It's been a long time coming

I grew up with a microwave. And, I will admit I still have one and it is used regularly. It’s quick, efficient and safe – at least that’s what I’m told (I still stand back a good 5 feet while it’s in use, but I am not scared, just cautious).

Throughout my childhood I learned to be quick with a microwave. Warming up left-overs? Nuke it. Warming up cold coffee? Just give it about 30 seconds. Softening a stick o’ butter? Set it around 45 seconds and cast frequent glances its way making sure the butter is not completely melted. Bottom line: microwaves are fast, and can be dangerously entertaining with unseen pieces of metal in a dish or coffee mug.

This brings me to the next part of my story. On one of my recent trips to the Farmer's Market, while I was filling my CSA box with all sorts of goodies from River View Farms,– tomatoes, squash, grits, arugula, etc., I came upon a box full of ears of corn. This is not your run of the mill sweet corn. No, these kernels were hard as rocks. At first I thought, “Oh, they are giving us ‘Indian corn’ to decorate for fall.” Then I thought, “I should ask what this is.” After my asking, and receiving a there-are-such-things-as-stupid-questions-look I was told it’s called “Popcorn.” The farmer then informed me that they planted acres of this “Popcorn.”

“You can grow Popcorn?” was my first thought. My second was, “How in the world do you microwave this? Is it safe to microwave popcorn still on the cob?”

After returning with my new treasures I showed Matt this strange find: Popcorn. He looked at it and said something like, “Yea, we used to pop corn over the fire during the winter time when I was growing up.” After a moment of stunned silence, he added for good measure, “I even think my brother and I popped some with a hair dryer just to see if we could.”

What? I had spent weeks and burnt through bags of Orville’s finest corn to land on the perfect amount of time it take for my microwave to produce fluffy, delicious, not-burnt popcorn - two minutes and 15 seconds, thank you very much. I was like a kid realizing, meat doesn’t just magically appear in grocery stores for my consumption.
And, just like that I was determined to
A) Find out if what Matt said was true?
B) Learn how I can make popcorn that came straight from the field and not in a neatly folded bag?

After some quick research from folks in my church, at work, from family, on the internet, I learned that not only was Matt right (eh, it happens) but that cooking popcorn on the stovetop is the main way many folks enjoy popcorn.
Try to keep up…

Popcorn
Ingredients:
Popcorn (removed from the cob)
Oil (whatever you have on hand)

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the kernels. Cover with lid and listen for the kernels to pop. Quickly remove from heat. Add salt and butter to your liking. Enjoy!

Unfortunately I cannot post any "popped" pictures which is part of the reason for this post's delay. You could say we are in between computers (i.e. some idiot broke into our church and stole Matt's computer). For now, we are saving our pics on our camera, and take it from me there are some great photographs from our recent adventures. Grrr...theivery is annoying.