stress, and pain making it the ideal candidate for medicinal use. Meanwhile, if your budding plant is of the Sativa strain, she may grow up to 10 ft tall, producing a high just as vibrantly energetic (her fanned-out, delicate leaves and slender stalk are the recognized symbol of marijuana). However, there are many hybrids to choose from. As any site or store providing cannabis seeds will inform you, the difference--but also the symbiosis--is in the leaf, the sex, the high. The male Cannabis Indica/Sativa plant produces no buds and contains negligible amounts of THC but provides all the other uses listed above, as well as providing important fertilization of the female plant. For proper growth they need one another--I can get quite romantic about this...
Suffice it to say, Ms. Britton, while on my list of go-to-foodies, is not on my left hand side.
Before getting in a fuss about my self-professed stoned-cuisine, consider the impacts of other painkillers. Many individuals, myself among them, experience a high tolerance to morphine and its derivatives, and to many other painkillers--indeed, none succeeded in quelling the pain of endometriosis. However, their mediocre successes resulted in the dampening of all abdominal sensations, from all forms of appetites to other bodily necessities, not to mention the psychological and gastrointestinal effects. Indica’s healing power dulled the pain, while allowing me to centre my focus upon the very area that was troubling my life, assisting not only the pain but the overall healing process.
If you’re interested in the chemistry of cooking with this plant, there are many wonderful resources out there. The one that inspired me first is Cooking with Cannabis, which blows the roof off of the lowly brownie with a bombshell recipe for guacamole, proving that the best match for cannabis is not sweet, but amino-healthy savoury.
But regardless of which sex you prefer, cannabis is one of the most inspiring, exciting, healthfully invigorating ingredients out there.
*Bryanna is has been a real internet jem in my hunts for homemade vegan alternatives. She opened me to a world free of bland rice milk, overdone soy milk, and canker-producing almond milk--add to your list hemp and oat milks and your taste buds will thank you. http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.ca/2009/03/easy-homemade-hemp-milk-and-how-to-use.html
*Robin Russell’s website is fantastic for those with allergies but also quite enlightening--she definitely is having her cake and is happily nomming it down, proving the puckered pouters are passé! Plus she’ll turn you onto some way cool kitchen toys.
http://www.recipenet.org/health/recipes/recipkit/hemp_butter.htm
**Knowledgeable about most ingredients, and a creator of delicious, wholesome foods fit for the modern yogi, Sarah Britton is the adorable brains behind New Roots, check her out!
http://mynewroots.blogspot.ca/2011/07/totally-baked-hemp-protein-granola-bars.html