Popcorn for Hard Times

 It hasn't been a great week here in the barbaricum, and much love and light to you if it has also been a rough few weeks on your side of the limes*. This week's post is about a dinner for rough or busy days. Back when I started associate lecturing in medieval history, in 2014, I made popcorn for dinner a lot. I got the idea from the wonderful New England cookbook Cook and Tell, which mentions a traditional Sunday night supper of popcorn, cheddar cheese, apples, and hot chocolate. I promptly adopted it as a lazy night dinner for solo dining, and I pass it on to you.

Ingredients for Popcorn Dinner 

- 1/4 to 1/2 cup popcorn kernels

- 2 tbsp vegetable oil

- 1-2 grated handfuls sharp cheddar cheese (or cut cheese into wedges)

-  1-2 apples

- a mug full of milk

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

- sprinkling of cinnamon or chili powder (optional) 

- other herbs or spices for the popcorn, as your fancy dictates

What to do

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from making microwave popcorn if that's what you need to do but I typically buy a 500g bag of popcorn kernels (you can usually find it in the ethnic foods or pulses aisle of a big supermarket) and pop my popcorn on the stovetop. To do this, take a LARGE pan with a tight fitting lid (you want a pot that can hold about a litre / four cups or more of liquid) and pour about 2 tbsp of vegetable oil onto the bottom of it. I usually eyeball this rather than having to deal with cleaning oil off a measuring spoon--you want enough to have a thin layer covering the bottom of the pot when you swirl the pan. Begin heating the pot over high heat, and while you do that pour a mug full of milk into a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium high.

Now that your oil is a bit hot, drop in 3-5 kernels of popcorn and put the lid on the popcorn pot. Turn your attention to the cocoa now: add two soup spoons of sugar and one of cocoa to your warming milk and stir those in. Lower the heat on your cocoa so it doesn't boil over and collect an apple or two from the refrigerator.

By now, your first few popcorn kernels should have popped and you can add the rest in. A half-cup of kernels generally fills my largest bowl with cooked popcorn, and provides ample food for one person, especially with apples and cheese, but you can always start with a quarter cup and make more later. Put the lid on the popcorn pot again and give your cocoa a stir. The cocoa should be gently bubbling by now and it's a good idea to lower the heat on the popcorn pot to medium or medium high--I find this helps me avoid scorching it.

While you wait, you may wish to add a pinch of cinnamon or chili powder to the hot cocoa. Every so often, pick up the popcorn pot and shake it. It's not absolutely essential to do this but it seems to prevent any kernels from burning, and is kind of fun. It will take about 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot your stove gets, for most of the popcorn to pop.

In between shaking your popcorn pot, slice or grate your cheddar cheese and wash your apples. If you want cheesy popcorn, grate the cheese straight into your bowl. I sometimes like to slice my cheese and apples at the point, so I can eat slices of cheese on top of apple wedges, but you do you.

Dinner is ready when the sound of popping has stopped. I usually find that little tasks like grating cheese, chopping apples, and pouring the cocoa into a mug help me avoid taking the pot off the stove before the popcorn is fully ready.

 

Pour the popcorn into the bowl. If it's cheesy popcorn for you tonight, simply mix the popcorn and grated cheese together with your hands. If you've chosen to eat your cheese with an apple or two, you may want to think about popcorn seasonings. Half a teaspoon (or a few shakes) of garlic powder, dill, and salt; make a nice combination. You can also try chili powder and a few sprinkles of lime juice, if there's a bottle in your fridge. I once tried a few shakes of curry powder on a whim, and enjoyed it. If I'm looking for a bit of spice, a few twists of the pepper mill are also good. And of course, you can never go wrong with salt.

Enjoy your popcorn and take care of yourself.

* As you can probably guess, barbaricum is the word scholars use to talk about the lands outside Roman borders where barbarians lived; limes is the Latin word for those borders themselves. Both words were used with roughly these meanings in Late Antiquity--Wikipedia is kept well-edited for matters Late Antique.