420 Celebration - High Times & Recipes

Acapulco Gold, Texas Tea, Panama Red, Maui Wowie, Mary Jane, chronic, ganja, pot, weed, grass, kush, herb, joint, blunt, roach, cannabis, reefer, spliff, fatty, jay, doobie, and locoweed, are just some of the euphemisms for marijuana.

Click on any photo to see it larger.

Many pot shops have a green cross or green type somewhere on their building. This comes from when marijuana was first legal in L.A. for medical purposes only - I guess it's a play on the Red Cross?

420 Coast to Coast

Venice, Los Angeles

East Village, New York City

This month, 420 is celebrated with pot shop gift bags (given with a minimum purchase) and free handouts. 

Here is my local marijuana dispensary, just down the street, where there's usually a line on this underground holiday.

I'm not the Wake-and-Bake type, and I don't blaze up every day, anyway.

If you're out of the loop, 420 or April (4th month) and day 20, is an international celebration of all things marijuana. The term "420" supposedly originated in 1971 here in California by a bunch of high school buddies who would meet at 4:20pm to smoke weed. You can read about it here.

When California introduced medical marijuana legally in 1996, I waited a couple of years before I got a prescription. Like a lot of locals, I was paranoid about putting my name in a database of users. But after a while, I realized that I'm never gonna run for President or head the FBI.

FYI, my medical condition was a pain in the...elbow.

Getting a prescription was a farce, really. Pay the doctor $100 bucks, pick your ailment, and walk out with legal papers. Now, anyone who's 18 or older with a physician's recommendation (medicinal use) and 21 or older (adult use) can purchase marijuana, so that song and dance are no longer played.

I've been a contributing citizen to the economy and a creative artist most of my life, so all the boogeyman stories of reefer madness don't fly here.

When I was in high school, I primarily used it when listening to music, as it was the 1960's and getting high brought a heightened experience and meaning to the lyrical and sonic content of songs by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, etc.

And it was just a fun thing to do with friends on the weekend and long summer dazes.

Just watch my Mom's recipe for Tex-Mex Enchiladas to see my high school buddy Marvin and me have a 1960s flashback hanging out and listening to album rock in my bedroom.

These days, I like a cannabis-infused edible from time to time. They will last a couple of hours, just right for an art show, movie, or musical concert at the Hollywood Bowl. 

Like alcohol, cannabis has similar laws and penalties for public intoxication and operating machinery/automobiles.

Check out some of the concerts I've seen there, including a Willie Nelson concert where I've never smelled so much marijuana in my life!

I'll leave you with another recipe should you be in need of some munchies while celebrating 420  - that is, not my recipe, but one from my brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef! Check out a tasty cheesy Cajun Nachos video made with nephew Zak!

Cajun Natchos calls for cooked crawfish tail meat, but it's easy to substitute small shrimp or any favorite protein.

National Crawfish Day - Recipes

Today I offer praise to the humble Mudbug, or Crawfish. Also known as Crayfish and Crawdads, there are even more colorful names depending on where you reside. I know Crawfish, and hopefully, you'll learn a few things about this delicious crustacean on National Crawfish Day.

     Click on any photo to see larger.

A Crawfish is like a miniature lobster. You can cook them the same way as a lobster, too. Normally they are boiled in a spicy broth of water and a package of Crab Boil. There are spicy packages from Louisiana and milder types carried by most grocers.

And you feed on the Crawfish tail, just like a lobster. You can even get a sliver of claw meat if the Crawfish is large enough.

Peeling a Crawfish Tail

Due to their small size, Crawfish cook quickly like shrimp. They only take 10 minutes of boiling and then you turn off the heat and let them stew in the spicy broth -- the longer they steep in the broth, the spicer the crawfish. 

Now it's time to eat the hot tiny Crawfish tails. Just watch my video below to see how I do the deed. And a warning I do suck the head of a Crawfish just like a real Cajun does - it's loaded with a whole lotta juicy flavor.

How to Eat a Crawfish - Video

I learned to peel a cooked Crawfish early on. When a bag is dumped on the table, you better know how to make quick work to get the tail meat or you will be left behind. Like with anything, the more you peel them the speedier you will get.

     30-pound bags of live Crawfish

The meaty Crawfish tail is small like a bay shrimp, but milder in fishy flavor. I lived in Louisiana in my high school daze, where Crawfish culture has risen to edible art. Think of any recipe you would make with shrimp, and you can substitute Crawfish tail meat instead. 

Louisiana has swamps where Crawfish thrive. These days you are more likely to get them by way of a Crawfish Farm that is just a shallow pond. 

During Crawfish Season, from about February to May, you can buy them at supermarkets and even gas stations with a deli counter. 

You can buy them live or already cooked. They cost anywhere from $3 per pound for live to $5 per pound for cooked whole Crawfish. 

You can buy precooked and peeled Crawfish Tails in frozen one-pound packages in the $15 dollar range. 

While on the expensive side, they will provide an ample entree, enough to serve your family --especially if you follow Chef Tony's Crawfish Etouffee recipe, below. 

