so last night, i drew the line. i love popcorn... i really love popcorn. but i will not stoop to put little bag of fake flavorings in the microwave again! or at least not this week. natalie, the always-supportive sister, came into the kitchen to coach my efforts. being a long-time stove-top veteran (thanks to the lack of microwave popcorn in uruguay), she assured me that this was my experiment; she had burnt too many helpings, and the blame for a catastrophe would be all mine. apprehensive, i poured 3 tablespoons of oil into a pan along with 1/3 cup whole popcorn kernels. i had a small panic attack as the liquid began to sputter from the heat and i realized i couldn't see inside the pan. how in the world could i stir so it wouldn't all burn if i couldn't even take the lid off without kernels popping clean out of the pan and all over the kitchen floor?? a sharp, "calm DOWN!" from natalie stopped my squealing, and i stood staring at the pan rather frantically. i could hear the popping; it shook the pan slightly. suspenseful?? yes.
when the popping finally subsided, i yanked the pan off the stove and switched the burner to off. slowly, i lifted the lid from the steaming pan. beautiful, white completely popped kernels stacked, then spilled over the edge onto the stove. perfect popcorn. with not one black spot visible and barely five kernels left unpopped. i overflowed. as if the thrill of making the stove-top perfection popcorn wasn't enough, eating it covered in a saucy mixture of coco and agave syrup was heaven. hello, world. throw away the butter-stained microwave bags and wake up to the wonderfulness of stove-top popcorn!
