I once challenged myself to find out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I spent over 30 years searching high and low throughout vast expanses of the American landscape, and nothing seemed to fit. I had spent time as a Network Administrator, a Truck Driver, an offshore X-ray technician, a video poker route manager and I even worked in a couple of strip clubs, as if I needed to try that more than once. (I didn't. The second tour of duty lasted about 12 hours).

So I was sitting in the kitchen of the fabulous EB Hawkins, home cooking expert and den mother to the hungriest pack of Stoners on the planet. I had stopped by to discuss antebellum architecture and play some Rock Band one fine evening when we imbibed a varietal of the Cannabis known as Blue Dream. I didn't have a religious experience, but the buzz was pleasant and cerebral. E.B., as she is known to her friends, was in the kitchen preparing a wonderful baked chicken recipe with steamed veggies and some homemade chicken gravy. The meal entire was just to die for.

As I sat there immersed in my blue dream, eating the fruits of 3 hours of labor and preparation, I was shocked by the overt satisfaction I was taking in each and every bite. I know that I've always been a fan of the food, and a fan of the cannabis, but this simple home cooked meal was taking me some new destination. I looked up from my plate long enough to say " I want to be a food writer for High Times Magazine."

Cannabis in the Kitchen isn't just a love affair between rendered goose fat and Northern Lights, but it's pretty damned close. I hope that you feel what I feel when you read these pages and try these recipes in your own kitchen.