How to Make Popcorn the Old Fashioned Way

Since I got rid of my microwave, I have had to take a different approach toward food preparation. Out of habit, I ripped open a packet of instant oatmeal and poured it into the bowl before I remembered I couldn't just stick it in the microwave and zap it for about a minute. So I boiled some water, measured out the suggested water, poured it over the oatmeal and waited. The oats were still, uhm, not cooked and runny. Then I read the package. These were steel cut oats. I would need to cook them. In a pan. Why in the world am I buying instant oatmeal in wasteful little packages when I could simply cook my own? That's the question that popped into my head as I stirred the oatmeal into a paste and my son waited impatiently with hungry eyes. So, no more instant oats. Not even the organic ones.

Then there was the realization that I still have two packs of microwave popcorn in my pantry. We don't make popcorn often. My supermarket sells these mini packs of organic popcorn, but it still probably isn't much healthier than the regular kind that is supposed to contain all kinds of toxins from the chemicals they use in the bag liners. Tonight I have my son and grandson in tow at the grocery store. We go down the snack isle past the popcorn, and that is when I decide we are going to go home and make it the old fashioned way, the way I remember making it when I was a little kid.

I was a little nervous about popping popcorn on the stove top. It has been years since I have made it that way and I feared a burned mess with lots of smoke and fire alarms going off, but it turned out perfectly and the taste was much better than the bagged popcorn too. I have to admit it was fun to make, also. We might be having popcorn more often now.

Stove Top Popcorn...The Old Fashioned Way

1. Cover bottom of lidded pan with 1/8 inch of melted coconut oil. Drop two or three kernels of popcorn into the oil and heat over medium heat until they pop.
2. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup popcorn to the pan, depending on pan size. 
3. Shake the pan until popping stops and remove from heat immediately to prevent burning.
4. Empty into a bowl and season with salt, butter, or other favorite seasoning
5. Voila, done! Enjoy!