Spicy Popcorn

Today.  I'm going real simple, but for a good reason.  I know what you're thinking: "Fr. Foodie, really?  I know how to make Popcorn."  Do you ever want a snack, so you go to the pantry?  Lo and behold, you pull out a bag of microwave popcorn.  You throw it in the microwave, and after 3 1/2 minutes, you have a yummy, buttery snack, full of salt, fat, and yellow #7.  

Microwavable Popcorn is an invention of my lifetime, but if you're too much younger than me, it probably has never occurred to you that you can actually make popcorn any other way.  (That's right, the Native Americans, as a traditional snack, had to lug a microwave around with them as they followed the Buffalo across the prairie.)

It turns out, popcorn is a pretty diverse food.  On its own, it's quite healthy.  It will taste like anything you put on it.   So, have you ever thought, hmm why am I putting the standard hardened milkfat on it?

For years now, I've been doing alternative flavors of popcorn, and making it from scratch.  Here's one of my favorite ways to do it.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. Popcorn Seeds

3 T. Olive Oil for popping

3-4 T. Olive Oil for seasoning

1 t. Garlic Powder

1 t. Chile Powder

1 t. Ground Red Pepper

1 t. Curry Powder

1 T. Salt

Directions:

1. Place Popping Corn in a very large pot.  Put in 3 T. Olive Oil. Swoosh it around until the kernels are covered with oil.

2.  Cover the pot and put it on the stove over medium heat.  When the corn starts to pop.  Shake the pot every 10 - 15 seconds to get the unpopped kernels to the bottom, and not burn the already popped corn. 

3.  When the popping slows down to apx. 2 seconds between pops, turn off the stove, and shake the pot one more time.  You should hear a couple more pops before removing the lid.

4.  Add the Garlic, Chile, Red Pepper, and Curry.  Drizzle the remaining Olive Oil over the popcorn.  Put the lid back on the pot, and while holding the lid down, shake the popcorn well to distribute the spices over the corn. 

Shake shake shake!  Shake that popcorn!

5.  Guard your popcorn carefully, so Kristen doesn't eat your half :)

Here it is again.