Sparkle Kitchen: Popcorn
In this week’s Martin & Sylvia story "Putting on a Play", when the whole family gets snowed in, Martin, Sylvia, and Daddy decide to put on a play for Mommy about the discovery of the South Pole. Whether you’re watching a play or even just a family movie, the entertainment will always be that much better with a bowl of hot popcorn to share.
No need to resort to the microwave stuff — stovetop popcorn takes about the same amount of time and tastes much better. And by popping popcorn on the stove you can also control exactly how much salt, butter, and other toppings you add.
While we’re speaking of toppings, don’t limit yourself to the typical butter and salt. While popcorn is, of course, delicious that way, there’s a whole universe of other toppings to sample. Some of our favorites are listed below to get you started.
Stovetop Popcorn
Ingredients
⅓ cup popcorn kernels
2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Yummy toppings of your choice
Directions
Put the oil in the bottom of a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Turn the heat up to medium high, then place one popcorn kernel into the oil. That first kernel is like a timer; once it pops, you’ll know that the oil is hot enough to add the rest of the kernels.
Once the “timer kernel” pops and you’ve added the rest, quickly put the lid on the pot. Then, gently shake the pot back and forth over the heat to make sure the popcorn doesn’t scorch.
Within a minute or two you’ll be able to hear the popcorn popping. Continue moving the pot until the kernels start to push off the lid or until you hear about 3 seconds between pops. Then, remove the popcorn from the heat and carefully pour it into a big bowl for sharing.
Your popcorn will be good with a tablespoon of melted butter and a few shakes of salt, but if you want to be more adventurous here are some other toppings to try:
Dried or fresh herbs
Tabasco sauce
Parmesan cheese
Fresh ground black pepper
Sesame seed oil and crumbled nori
Drizzles of melted chocolate
Maple syrup
Lime juice and salt
Have fun with it!
If you liked this recipe, here are other you might enjoy:
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About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
