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Popcorn!

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Craig likes his popcorn with butter, sriracha and nutritional yeast

Popcorn used to be one of my most favorite snacks. When I was a little kid in the 80's, everyone had one of those air popping machines at their house (do you remember those? They were always yellow and white, and they had a little compartment to melt the butter). I loved watching the popcorn pour out of the spout and then pouring melted butter over the whole bowl.

Then, of course, came microwave popcorn. No cubicle filled office is complete without the smell of artificial butter wafting from the kitchen area.

Unfortunately, we haven't had a microwave for years, so no popcorn for us. But! Did you know that you can make popcorn on the stove top, with just a big pan and a lid? Yeah, you probably did. I think everyone knew about this but me. We made it last night and I was giddy with excitement. Craig looked at me like I came from another planet.

Just in case you are the only other person who didn't know how to do this, here's what you do:

~Pour 3 Tbl of vegetable oil in a large pan. Place a few (3-5) kernels in the oil. Turn heat to high and cover with lid (preferably a clear one, so you can see the magic happen).
~when the kernels pop, pour 1/3 cup more kernels in.
~while your kernels are popping away, make sure to agitate the pan and shake it back and forth. This insures that you will keep your kernels moving and you won't burn the bottom layer.
~when it sounds like the kernels have stopped popping, remove from heat.
~BE CAREFUL when you remove the lid. Some of the kernels might be late poppers. I had one fly at my face last night when I removed the lid and peered into the pot. Also, there may be a bit of steam.
~gleefully pour melted butter, salt, nutritional yeast, parmesan cheese or any other topping your heart desires.
~make again tomorrow!
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