Best Popcorn

If you didn't have a microwave, how would you pop your popcorn?

I can just imagine a deer in the headlights look on some youngster's face if you asked them that question.  It would be like pointing to a cassette tape deck and asking them if they'd like to hear some music. The reason I didn't use a turntable as an example is because young people recognize that as a noise generating device to go along with other obnoxious noise set to a really loud bass track, along with which some tone-deaf, talentless hack speaks vaguely rhyming words.   But I digress.

I had a microwave for years.  Don't now.  And what I'm about to tell you, will seem like the kind of pseudo-scientific drivel that drives me nuts about the eco-wackos who believe in anthropogenic global warming and are against the cleanest, "greenest," efficient form of energy: nuclear.  In case you didn't know; France, a nation teetering on extinction because of its failed socialist policies is still smart enough to be producing 90% of it's electricity from nuclear energy, and so efficiently re-cycling the material that the waste is negligible.

We don't have a microwave because several years ago, years before we met, Twyla and I both discovered scientific evidence that microwave energy does indeed alter foods at the molecular level in ways that are unhealthy.  I had to laugh recently when I discovered that some pet food manufacturers, specifically dog food, put warning labels on their product telling you not to use a microwave because of how it affects the food. Interesting how you won't find any warning labels on your microwave junk foods for human consumption.  But then, we live in a society that practically demands drawing and quartering for harming an animal, yet condones the murder of inconvenient babies.  But I digress.

I truly enjoy popcorn.  Even back when I had a microwave (still with the first wife), I didn't use the microwave to make popcorn.  That stuff designed for the microwave just wasn't that good.  They seemed to know the formula for making it smell great, but what got to the mouth just didn't satisfy.  Then I discovered the Whirlypop.  Now, I know that this device violates what is probably Alton Brown's number one rule, that any kitchen device should always be a multi-tasker. But I just have to make an exception for this one.  This little gem pops corn better than anything, but more than that, it lets you create specialty popcorn that you cannot get any other way.

Twyla didn't know about this marvel when we got married, but when I described what it did, she went on  hunt to buy one.  I don't know if it is because of the skyrocketing price of metals or because the company cut back production, but the cheapest one she could find on the web was about $60.  But God was smiling on us, because one day I was looking around in the local Ace Hardware (which, in this town, is more like an old time General Store), and there was one on a top shelf in an unopened, undisturbed box with a nice layer of dust on it.  And a price tag of $25.95.

Once we got it home, I introduced Twyla to "kettle corn."  For those of you who haven't gotten this at the county or state fair or such; it's that sweet/salty, or sweet/spicy/salty concoction that they only seem to be able to make in those giant kettles with a big wooden paddle, hence the name.

One time, for a good friend who came for a visit, we made peppermint/marshmallow popcorn.  I prefer the savory, and like to indulge in things like garlic/parmesan, or lemon/pepper/dill popcorn.

The secret of this machines success, is that it copies the design of those commercial theater popcorn poppers. In the open view, you can see that there is a shaft that goes to the bottom with a wire that scrapes the bottom when you crank the handle.  You can see the gears on the top of the lid in the first photo.

It's that wire spinning and scraping the bottom that makes all the difference.  Because of the irregular shape of popped popcorn, when you are cranking this device, there is a chain reaction of tumbling that occurs from the bottom all the way up throughout the pot.  You can see it if you open the one half-lid after the corn is popped and crank the handle.  This accomplishes three things.

 One:  It makes sure that all the un-popped kernels find their way to the bottom of the pot so that they will all pop.  I've tested this between Orville Reddenbacher and the cheapest generic popcorn.  I get the same number of un-popped kernels, about four or five out of a half cup.  That's pretty amazing to pop a six-quart salad bowl full of popcorn and only have five un-popped kernels.

Two: The already popped corn moves vertically as well as spinning around, which doesn't allow it to burn.  I know there are some of you who like some burn on your popcorn, so all you have to do is use maximum heat and stop cranking from time to time.  This means you can customize the amount of char on your corn.  Make sure you remember to re-enable your smoke detector.

Three:  That same homogeneous tumbling action means that the flavorings you put in the pot are going to evenly coat all the pieces of popcorn.  The only other way I know to get that kind of result is to put the popcorn in a plastic or brown paper bag and shake the dickens out of it.  But that only works for savory items and can waste precious butter that gets absorbed into the paper or is attracted to the plastic.  And you can't do anything with sugary coatings because it would melt the plastic or just stick the popcorn to the paper.

Finally, a great feature of this popper is that it's totally manual.  If electricity disappears, we can use it on the propane stove.  When propane is gone, we can use it on a wood fire.  Now all I have to do is try growing some popcorn this summer.

Shalom.

Warm Fuzzies

Bo-Peep only 24 hours old.

If you read my post below, you know that I was gone from before sunrise until well after sunset.  My wife called me yesterday sometime after sunrise while I was still about an hour away from my destination to tell me that one of the chicks had hatched.

I'll pretend to be a manly man and say that I'm not going to post on this subject and instead direct your attention over to her blog, so you can read all about it.

As I write this, she has posted to her blog, and already called her parents.  I'm writing this without even knowing what she's said.  Yes. I'm the one who took the photos and transferred them to a jump drive for her computer.  But I'm going to write my own post and then go see what she had to say.