My family usually orders them cooked, but almost every local has attended or thrown a live Crawfish Boil in their backyard at one time or another. 

My niece Candyse (top center) and her family.

If you are feeding a party, budget about 3 pounds of the whole Crawfish per person. A basic Crawfish Boil usually has lemon halves, corn, and potatoes that start in a spicy boil, then when done, the live Crawfish are added. 

I've yet to meet a local Louisiana adult or child who does not like cooked Crawfish. Now the exception is if Crawfish is extra-spicy of course, so you may want to pull them early from the crab boil broth if you have kids or sensitive palates to contend with.

Cajuns in Louisiana have come up with tasty local Crawfish entree or appetizer recipes, everything from a spin on Fettuccine Alfredo with Crawfish to an Omelet stuffed with Crawfish, and even a flakey Crawfish Pie or Turnover.

My brother from another daddy, the Swamp Chef, has decadent Cajun Nachos made with, you guessed it, Crawfish. And it's built on a bed of tortilla chips topped with a can of red beans, cheese, Crawfish tails, and more cheese, oh, and don't forget the hot sauce!

 Be sure to hang in there past the wacky video intro with my nephew Zak and the Swamp Chef, followed by the Cajun Nachos recipe.

Cajun Nachos - Video

A fave Louisiana potato chip purveyor, Zapp's, does a Crawfish flavored version. How do they taste? They are very salty, of course, and have a mild shrimp taste.

I'll leave you with a selection from the deli case of Rouses Market in Gonzales, Louisiana - a great local grocer with a fine selection of frozen Crawfish Entrees.

BLT Sandwich - Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato

 Bacon everything! At the spear end of the bacon fad is the BLT Sandwich. Bacon seems to return every few years as a popular ingredient. It does go back a way as a sandwich ingredient that really came into its own when G.I.'s returned from WWII. 

BLT means Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich in the restaurant world and the public soon adopted it, too. I remember making them with leftover bacon from breakfast. 

What's so great about the sandwich is how simple it is. Just fry or bake up a few slices of bacon, toast some bread, and slide the bacon between two slices smeared with mayo, and add sliced tomato and lettuce. It's a crunchy first bite.

I jumped back into the BLT game when I saw Hickory Smoked Uncured Turkey Bacon by Applegate Naturals at my local 99c only Store last year. I jumped on that deal big time and bought five packages to freeze. I haven't seen this Bacon again there, that's why you have to buy a good deal when you first see it because they will not be there for long!

Right away I made a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich. Simply delicious. While pork bacon is the gold standard, this uncured turkey bacon hit the spot. It is a lighter and meatier sandwich without the thick veins of pork fat of regular bacon. The smokey flavor is still there, and I didn't miss the porkiness. 

Turkey Bacon does not have the crispness of cooked bacon, the texture is closer to fried thin slices of ham. But the Turkey Bacon BLT still rules. 

Small 4-slice packages of real Bacon still show up at my local Dollar Tree. And 4 slices are just enough for a sandwich or two. 

Lettuce and tomato are affordable. I even find small jars of mayo cheaply. 

Make a BLT with any favorite bread. Of course, I get mine from the day-old bargain bin at my local supermarket, Ralphs. White, wheat, sourdough, or rye...go for it. 

A BLT is constructed with toasted bread. I used a popup toaster so both sides of each slice are crunchy.

I usually fry my Bacon slices, but you can bake them as well. I learned to bake bacon at a lower temperature, about 325 degrees or less, so the bacon grease doesn't get all over the place (you could loosely cover the bacon with parchment paper, too.)

Turkey Bacon

How do you assemble your BLT? Is Bacon on the bottom or top? How about 2 slices of bacon on top and 2 slices on the bottom. Any way you stack it will work! 

My video recipe is just a reminder for you about how tasty a BLT Sandwich is - go ahead and revisit a real American Diner classic, and don't forget the Campbell Tomato Soup...from the can (they are now low in sodium.)

BLT Sandwich - VIDEO             Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 36 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (one sandwich)

• Bacon - 2 to 3 slices. Enough to cover a slice of bread. Regular bacon or any favorite substitute.
• Bread - 2 slices. Any type you like. I toast mine.
• Lettuce - a leaf of lettuce, just large enough to cover the bread. Okay to shred or chop lettuce.
• Tomato - a couple of slices, depending on the size of the tomato. Enough to cover a slice of bread. Okay to use sliced cherry tomatoes.
• Mayonnaise - Apply on the inside of one or both slices of bread.

Directions

Start by frying or baking bacon slices. If you are using a substitute like Turkey Bacon then add a teaspoon of oil to a frying pan so Turkey Bacon does not stick to the pan. 

Fry bacon until crisp on both sides. Usually takes about 5 minutes in total.

As bacon cooks, slice tomato and wash lettuce leaf if necessary. Pat dry or shake off excess water from the cleaned lettuce leaf. 

You can toast the bread just before the bacon is done cooking. Toast bread slices as browned as you like.

To assemble BLT, just smear mayo on toast on one or both slices. 

Stack lettuce, tomato, and cooked bacon in any order you like.