How to Make Old-Fashioned, Oil-Popped Popcorn Properly

After four children and a dozen grandchildren I can honestly say that I have watched every Disney, Pixar, Anne of Green Gables movie ever made . . . many times. Most of them with popcorn. The truth is I volunteered to make the popcorn so that the movie could start and run a while without me. The third viewing of Love Bug in as many weeks is killer.

There's more science to making popcorn than you might think, the kernels need to explode quickly to get that airy and crackly center. After 30 years I consider myself a master.

First, start with a decent quality popcorn. It doesn't have to be a gourmet brand but a good Tom Thumb or Target brand is better than the dollar a bag brand. Next, get a good thick-bottomed pot with a handle. I use normal cooking oil but special popcorn oil supposedly works better. Good idea, I just never do it.

Get the pot warm first and add a 1/4 inch of oil to cover the bottom of the pot. When the oil is hot carefully pour in a layer of kernels to very loosely cover the bottom. Here's the hard part. To get the popcorn done just right you need the kernels hot enough to pop quickly, but not too hot so that they get a kind of of charred taste. I wish I could tell you how to do this but I can't. You just have to do it. One thing you don't want to do is put the kernels in cold oil and slow cook them. They lose too much moisture that way and pop small and dry.

Another tricky part. I use a pot with a lid and as the kernels start to pop I hold the lid just about an 1/8 of an inch off the edge to allow some of the steam to escape. If you don't that steam will soften the popped corn. This is tricky because a little hot oil escapes with the steam. I should say that this is black-belt level popcorning, amateurs should not attempt.

Final tip. After you get a good pop, shake the pot while it is still on the fire. You don't want the kernels to char and you want the unpopped kernels to fall back to the bottom. When the pot is almost filled pull it off the fire, lid on, and let the final kernels pop.

Here is where I try to guess when the last kernel has popped. It gives me something to think about while I wait and it kills a little more time. After the last kernel pops --

Pour into big bowl. Butter, then salt. Fall asleep watching movie.

The Gold Rush.

The price of gold is rising. In the midst of my campaign fever, the news show I watch had a segment on the trend and its causes.

Civilizations have had a close relation to this shiny, malleable commodity for thousands of years. Its value, like diamonds has to do with rarity and to some degree its beauty as an adornment. But it has little "practical" use, say, like soy beans. I'm no economist or even fake economist but I know enough to know that this latest run up in dollar value has to do with the fear of declining dollar value, the reality of declining dollar value, and the decline of the value of real estate as an investment.

When things are bad money gravitates to stability, and then gold as a commodity rises in price because there are more buyers than sellers. Just like a toaster on eBay.

I'm not suggesting you buy, sell or hold. I don't know what will happen, but I do know that a sharply rising gold price is a bad sign. And I am suggesting that broad national monetary policy has an effect on the economy making the elections in 2008 more important. The economy will be a big issue, it seems.

If you are interested in this sort of thing, a friend of mine writes a very comprehensive financial newsletter, emailed to subscribers free once a week. Lots of numbers, stats, and charts. And as you know, guys like charts.

http://www.frontlinethoughts.com/gateway.asp

So Far, Points but No Pins . . .

I'm one of those guys who can watch presidential political debates, polling, commentary, etc. . . . ummmm, every night. Does that make me better than a guy who watches football every night. Heck no. It's not much different, football draws less blood, maybe. Modern presidential politics is good old-fashioned competition with handicapping, predictions and all the things that go with sports.

This political primary season has been a doozy. On the Republican side, 3 months ago we had written off John McCain. Too old, too worn out, too out of touch with today's voters. Wrong. He will be the Republican candidate. Who could have predicted a serious threat coming from Huckabee? And yet he is winning some southern states. And speaking of Huckabee, as much as I would love to see the disintegration of the IRS, the chances of him shutting down the IRS are slim and none. Do you really think the most powerful branch of government, the federal bureaucracy, is going to let that happen. No way, Jose. There isn't enough political capital available, let alone a Congress willing to permit it. It makes exciting political speechmaking, but it's disingenuous of him to make promises he knows he can't keep.

Picture right: J. McCain with Florida Governor Charlie Crist and California Governor Schwarzenegger. You'll see this a lot in the next few months. Florida is a toss-up state and McCain is the only Republican with a chance of taking California. A Huckabee VP selection and McCain pulls in the south and some of the evangelicals. The Republican's have announced their strategy.

On the Democrat side no one predicted Senator Obama to get too far out of the gate, but he is running close to the favorite, Hillary Clinton. I'm a Republican in most platform issues, which probably comes as no surprise to regular readers, but I will say this, the most moving person and the only person generating real, old-fashioned, political excitement is Barack Obama. He's a candidate to be reckoned with.

I still predict a Clinton victory in November, and to my Republican friends all I can say is, the Oval Office changes everyone who enters it.

For the record, my news-station of choice is MSNBC because I like Chris Matthews. I don't require that the newscaster agree with me or I with him, I do require a certain sincerity, integrity, and likability.

(Happy Birthday to Stephen, 28 years. When school gets difficult, remember the refrigerator.)