Grum’s Popcorn

I only knew one grandparent, as the others died before I was born. It was my mother’s mother, and we always called her “Grum” She lived only a few miles away, and we saw her all the time-she was a real part of the family. She was NOT the warm fuzzy grandma, she was more of the thin-and-hardworking grandma, and had very little tolerance for chubby, chatty girls. Like me. Before you feel sorry for me, please note that I was not above chatting more, and eating more when I was around her JUST to annoy. Grownups always underestimate the malice of children. Grum possessed a true child-freezing glare. The glare she shot from her steely green eyes would almost knock you off your chair. Immediately you would remember every recently committed sin. Even though she never hit us with her hand, I can STILL feel that glare. Happily, the “glare” is genetic.  I can stop my son in his tracks, with one today, and when he was a toddler, all I would have to do was to shoot him a hard look and he would run for the timeout chair. I suppose the glare is a lot like what you DON’T see in horror movies. It’s the imagination that is the scariest of all.

Grum left us more than the witheringly effective look.  She made the most wonderful popcorn ever. She never called it Kettle Corn, but I know now, that’s what it is.

GRUM'S POPCORN
	Heavy-bottomed 8 qt pan with lid
	2/3 cup popcorn
	1/4 cup cooking oil
	1/4 cup white sugar

Put the oil in the pan with 3 kernels of popcorn.  When they pop, throw in the rest of the popcorn and put the lid on the pan.  With the ¼ cup of white sugar standing by, when the popcorn begins to pop quickly open the lid and throw in the white sugar.  Once you do this, shake the pan, by moving it quickly back and forth on the burner.  (You have to shake and move the pan the whole time it is popping or the sugar will burn.)  Stop when the popping slows down considerably.  You won’t be able to pop every single kernel..  Be sure to shake the pan hard, to move all the popcorn.

Remove pan from heat and wait a few minutes. SERIOUSLY. The last time I made this, I opened the pan too soon and a few projectiles of molten popcorn flew out and stuck to my neck. It was very painful, and left scars. I like to call it “Redenbacher Rash.” Though I am happy to report, that batch of popcorn was excellent. It would have been just too bitter to actually go through that physical pain, for bad popcorn. Which brings me to an important point…this is not an activity for children. Adults only, please.

When your popcorn cools down, pour it in a bowl and add salt to taste. Enjoy.

P.S. Don’t quit if you burn a batch or two while you’re trying to get the knack of making Grum’s popcorn. The ingredients are easy to keep on hand. It’s cheap, and it tastes great!


Note:

When you love to eat and create, it’s a good thing to have a box of babywipes close to your snack/craft area.  Popcorn is wonderful to eat, but you don’t want to create with greasy hands!