The Chef Within

I remember the first time I tasted kettle korn, which was years ago.  We were at a craft fair (no I’m not really into crafts), but it was the 4th of July and at one of the booths a gentleman was stirring a huge kettle of corn.  We were intrigued and since my husband and I both love popcorn we bought a bag.  We fought over every last kernel and have been hooked ever since.  What makes kettle korn so addictive is the combination of salty and sweet.  Most palates loves to be teased like that.

But of course, being the chef and frugal person that I am, I was not about to resign myself to a lifetime of purchasing this korn.  I had to figure out how to make it myself.   So the quest began and after a few less than perfect batches I discovered what I think is the perfect combination of ingredients.  In fact I prefer my recipe to many store-bought brands.

Here is the correct ratio of ingredients:

1 generous tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 heaping tablespoon of sugar

3 full tablespoons of popcorn

(salt to taste, after popped)

This small batch makes just enough for my husband and I and should be made in a very small saucepan (about a 6 cup pan, no bigger).  If you double the recipe increase the pan size.

Directions: Combine oil, sugar and popcorn in pan, cover with a lid and take to a screaming hot burner.  Set it on the burner and move it gently back and forth to keep the kernels moving.  Continue that action even as it pops.

As popping slows down and then stops, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.  It is at this point that you sprinkle it with salt and toss it with a spoon.  Taste the korn.  If you need to add more salt, do so.  Remember that it is the contrast between the two that makes this good so don’t be too skimpy with the salt.

Popcorn tip:  it is so easy for kernels of corn to get “old” and lose their poppability.  Here’s the link to my radio website with some great information on rehydrating those kernels because the good news is…they can be revived!  Check this out (still struggling with linking):

http://132.178.236.111/information/FFT/recipes/Popcorn,%20Rehydrating%20Kernals-2005-12-14.asp

 In our area there are several flowering plum trees.  These are meant to be ornamental trees and highly appreciated because of their beautiful spring blossoms and rich burgundy colored leaves.  But inspite of it’s genetic change the tree still produces tiny fruit. 

Last Sunday the family came over for dinner and our grandchildren asked if they could pick the fruit from the tree. 

To be honest I had forgotten that the tree bears fruit and it’s easy to forget because the leaves and the fruit are identical in color, so the fruit does not stand out.  The kids picked a small container full and brought it in for everyone to try.  The fruit was slightly tart but delicious.  I thought to myself…I have got to put that wonderful, pesticide free, natural and organic fruit to use.  I asked the girls to pick enough for a batch of jam and it was awesome and then today they picked more and we made plum syrup which we will use for pancakes, ice cream and anything else we can think of.  If you have these trees in your yard (or neighbor’s yard or in your subdivision common area, here’s how you can make this syrup. 

Pick a small container of plums.

Give them a good rinse under cold water.

Transfer the fruit to a quart pan and for this amount of fruit (which would be a generous two cups) use one cup of sugar.

We even added a cinnamon stick to this recipe and in the batch we made earlier, we included a vanilla bean.  Both those items are totally optional.  No need to add water.  Take the saucepan to medium heat and stir the sugar into and around the plums.  Soon enough the heat will force the juice from the fruit and you will have a syrupy liquid.

If you have a potato masher, help it along by mashing the fruit.

Allow the mixture to simmer for about five minutes and then remove from the heat.

Add a tiny amount of salt and then pass the contents through a sieve, pressing and stirring with a spoon to get every last drop.

 You’ll be left with a pulp which contains the seeds and skins.

That’s it! 

Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge.  If the syrup is too thick you can thin it with water.  If it is too thin just simmer it a little longer until it thickens up.

I even made a batch of jam with these whole plums and simply strained the mixture once it had cooked for the recommended cooking time.  It was awesome.  Such a good way of putting these lovely, free fruit to optimum use.

Last week, the youth in our church went on a pioneer trek.  We essentially reinacted some of the historic events associated with travel across the plains.  The clothing, transportation and food were prepared to  period (or as close as we could get).  In doing the research for appropriate foods for the time and travel I discovered something called hard tack.  Hard tack (or called sea biscuits by sailors) was basically flour and water baked into a thick cracker.  It was used routinely by the military and settlers because it was lightweight, tasty (one could argue that point), versatile and had an amazing shelf life.  I discovered two things in this excercise.

One…I learned that the basic flour and water recipe actually evolved and developed variations with the expertise of good cooks.  Instead of using just flour and water, cooks of the time started adding oats and multiple grains, some fat (usually in the form of lard or bacon fat), salt and buttermilk (the available by-product when making butter).  As you can imagine, the end result was infinitely better tasting and still met the other criteria for travel.

Secondly….as I made multiple batches of this “hard tack” I would vary the recipe according to the things that I had read.  One recipe said the dough should be baked with a thickness of 1/2 inch, others said 1/4 inch (kind of like a graham cracker, pictured above) and yet another said the thinner, the better. 

So I tried baking the dough rolled out at a 1/4 inch and also wafer thin (pictured directly above).  The 1/2 inch thickness sounded like a “toothduller” which was exactly what they were nicknamed when they became especially old and stale. 

When the dough was rolled out very thin (or pressed out with my fingers) the end result was very much like a wheat thin.  They were delicious!  I couldn’t stop eating them and literally had to take them out to the garage and get them out of sight.  So now I’m blogging about it in case you might ever want to make snacking crackers.  I’m going to post the recipe on the radio website, for those interested.

All the dry ingredients are mixed in a large bowl.  The shortening is added and crumbled with your fingers, then buttermilk is added and mixed until the mixture gathers into a ball.  At this point you have a couple of options.

1) If you want a thicker cracker you can divide the dough in half.  If you have a kitchen scale this would be a good use for it. 

Roll the dough onto a lightly floured counter to roughly the size of baking sheet. 

Transfer to greased baking sheets and work with your hands to get the dough to all corners. 

Pressing with the heel of your hand helps push the dough into corners.

Dough should be very level and even throughout.

Sprinkle with salt…

Score and bake as explained on the radio website…

Bake halfway and then cut through the lines created by scoring.

Flip each square to continue baking the second side.

2) If you want a thinner wafer then divide the dough into thirds and do the same thing.  It is a little harder to work with since there is less dough to move around.  But it can be done.  Bake according to directions.  When cool, break into shards and store in airtight container.  Not only are these great for personal snacking, I think they would make awesome gifts!

I feel for parents that have children who are picky eaters.  I also feel badly for the children because I’m afraid they’ll miss out on a lifetime of something that could bring them great pleasure.  But the greater sympathy probably extends to the parent because I know how frustrating it is to want to provide a nutritious meal but to be constantly turned down by your children.  On the radio I have, many times, discussed ways of helping children become more adventuresome eaters.  But recently I overheard a couple of young mothers visiting on this very topic and I want to share their conversation with you.

One of the mothers was saying that she had found a way to get her child to eat new foods.  She heard (or read) that if a child sees a new food several times (eight was actually the number stated) that the child would grow accustomed to seeing the food and would eventually try it.  So what she had been doing is making the normal foods that she wanted to make for the family.  She would put some of the new food on this child’s plate and just let it sit there.  She wouldn’t push or force her to eat it.  It just sat on her plate with no comments.  The next week or whenever she served it again, she did the same thing.  She said that when she put the food on the child’s plate at that fifth meal the child actually took a bite and by the sixth meal her daughter was eating the food.  Isn’t that amazing?

We all like familiarity in our food.  In this case the familiarity is developed by seeing the new food over and over until it’s no longer a stranger on the plate.  If you struggle with picky eaters it’s certainly worth a try.