Mmmm... Kettle Corn

Liked it so much that I have to share.

I do grocery shopping at Wal-mart and they only carry Orville Redenbacher popcorn, which does not carry the "no trans fat" label. I did buy some of their single serving kettle corn, and it had an off taste-- too fake salty.

Maybe it's the economy and the whole back-to-basics marketing movement, but I bought some plain ole kernels. Great Value brand. $1.25. The O.R. kernels were 4 dollars!

Parade magazine (in the Sunday paper) had a recipe this weekend for sweet and spicy kettle corn. I let out the spicy and just kept it sweet. It was wonderful.

As I was popping, I remembered those early grade school history lessons about the pilgrims learning about corn from the Native Americans. I felt all Pioneer Annie.

Before microwave popcorn hit it big, we cooked our popcorn in an air popper. But to cook it on the stove is kinda like magic. You heat the oil, drop in the kernels, and cover.

You shake the pot and wonder, Will it burn? Will it pop? And lo, it does. It did.

One 1/2 cup of kernels made an entire pot full-- probably 6-8 cups. It was caramelized, rugged, and wholesome.

Here's the recipe from Bobby Flay.

Sweet and Spicy Kettle Corn

3 tbsp. oil (I used vegetable)
1/2 cup kernels
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. ancho chili powder * (I omitted)

Heat oil one minute on medium heat in a heavy 4 quart pot. Drop kernels in a single layer and cover with sugar. Cover with lid. Shake pot periodically to prevent burning. Take pot off the stove when popping slows to pops every 3-5 seconds. Remove lid and add salt and chili powder if desired.

Enjoy, home pioneers!

30

I had a great 30th birthday. I could say a lot about it, but don't need to. I had a weekend filled with surprises. What made it very special was that my husband planned it far in advance-- booking a nice hotel, contacting friends, telling lots of stories so that I wouldn't be suspicious, even setting up a new email account for the birthday weekend.

What the weekend showed me was:

It doesn't matter if you are liked by many. It matters if you are loved (and I would say greatly loved) by a few.

It's nice to be liked. But it's on the surface-- typically because of what we are trying to project to win favor. But to be loved, just because, just because someone else finds something of worth in you, without your striving to attain their affection, that is completely humbling and truly precious.

Thank you to my sweet husband and father of my little boy and in-progress baby. And thank you to my parents, sister, extended family, and out-of-town friends who took the time to make me feel special.

So the next time I'm just doing something mundane and repetitive that I do every day, and feel like my life is insignificant, I've got a great memory to remind me of the opposite.

LOVE YOU!

Red Raspberry Dollars

When Jay was done with breakfast yesterday, I set him down to play while I ate mine. I hear a smacking sound coming from the couch area, and assume he has either found a stray piece of food (sadly, this is not unusual), or is happily biting his fingers. I go to investigate a few minutes later. I find him with a box of red gummies, chewing and drooling and happy as a pig in slop. He has a lot of red drool on his pajamas. I had opened the box yesterday and left it on the couch.

Remember those days when you think you'll never give your child sweets or let them watch cartoons? Neither do I. :)