No, it is not glamorous, and it is far from complicated, but popcorn is and will probably continue to be one of my most beloved snacks. And since Matt constantly tells me that this is the single greatest popcorn he has ever had, every time I make it, I decided to release the highly guarded secret of perfect popcorn to the masses.
Step one – Buy this
Coconut oil is a staple in my house for roughly 9 zillion things but it is the absolute star of popcorn. They actually used to use coconut oil in old timey theaters back in the day before people got all twisted up about saturated fat. Not knowing at the time, of course, that saturated fat from animals (lipids that are solid at room temp ie butter) are not able to be broken down as easily if at all, as the fat in coconut oil which contains a higher content of cholesterol lowering acid. AAAAAAAAAnd moving on.
You could use another oil, but why would you?
Put 2 T oil in a COLD deep pan with a lid and add 1/4 – 1/3 cup popcorn kernels. I like the white kind 🙂
Turn heat to med – med high and cover. Swish the pan around every few seconds until you start to hear them pop. *It’s important that the popcorn doesn’t get a chance to touch the lid once the pot starts to fill up. It makes it kinda stale if it gets damp*
Keep swishing around while the kernels are popping like mad and when they start to slow to about once every 10 seconds, remove from heat.
Matt likes his with just a sprinkle of salt, and me well I am more of a wild child. I put about 1/8 t of cayenne and several generous shakes of nutritional yeast on mine.
This morning we had Liam’s favourite breakfast, Scrambled tofu and toast.
I kinda love it too ❤
Lunch was a sedate affair with left over taco salad and warmed up can of Amy’s Black bean Chili. I went in the kitchen to fix lunch and was like… “omg.. I’m done? that was flipping easy! As soon as were done eating Imma go play zelda!” Thats actually what went through my mind. I R LOSER. I ❤ leftover taco stuff lol.
I squished up 2 fritos on my chili lol.
Now, to the love of my food life, lentils. I have trouble finding ways to use them, even though I love them cooked and tossed in a little vinaigrette and eaten over salads or plain, Matt doesn’t care for their earthy taste.
Enter Veganomicon (have I mentioned that I love this book?)
Lentils and rice with caramelized onions from Veganomicon.
3 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced into thin rings
3/4 cup olive oil ( I only used 1/2 cup and I still felt it was too much, next time I will only use 1/4)
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 cup red lentils (I used brown)
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
In a large deep baking pan ( I used my cast iron skillet), toss onion rings in oil and roast for 25 – 30 min stirring often until golden brown and a little crisp, some burnt ones are okay too. When done, remove from oven and set aside.
Boil 4 cups of water, add rice and spices, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for 15 min. Add lentils and return to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover cooking for 45 min. (I cooked mine about 35 and it was still a little too long, when the water is gone, turn off heat. )
It seemed a little dry to me, and I was going to stir in some vegetable stock, but my hand magicaly went to my coconut milk in the fridge so I put a couple tablespoons of that in there when it was done cooking it. I also added 1 -1 1/2 t salt and some pepper to the finished product. This.Is.YUMMY. Liam tore it up and I had to keep myself from going back for more. Since it’s just brown rice and lentils, it is pretty calorie dense but it is soooooooooooooooooo good I almost couldn’t help myself. I was going to braise some kale but changed my mind at the last minute and opted for a simple massaged kale salad instead.
Well, hope that there is something on this ridiculously long post that some of you will try and love as much as me! ❤ I hear a malbec and a book calling my name! Night! 🙂
Granola makin mommy's Blog 