Old-fashioned, the real thing popcorn!

That was the dessert of a long day!

You'll get the recipe; don't worry. First a bit about my day...

I'm on vacation, so I'm trying to take it easy.

And then I went leisurely off to catch the bus to Jerusalem. It's usually late on school vacations. But as I was walking down the hill, I suddenly realized that the bus was turning into the stop. A friend and her daughter were ahead of me, and they began to run. The bus was still there, and we were running.... and made it! Amazing! A neighbor's married son with kids and bags etc had taken their time getting on, thank G-d.

For whatever reason, the driver was in a rush. The bus was crowded, and he was already moving before we had found seats. No seats as we carefully made our way... then my friend lost her grip and footing and began falling on me, and the bus was turning, and ... Baruch Hashem, thank G-d, we somehow regained our "standing" and then people moved around a bit giving us seats. Kids even sat on the floor. We ended up sitting nearby.

"Come over tonight at 8. -- and -- are making me a birthday party. It's supposed to be a surprise, but I know all about it. And of course you're invited."

So when I got back from Jerusalem, I had to think of something to bring. While I was thinking, another friend called. She had borrowed a DVD from another neighbor, but it didn't play well on her computer.

"I'll bring the movie after I make something for the party."

Which she did and then we saw a very strange movie, Inner Space, a comedy of sorts.

Back to the party...
I decided to bring the dessert, a nice big bowl (actually I brought it in a large disposable baking dish) of popcorn and a melon (the birthday girl's favorite) cut up with toothpicks.

Old-fashioned, the real thing popcorn!

• a strong, heavy stainless steel pot with well-fitted lid
• corn for popping
• a spoon or two of soy oil
• a bit of salt, according to taste

If you don't have a good pot, it's not worth trying.

• put just a single layer, no more, of the kernels of corn, in the pot
• make sure there's just corn there by taking out any stones or bad kernels, with black spots etc
• add the oil and cover
• start on high flame
• until it begins popping
• gently shake the pan--don't panic if popping stops for a couple of seconds
• when it resumes or if it's still popping
• lower the flame to the lowest it will go (on an electric stove, you may need to use a different, cooler burner, since time is of the essence here)
• when popping slows to a trickle, turn off (remove from electric heat)
• Make sure that you have your giant bowl and salt ready
• uncover
• pour into bowl and add salt--not too much, since you can always add later, but it's impossible to remove it
• no salt if this is for "cracker jacks"

I haven't made "cracker jacks" for awhile, but as I remember, once the popcorn is done, I'd cook up sugar and oil in a small pot, until it "carmelizes" and then I'd pour it on the finished popcorn. Delicious, but you ought to have your dentist's number handy!