She's already named them.  Somehow I don't think I'm going to be eating some home grown chicken this December.  One of them better be a rooster.  There is still a third egg under Pretty Face, and I'm going to wait until Tuesday before deciding whether or not it needs to be removed.

I have so much more I could say about all this.  Have I mentioned that I feel extremely blessed to be where I am?

Straight to Cold

Here in the mountains of Northern Georgia, there is no "Indian Summer."  That magical period that occurs in many parts of the country where after a brief cold spell comes through with the approach of fall, a week or two of warm up occurs.

Not here.   I'm looking at my electronic thermometer on the wall next to me at the desk here.  It's a $10 rig from Wally World, but I've calibrated it and it is accurate.  It has a remote sensor out on the deck to tell me the outside temperature on the right and it tells me the inside temperature on the left.  As I write this, it is 05:40 EDT.

To be precise, the sensor is located just below the top rail on the deck baluster which sits at least 16 feet above the sloping ground level below.  That can mean a couple of degrees difference, which is why I really need to build a little vented box that will protect the sensor, but allow me to place it down where my veggies are growing and give me a more accurate read at ground level.

Last night, I picked the last of the green tomatoes because there is no chance that they are going to turn red now.  The high yesterday was about 61° F.  I also picked all the remaining bell peppers; about 9 or so.

That reminds me; we went to Blairsville on Wednesday, to the Union County farmer's market and did some trading.  We took three dozen eggs and traded one of them for a huge butternut squash.  We traded two dozen and paid the difference for a quart jar of local sourwood honey with the beekeeper himself.  This is the good stuff.  Local, not pasteurized or factory processed. Good RAW honey. Which reminds me that I need to do a post someday on why pasteurization has it's place, but it's a bad idea to pasteurize everything; including milk. That's right, I said it and I mean it.   Anyway, we also got some great red bell peppers for just .33¢ each.  We also got some of the finest, fresh apples from right across the border in North Carolina.  Fresh sweet potatoes that had been dug up that morning.  We had a couple of them that same night, and there is just no comparing them to the crap you buy in the supermarket.  We came home with about 60 pounds of food and only spent about $20.  We can't wait to go back.

Baruch HaShem ("blessed is The Name") for how He spreads out the growing and blooming of the various plants.  The yard is full of various species of dandelion and the chickens are loving it.  Even though I move the arks over fresh ground every day, I still take some time when I can, to pick handfuls of dandelion leaves and feed them by hand.  Moxie is absolutely puzzled about why the chickens would like this green stuff.  The hens have gotten used to Moxie's presence now.  This was made very clear the other day, when, after it had rained, I needed to go out and clean out the chicken feeders that hang on the wire cage.  You see, the dry food turns to mush, but the chickens seem to like it even better that way, but it doesn't work in those gravity feeders.  So I scoop it all out and put it in a ceramic dish and set it just outside the ark so the chickens can stretch their necks out and eat it out of the dish.  Well, while I was tending the other ark, I looked over to find Moxie eating out of the same dish with four of the chickens eating with her, nose to beak.  Wish I could have gotten a picture of that!

Also last night, as I was pulling up the last of the tomato vines, Brewster the rooster decided to "take care of business" with one of the hens, which always involves some commotion and noise, to which Moxie runs over as if she needs to play the protector, and I have to yell at her to mind her own business.  It is nice to know that she sees the chickens as part of the pack and seems protective of them.  A couple of days before that, when I was collecting eggs, she stood up and put her paws on the threshold of the door to Ark I and three of the golden comets were up there to get petted.  She stuck her nose in to sniff and one of the hens pecked her on the nose and she backed off.  Moxie has turned out to be a wonderful adoptee.  I've had six dogs so far. My favorites were the beagles (mother and daughter) that were so different in personality you wouldn't have believed they were related.  But Moxie has been so quick to learn and is so appreciative of her new home.  When we took her to town in the Jeep ("Elvis"  Don't ask me; it's a Twyla thing.) It only took three times for her to understand, "Get in the back."  She walks almost perfectly on the leash.  She will lay quietly on the floor near the table while we eat and never begs.  She scratches a little to be let inside and knows not to bark at us.

When we are working at the computers in the office, she just wants to lay on her little blanket that Twyla put down for her in the corner.  When I am working out in the yard, she just wants to be my shadow.  We bought a 20 foot chain to restrain her in the yard, but so far, haven't had to use it.  She might wander a hundred yards out of the yard, but only briefly and doesn't get into any mischief.  We live almost to the end of a dead end road up here in the mountain so it's not likely she could get hit by a car.

We had a blast yesterday, going to take the photos to create the new header for Twyla's blog.  Here is the first picture I took to test the perspective and decide on the positioning of the camera. It's an unoccupied house on the road up to our mountain.  We'd been thinking about using it as a background for weeks now.

In the next few days I will need to intensify my efforts at getting the wood stove in place and then putting up plastic sheeting over the screen of the front porch to turn it into a green house for the winter.  The cold weather crops are doing well and we've had some delicious salad with swiss chard, spinach, romaine, buttercrunch lettuce and sheep sorrel.  Life is good.