Perfect Popcorn

This week I went to the movie theater. I rarely go anymore because it's so freaking expensive (I remember the days when it was less than $4 for a ticket). As long as I can remember my friends and I have snuck food into the theater to save money. It's a good thing big purses are in style. A couple months ago, a friend and I hid an entire sushi dinner in our purses, chopsticks and all. That avocado cucumber roll made the movie so much better. :) Usually, I just bring my own popcorn since I don't eat the buttery movie theater popcorn (although, that stuff might not actually be butter...). The popcorn I make tastes WAY better than what they sell anyway. And it costs less than a dollar--not $7.99 for a small. It's perfectly popped, and it's good for you. So, what's my secret?

I present, The GREAT Hot Air Popper. 

This baby is circa 1974. It was most likely a wedding gift for my parents. It still purrs like a cat (with a giant hairball in it's throat) and works like a charm. I have fond memories of making popcorn with this air popper when I was a little girl. I also have fond memories of making popcorn with this air popper last night. Mmmm, so good. My parents updated to a newer version a couple of years ago, so I got the original. Fine by me.

To make a batch, I let the popper run for awhile so it heats up, then I pour 1/4-1/2 cup (the cap is a measuring cup) of white popcorn kernels in the bowl of the popper. As the kernels pop, they fly out of the chute and into a bowl. Once the bowl is full and the kernels are all perfectly popped (not a single burnt piece), I dump it into a brown paper bag. Then, I drizzle a good amount of olive oil on top and shake the bag. Next, I sprinkle sea salt into the bag and shake again.

This is post shake. Hence, the oil spots on the bag.

Once it's all evenly covered with oil and salt, I pour it back into the bowl (or into a ziplock bag if I'm sneaking it into a movie theater). Another favorite version is Cinnamon and "Sugar" (stevia). I melt coconut oil and pour it into the bag, then sprinkle a bunch of cinnamon, a little stevia and a pinch of sea salt and shake it around. My next popcorn experiment will be Chocolate--coconut oil, cocoa powder and stevia. 

Popcorn is pretty, don't you think? The word for "popcorn" in Spanish is "palomitas" which means "little doves." I love that. Spanish is such a romantic language.

It just doesn't work in English, though. If I tried to call popcorn little doves, I'd definitely get some eye rolls. But the eye rolls would probably be from people who were used to "buttery" yellow movie theater popcorn, not the fluffy, white perfection that comes out of the GREAT Hot Air Popper. That's for sure. Movie date anyone?