Popcorn

Spiced Kettle Corn

~ Lynn ~ 6 Comments

Spiced Kettle Corn

One of the great pleasures of winter, for me at least, is that it’s an opportunity to curl up on the couch and catch up on some TV/movie watching and general laziness. This weekend has been particularly cold, with windchills bringing the temperature down to minus 25 Celcius (around minus 8 F). Yesterday I braved the cold and got some errands done, my teeth chattering the whole way through. My bravery was rewarded with a great find at a thrift shop; for $40 I picked up a solid wood dresser that with a little love is destined to become a TV stand in my new place (I was channeling my inner Sarah Richardson).

So today I feel zero guilt in my plan to watch super hero movies all day, starting with Thor (how hot is Chris Hemsworth in that movie?) followed by Batman Begins and the Dark Knight.  The fireplace is roaring, and my super cozy wool blanket is waiting for me. As I get carried away into these fantastical worlds where the good guys always win, I will be munching on this Spiced Kettle Corn. Stove top popcorn is really easy to make, and doesn’t take much more time or effort than microwave popcorn. There is also the added bonus of controlling the ingredients that go into your popcorn and knowing there are no random chemicals leaching into your food. In this recipe I added a touch of cayenne and garlic powder to give the popcorn a spicy/savoury kick. I was a little worried about the garlic and sugar together, but in the end I found the flavours really worked together. You can substitute any spices you like in this recipe.

Spiced Kettle Corn

  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
  • salt to taste
  1. Mix the sugar, garlic powder and cayenne together. Set aside.
  2. In a large heave bottomed pot that has a lid, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the popcorn and cover. When you hear the oil start to sizzle, stir in the sugar mixture then cover again. Shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning. When the pops slow to once every two to three seconds remove the pot from the heat, keep shaking until the popping stops completely.
  3. Pour the popcorn into a serving bowl and season with salt.

Enjoy!

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Indian Spiced Popcorn

~ Lynn ~ 18 Comments

I’m finding the sugar-free/gluten-free challenge to be a little tougher this time. I’m having more sugar cravings than I did the first time around. My nutritionist would say I’m missing protein, but I think it’s because I don’t have the support group I had last time. Those of us doing the challenge would get together and compare notes, and since I was doing the challenge with Janice we had daily chats comparing menus and sharing ideas. This time it’s just me and my blog (although Janice is still hearing about, thanks for listening!)

So I decided to make myself some popcorn as a treat. Popping my own kernels made this totally within the rules, and to make it a little more interesting I added some curry powder and chili powder to the melted butter. The spice gave the popcorn a really nice kick. I could have eaten it all day.

Indian Spiced Popcorn

  • 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
  • curry powder, chili powder and salt to taste
  1. Coat the bottom of a large pot (make sure you use one with a lid) with the oil. Add the kernels, cover and turn on heat to medium high.
  2. Let the pan heat till you start to hear kernels popping, then lower the temp to medium. Shake the pot occasionally until you don’t hear kernels popping anymore. The whole process takes 5 to 8 minutes.
  3. Transfer popcorn to a large bowl.
  4. Add spices to butter then drizzled over popcorn. I like the layering method to ensure even popcorn coverage.