Rosalind
Deeply Rooted
This year's popcorn winners were Blue Pop and Red Bird from Sand Hill Preservation. Faribo White Hulless did not pollinate well at all for some reason, but the Blue Pop (which is actually blue and yellow) and the Red Bird filled out reasonably. Both look very pretty--no, I don't have a picture, I ate it all in one sitting *burp*--and taste quite nice. Well, they taste like real popcorn, that very deep, fresh corny taste. Not the bits of salty styrofoam you normally get from the store. The Red Bird is especially pretty after popping, bright white fluffs with ruby-red hulls flecked through it. Both did great in our traditional New England soil (a tiller-breaking combination of rocks and clay and extra rocks) amended with two wheelbarrow loads of chicken litter/30 square feet in early spring.
You do not need a popcorn popper or any special anything to make delicious, cheap, homemade popcorn. A stove and a saucepan are sufficient.
One two-quart saucepan, serves two normal people and one hungry person:
2 tbsp. cooking oil
3 tbsp. popcorn
Put the oil in the pan, and heat the pan up on medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes.
Sprinkle popcorn evenly into pan, then put the lid on. The popcorn should just barely cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.
When you start hearing pops, give the pan a shake every 10 seconds or so to make sure the popped kernels aren't sticking to the bottom. Hold the lid on tight with an oven mitt while you shake. When you only hear a few pops once in a while, take the pan off the heat even if you think there might be a few unpopped kernels. Better to deal with unpopped kernels than burnt popcorn.
Add butter & seasonings to taste. Favorite seasonings here include parmesan, chili powder & garlic salt, cheddar & garlic salt, cocoa mix, cinnamon sugar, Italian seasoning, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes that have been whizzed in the blender with extra olive oil instead of butter.
You do not need a popcorn popper or any special anything to make delicious, cheap, homemade popcorn. A stove and a saucepan are sufficient.
One two-quart saucepan, serves two normal people and one hungry person:
2 tbsp. cooking oil
3 tbsp. popcorn
Put the oil in the pan, and heat the pan up on medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes.
Sprinkle popcorn evenly into pan, then put the lid on. The popcorn should just barely cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.
When you start hearing pops, give the pan a shake every 10 seconds or so to make sure the popped kernels aren't sticking to the bottom. Hold the lid on tight with an oven mitt while you shake. When you only hear a few pops once in a while, take the pan off the heat even if you think there might be a few unpopped kernels. Better to deal with unpopped kernels than burnt popcorn.
Add butter & seasonings to taste. Favorite seasonings here include parmesan, chili powder & garlic salt, cheddar & garlic salt, cocoa mix, cinnamon sugar, Italian seasoning, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes that have been whizzed in the blender with extra olive oil instead of butter.
