Sing a Song of Pop Corn

I like popcorn and I eat it as a snack on a regular basis. I'm sure this little tidbit of information about me isn't exactly scintillating, but I am trying to encourage my consumption of healthy snacks. I am one of only two people in the house who really likes popcorn, so I never have to worry about leaving my popcorn unguarded and finding it later when there's nothing left but the crumbs and the grannies.

I don't believe microwave popcorn has anything beneficial to offer except a long list of chemical ingredients I can barely pronounce, so I make my own. I also dislike air-popped popcorn because it's hard to give it any flavor without pouring on plenty of oil and butter (I know, I know that air-popped popcorn has fewer calories, but there's just no flavor! It's like eating rice cakes or Melba toast, and what's the point of eating stuff like that unless you're literally starving and don't care about how a thing tastes?).

I cook my popcorn in a pot on the stove and it takes all of five minutes. (At one time, naive and less skilled in the kitchen, I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and actually bought an on-the-stove popcorn maker for over $20. I only used it a couple times because it was awkward and turned popping corn into a chore. Now I don't even know where that silly one-use pot has gotten to.)

Here's how you make popcorn on the stove:

Find a pot with a lid and a handle. The size of the pot doesn't matter except that it determines how much popcorn you can make in one batch.

Turn on the burner to medium-high, set the pot on top, and pull out your coconut oil and your stash of organic popping corn (if it isn't organic, try to make sure it isn't genetically modifed (GMO) at least!). Plop a blob of the coconut oil into the pot--enough so that it covers the entire bottom of the pot as it melts (I love coconut oil and I use cold pressed extra virgin oil because it imparts into my popcorn a subtle coconut flavor. But when I run out of the more expensive cold pressed extra virgin oil, I am fine using the refined stuff.)

While the oil melts and heats, drop in one kernel of popping corn.

Now stand there and watch the kernel while you're listening to talk radio, thereby enriching your mind while you seek to enrich your body. Eventually, the kernel will start to sizzle and then POP itself into fluffy goodness. I find that the more closely you watch the kernel, the more likely it is to pop itself out of the pan. That may have something to do with quantum physics.

While you're pondering how noticing the actions of a kernel of popcorn can literally influence its behavior, pour in enough popcorn kernels to cover the bottom of the pot one layer deep. I usually add a smidge more (that's a scientific measurement, of course) so the kernels are packed closely together but still touching the oil.

Put the lid on the pot and give it a gentle shake as it sits on the burner in order to keep the kernels from burning. Give it a gentle shake every few seconds while the oil heats the kernels and they begin popping like crazy. When the popping sounds stop, take the pot off the burner and look under the lid to see what awaits you.

Quickly pour the popcorn into a large bowl and add your seasonings. Walmart carries a few flavors of popcorn seasonings that are very delicious and low in calories (I haven't checked the ingredients because maybe I don't want to know, okay?). I really like a few sprinkles of Ranch flavor and a few more of Nacho Cheese flavor, topped off with some ground pepper. I also add some Nutritional Yeast Flakes for a sense of righteousness. Combine sugar and salt for kettle corn, or get creative with your spice cupboard: Mrs. Dash is a great popcorn flavoring, as is some salt and garam masala. Or you can melt butter and drizzle that on, too. I'm good with that.