The First Post

Welcome to my very first blog post ever.  My name is Erika and this is my Edible Experiment.  This is a momentous occasion for me because I am a person who is generally ambivalent to social networking, blogging, tweeting, and the like.  I have let myself become WAY behind in the times technologically speaking and am prone to having to ask my husband how to do just about everything when it comes to a computer.  However, I finally got an iPhone 7 months or so ago and discovered how much information was literally at my fingertips; there were so many recipes to peruse while trying to kill an hour on my lunch break.  I,  for those of you who don't know me, am a veterinary technician.  In fact, I am a 32 year-old  veterinary technician who has been in said career for 10 years, not knowing until age 28  that I wanted to cook for a living.  I am now in the midst of feeling the need to move on from a career I no longer am motivated to be in. I know that I want to move into the culinary world, but can't quite figure out how to make my mark or what exactly I want to do.  I frequently daydream about a handful of different culinary jobs or undertakings, but I can't commit to one idea.  With a nudge from my very supportive, technology savvy husband who desperately wants to see me do something that makes me happy, I will embark on a new chapter in my life, an experiment, if you will.  I hope to experiment my way to finding my niche. 

Let me expand on this idea of experiments: The definition of the word "experiment" is a test, trial, or tentative procedure; an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown or of testing a principle, supposition, etc.: a chemical experiment; a teaching experiment; an experiment in living.  My hope is that this blog will a chemical experiment, a teaching experiment, as well as an experiment in living... and eating.  Experiment is an word that is being tossed around quite frequently these days.  My husband is experimenting in a new venture and my 7 year-old daughter thinks that putting rocks in a bottle of water is an experiment.  Here's how I like to experiment: I go through food magazines compiling clippings and pages of recipes that sound interesting or  and put them in a binder.  Some of them are healthy recipes and some are not.  I enjoy finding ways to make the more unhealthful recipes more nutritious while still tasting delicious. Recently, I have let my healthy cooking slip and have been making some fattier fare.  My husband and I decided that it was time to light a fire under our asses and return to the healthy living we have slacked off on.  I see a lot of clean eating and family bike rides in our future.  

This blog is also an experiment in another way.  I have yet to mention that marijuana is a part of my daily life. Three years ago I was diagnosed with colon cancer and had my entire colon removed.  Now that I have a less than whole GI tract, I tend to get pretty bad stomach aches and smoking marijuana almost instantly relieves the pain.  Several months ago, I was diagnosed with Lupus.  Again, marijuana is a rockstar at relieving the pain, especially when eaten.  I recently visited a dispensary and was somewhat disappointed with the selection of edible marijuana treats.  The usual suspects were all there: brownies, rice kripsy treats, and cookies; however, they did have a few savory items, one of which being some delicious cannabis pretzels.  I have had the sweets before, but never tried a savory marijuana food item, and it was fantastic. I started thinking of all the things I could try with marijuana.  Then the idea hit me: I should start making my own marijuana munchies and peddle them to my local weed pharmacy.  I'm aware that this isn't the first time anyone has ever had this thought, but it IS the first time I have ever thought of it, and that's all that really matters.  I have yet to develop a recipe because, well, good weed is expensive and times are tough.  Lucky for me, my husband has a little patio garden which will hopefully yield a bountiful harvest of both veggies and my most necessary ingredient.  I intend on making medicinal snacks that are not only tasty and different, but therapeutic as well.  For those of you who frown on marijuana, it's ok... I understand, and don't worry, I have many culinary interests, and intend on discussing many food-related topics.  But for those of you who are interested in a little Edible Experiment, I hope to soon have developed recipes to share. 

As far as this first day of experiment goes, we rode our daughter's little legs off on her brand new mountain bike, and I made a delicious chicken stir-fry packed with red bell pepper, french green beans, and carrots.  I'm going to have to end this post now because it's ridiculously late for a Monday night and I know my daughter will want to wake up at 6 just because tomorrow is my day off and I want to sleep in.  Before I go, I'd like to share my favorite stir-fry tip: before adding your chicken to the hot oil, toss it in a little cornstarch to get a crispy outer coating. 

Until next time,

Erika