Microwave Popcorn the Locavore Way

Monday I finally went to see Half-Blood Prince. Which of course got me thinking about movie popcorn and how I could avoid it, with all its fat and calories. That reminded me of the popcorn I had from Titus Farms. I got it during the first two or three weeks of my CSA subscription. According to Rebecca, who writes the Titus Farms CSA newsletter, you can pop this stuff right on the cob, in a paper bag in the microwave.



Okay, failed experiment. I set the timer on the microwave for two minutes and listened for the popping to slow to two seconds in between pops. It didn't really slow, so I let it keep going. Clearly not a good idea. All windows open to get burned popcorn smell out of kitchen.

So I decided to remove the kernels first, and believe me, those babies did not want to come off.



One sore thumb and a half hour later, I had removed most of the kernels from the five remaining ears and decided to try again. Now to locate some instructions... Mark Bittman to the rescue. I followed his instructions pretty closely... 1/4 cup popcorn, about one teaspoon olive oil, and no staple. One minute, 22 seconds later, I was in business. I tossed some salt in the bag, shook it up, and voilà!



Six cups of tasty, healthy popcorn. So worth it. And no more duds (maybe even fewer) than in a typical bag.



Go forth and pop!