DIY Microwave Popcorn

After

Before

Lately the kids have been craving popcorn. It's such an easy afternoon snack that I indulge them regularly on this request. Until today I prepared it with an air popper and poured on real butter. Today is the key word here. I was all set to make a batch and plugged in the air popper. It made a strange winding down sound and quietly died. Not wanting to disapoint I quickly considered my options - stovetop or experimental microwave option.

As you probably have gathered from the name of this post, I opted to try out the microwave option. A long time ago someone mentioned to me that all you need is a lunch bag and kernels. The specifics are lost to mom-nesia. So, I put 1 T of kernels in a plain lunch bag and folded the end a few times. Then I placed it, folded end down, into the microwave and hit the 'popcorn' button. To my delight the popcorn popped, but then it burned. I am spectulating that I didn't add enough kernels compared to a commercially prepared bag which the setting is designed for. Since we couldn't eat the burned stuff, I made another batch and listened carefully for the popping to slow down. Then I poured a bit of butter directly in the bag, reclosed it, and shaked it to coat. ("It's shake and bake and I helped" just came to mind.)

Preparing popcorn this way was 2 steps harder than ripping cellophane off the purchased version but much more economical and more delicious. On the last Taste of Tea order I bought a sour cream and onion popcorn seasoning mix. It was challenging to coat the air popped popcorn with it. I think that when I try the DIY microwave popcorn again I'll add a teaspoon or two when I pour the butter in.

Anticancer Note:

While microwave popcorn is not specifically addressed in the Anticancer book, I would like to point out that the FDA has identified a substance called perfluocooctanoic (PFOA) in microwave popcorn bag linings that are likely carcinogens.