But these fruits and veggies showcase local cuisine better than a Denver omelet ever can. To make your next homemade edibles extra Colorado-y, here are a handful of ways to incorporate cannabis into green chile, peach, cantaloupe and corn dishes:
Green Chile
This list wouldn't be complete without green chile, with an emphasis on the "green." There are some challenges to partnering two of Colorado's cash crops, however. Not only does cooking green chile take a while, but roasting chiles at 400-plus-degree temperatures will kill off most cannabinoids in homemade oil, and your standard pot of green chile doesn't have many vessels for cannabutter. There are still ways to infuse the dish, though, and it freezes well if you'd like to enjoy green chile after September harvest season.
Beef and chicken broth both have enough fat for THC to hold on to. Infuse the broth over low heat with hash or flower placed inside of a spice ball. If you're good enough at planning, then adding portions of infused broth one at a time to your chile brew is preferred to prevent THC from burning off. But if all else fails, you can always buy syringes or powdered THC at dispensaries and stir the magic into a chile pot near the end of stewing.
Infusing buttery eats that pair well with green chile is another option, because green chile pairs well with almost everything. If you can't infuse the chile, then dump it over homemade edibles made with cannabutter, like scrambled eggs, noodles, quesadillas or (my favorite) cornbread.
Palisade Peaches
Green chile may occupy the throne of Colorado culinary pride, but even chiles don't bring out the fervor of Palisade peach fans during the fruit's prime season, from late June to early September. A lot of Coloradans say Palisade peaches are better than Georgia's, which is hard to verify — but I am fairly certain that Colorado rosin is better than Georgia's.
The obvious choice for an infused Palisade peach dish is cobbler or pie. These timeless desserts are great choices for edibles, too. If you make a crust and topping, using cannabutter for the dough is the obvious choice. Adding distillate to the peach filling is an option, too, but I suggest adding a few glugs of peach-flavored rosin syrup or a peach sweet tea THC shot instead. (Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane, founders of Marczyk Fine Foods, recently shared this homemade peach pie recipe with Westword, if you're looking for any help.)
There are a number of cannabis strains with peach scents, flavors and inspirations that you can smoke or cook with during stone fruit season, including Georgia Pie, Peach Crescendo, Peach Maraschino, Peach Oblivion and Peach Pit.
Olathe sweet corn, a regional treasure in Colorado, is found in grocery stores and markets through early to mid-September.
Linnea Covington
Most of us don't know how to use a melon outside of a fresh fruit bowl, so this might feel like a bit of a force. But Rocky Ford cantaloupes, usually sold from late July to September, are among the best in the world, so it's time to give something like cantaloupe bread or risotto a shot.
Cantaloupe bread isn't difficult to make at home, and the recipe requires a cup of vegetable oil, giving you a large vessel for THC or other cannabinoids. Think of it like banana bread, but with a better-tasting fruit. Risotto is a little harder and more adventurous, but there are several cantaloupe and prosciutto risotto recipes out there, and they all require butter, chicken stock and olive oil. Infusing all three doesn't take long if you're not shooting for more than what the recipe requires. Risotto isn't the best choice for novice cooks, but a THC melon risotto would be a major gold star if you're trying to impress someone.
Olathe Sweet Corn
Olathe sweet corn is harvested from July to early September, and I can't eat enough corn on the cob. But while butter and corn on the cob go hand in hand, weed butter adds an unpleasant taste to the simple side dish. It's much easier to hide infusions in chowder, which is heavy on cream and butter. Add in multiple cups of Olathe sweet corn, many handfuls of potatoes and a few other chowder ingredients, and you've got one helluva stew goin'.
Corn chowder is hardly the only way to marry corn and cannabis. Cornbread, risotto, a long list of Midwestern casseroles and buttery pasta are all simple and tasty dishes that can include both corn and cannabinoids.
