It’s 2 a.m. My body is exhausted but my mind still races – What will I write about for my essay due on Friday? I can’t wait to see the new movie with Sandra Bullock. What did I eat for dinner today … actually did I even have dinner? I fling the black comforter off my legs, and tiptoe barefoot down the hall. The buttery aroma barrels down the hall. The tile is freezing, which turns my tiptoe into more of a skip. I reach the carpeted living room where my mom is sitting on the couch, her feet dangling off the side.
She is watching a Lifetime movie marathon, of course. Every night she watches, while eating extra buttered popcorn from a clear Tupperware container. And every night I join her, when no one else is awake but my mom, me, and our container of half-eaten popcorn (she always gets a head start).
She takes a handful and sets it on the paper towel in her lap, tossing a few pieces in her mouth and wiping her hands on an ankle-long pale pink robe snug around her body. I sneak a piece – one piece, two if I’m quick enough - preserving every last taste as it melts in my mouth.
As much as my mom and I love popcorn, we never knew October was National Popcorn Month. Did you? Americans consume 17 billion quarts a year, that’s 54 bags per person annually. With 365 days in a year, my mom and I alone practically triple that statistic with our frequent fixation. Yum … the buttery, sweet, salty, crunchy snack that actually dissolves in your mouth. We can't get enough!
Popcorn has even more potential than the typical traditional goodness: cheesy popcorn, caramel popcorn, kettle corn. Perhaps you are a fan of Snicker doodles, the warm cinnamon sugar swirls with a hint of vanilla. Well ... snicker doodle popcorn exists! Yes, you read correctly. Snicker doodle popcorn tastes exactly like the cookie.
Popcorn can transform plain popcorn into any concoction imaginable and it will still taste incredible, whether dipped in chipotle sauce or covered with chocolate sprinkles. Perhaps this explains why America’s sale of un-popped popcorn bags was over 900 million in 2008. It can be personalized for each consumer without ingredient restrictions. In essence, popcorn makes everyone a unique creator of flavor, since just about any kind of mixture would work. I love honey and coconut, thus popcorn drenched in honey with a dash of coconut ... perfecto!
Another popcorn perk is you don't have to fiddle with the lose kernels cooking on a stove, you can microwave. Microwaveable popcorn is full proof cooking-for-dummies (like me), unless … you burn it. I do this about 30 percent of the time. It’s nothing to be ashamed of really, it happens to all of us. Microwaves have different scales of intensity. Mine for instance, will pop almost every kernel to its fullest capacity in 3:50 minutes; however my mom’s microwave will only takes 3:00 minutes, anything more will burn half the bag. So, the next time you burn a three-ounce bag, blame it on the microwave.
My Mom and I prefer the traditional buttered popcorn, but the everlasting popcorn flavor concoctions can be fun too. Even those who don’t know the difference between broiled chicken and grilled, can create a tasty masterpiece with popcorn. It’s simple: microwave a bag of plain or butter popcorn, collect a few of your favorite ingredients (peanut butter or vanilla or honey or lemon or mustard - anything and everything will work) placing them in a container with the ready-to-eat popcorn, mix it all together with a utensil of your choosing and eat. I can’t cook scrambled eggs without either burning them or presenting them soggy, but I can make (mix) marshmallow popcorn bars … fancy!
Even if you are not a fan of popcorn, I hope you can at least appreciate the semblance of the 1.23 gram popped kernel that was first found in the archaeological Bat Cave site in New Mexico over 60 years ago. The tiny seed has travelled across the country filling the tummies of children at baseball games and couples in movie theaters; my mom and I included.
Popcorn was shared and savored between us for eighteen years. Now, we live in different cities an hour or so away, but we will always share those memories every time we bite down on the buttery, sweet, salty, crunchy seed. All we have to do is press the popcorn button on the microwave.
Simple/Quick/Easy Popcorn Recipes
Marshmallow Popcorn Bars
Makes 24 bars| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 20m
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
1/2 cup popcorn kernels or one 3.5-ounce package plain microwave popcorn
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Directions
Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Pop the popcorn according to the package directions. Melt the butter and marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. Fold in the popcorn until coated. Press into the prepared dish and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into 24 bars.
