One of my fondest memories of my grandmother was camping together at the family homestead. She had a wire basket in which she would make popcorn – right over the fire! This recipe doesn’t require that magnitude of patience or skill but it will make for a really tasty, wholesome, versitile snack that also doubles as a cheap party snack if your party budget is not as robust as you thought it would be (literally, this costs pennies to make). Real kernels, real butter, real oil and real salt. No microwave required and there isn’t a list of ingredients you can’t pronounce (like propyl gallagte) or extra packaging heading to the landfills. Also, if you haven’t looked into a bag of the microwave stuff prior to popping it, I offer you a picture here. Stovetop popcorn recipe follows below.

Stovetop Popcorn

3 tablespoons oil (I use corn oil but any vegetable oil with a high smoke point will work fine)

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

2 tablespoons melted butter (or more if you like)

salt to taste

In a medium sized saucepan with a well-fitting lid, combine oil and kernels, place lid on pot and turn on burner to medium heat. Shake pan occasionally, being sure to hold the lid in place to redistribute kernels. Shake pan more often once kernels start to pop. Once there is a 3 second pause between popping kernels (or lid lifts off pan), remove popcorn from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Garnish with melted butter and salt and toss.

If you like flavored popcorns, you can also trick this out however you like. Maybe grated parmesean cheese and garlic salt instead of the traditional butter and salt. Or, maybe melt some caramels in the microwave and drizzle it over the popcorn.

Eat well!

~Trish