Source: www.realsimple.com
Snicker doodle Popcorn
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place oil and popcorn kernels in popcorn popper. While corn is popping, place butter and sugar in a microwave-safe small bowl and heat until butter is melted. Stir to dissolve sugar thoroughly. Stir in cinnamon and salt until combined. Place hot popcorn in a serving bowl and drizzle with butter mixture; toss to combine. Serve immediately. Makes about 5 cups.
Source: www.healthy.betterrecipes.com
She takes a handful and sets it on the paper towel in her lap, tossing a few pieces in her mouth and wiping her hands on an ankle-long pale pink robe snug around her body. I sneak a piece – one piece, two if I’m quick enough - preserving every last taste as it melts in my mouth.
As much as my mom and I love popcorn, we never knew October was National Popcorn Month. Did you? Americans consume 17 billion quarts a year, that’s 54 bags per person annually. With 365 days in a year, my mom and I alone practically triple that statistic with our frequent fixation. Yum … the buttery, sweet, salty, crunchy snack that actually dissolves in your mouth. We can't get enough!
Popcorn has even more potential than the typical traditional goodness: cheesy popcorn, caramel popcorn, kettle corn. Perhaps you are a fan of Snicker doodles, the warm cinnamon sugar swirls with a hint of vanilla. Well ... snicker doodle popcorn exists! Yes, you read correctly. Snicker doodle popcorn tastes exactly like the cookie.
Popcorn can transform plain popcorn into any concoction imaginable and it will still taste incredible, whether dipped in chipotle sauce or covered with chocolate sprinkles. Perhaps this explains why America’s sale of un-popped popcorn bags was over 900 million in 2008. It can be personalized for each consumer without ingredient restrictions. In essence, popcorn makes everyone a unique creator of flavor, since just about any kind of mixture would work. I love honey and coconut, thus popcorn drenched in honey with a dash of coconut ... perfecto!
Another popcorn perk is you don't have to fiddle with the lose kernels cooking on a stove, you can microwave. Microwaveable popcorn is full proof cooking-for-dummies (like me), unless … you burn it. I do this about 30 percent of the time. It’s nothing to be ashamed of really, it happens to all of us. Microwaves have different scales of intensity. Mine for instance, will pop almost every kernel to its fullest capacity in 3:50 minutes; however my mom’s microwave will only takes 3:00 minutes, anything more will burn half the bag. So, the next time you burn a three-ounce bag, blame it on the microwave.
My Mom and I prefer the traditional buttered popcorn, but the everlasting popcorn flavor concoctions can be fun too. Even those who don’t know the difference between broiled chicken and grilled, can create a tasty masterpiece with popcorn. It’s simple: microwave a bag of plain or butter popcorn, collect a few of your favorite ingredients (peanut butter or vanilla or honey or lemon or mustard - anything and everything will work) placing them in a container with the ready-to-eat popcorn, mix it all together with a utensil of your choosing and eat. I can’t cook scrambled eggs without either burning them or presenting them soggy, but I can make (mix) marshmallow popcorn bars … fancy!
Even if you are not a fan of popcorn, I hope you can at least appreciate the semblance of the 1.23 gram popped kernel that was first found in the archaeological Bat Cave site in New Mexico over 60 years ago. The tiny seed has travelled across the country filling the tummies of children at baseball games and couples in movie theaters; my mom and I included.
Popcorn was shared and savored between us for eighteen years. Now, we live in different cities an hour or so away, but we will always share those memories every time we bite down on the buttery, sweet, salty, crunchy seed. All we have to do is press the popcorn button on the microwave.
Simple/Quick/Easy Popcorn Recipes
Marshmallow Popcorn Bars
Makes 24 bars| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 20m
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
1/2 cup popcorn kernels or one 3.5-ounce package plain microwave popcorn
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Directions
Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Pop the popcorn according to the package directions. Melt the butter and marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, 5 to 7 minutes. Fold in the popcorn until coated. Press into the prepared dish and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into 24 bars.
Source: www.realsimple.com
Snicker doodle Popcorn
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
Place oil and popcorn kernels in popcorn popper. While corn is popping, place butter and sugar in a microwave-safe small bowl and heat until butter is melted. Stir to dissolve sugar thoroughly. Stir in cinnamon and salt until combined. Place hot popcorn in a serving bowl and drizzle with butter mixture; toss to combine. Serve immediately. Makes about 5 cups.
Source: www.healthy.betterrecipes.com
