3 Tips for Stove Popping Popcorn

image by a.g.photography.I never realized that stove popping popcorn could be a difficult endeavor until I mentioned this to some of my work colleagues, who mentioned the issue of burning it. I suppose there is a secret technique to set you up for sucess, follow the recommentions below and show Orville Redenbacher you know what's up.

Choose your Fat

For those of you that like to nerd out about food, here's a chart of the smoke point of various fats: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/50/Smoke-Points-of-Various-Fats. Butter will work, but you'll need better temperature control because it can easily burn/oxidize if you're not watching your heat. I personally like to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil because it has the highest smoke point of the fats I typically have in the house and I prefer the taste.

Heat your oil first

This is what's most often missed when popping popcorn on the stove. If you don't heat the oil first you're more likely to burn it. I'll typically drop the oil with my seasonings (peppers, spices, or sugar) depending on my mood. This will usually take about a minute or so with the stove on. Then drop your kernels, keeping in mind a little bit goes a long way.

Shake above heat source

Once you start popping pick up your pot and make sure to create a little bit of distance between the heat source and the popcorn. I'll usually leave about half to a quarter or an inch from the burner, I've done this on both a gas and electric burner and it works great.

Think about campfire Jiffy Pop and shake your pot like a Polariod picture just above the burner. Once you're popping, just like the microwave kind take queues from the popping frequency and pull it from the heat source as the kernels slow down in popping frequency.

In my most recent batch,  popped yellow popping corn with Tumeric, Paprika, and a dash of salt using extra virgin olive oil. It whad a wonderful a smokey citrus undertone, and ended up being a perfect snack to bring to work the next day because the fat was real it didn't get strangely mushy like the microwave type.

Three Steps for balancing priorities

Balancing lady by orangebromptonIt's often easy to give into the idea that the needs of a household, relationship, or job trump all else. Only recently have I discovered how much easier life is to balance if you apply two easy principles.

Be prepared

Think out the problem, what is it that you really need and how can it be obtained? Allow me to give you a personal example, I've been putting off joining a gym recently. I've given myself the excuse that I'd do it, "as soon as I moved apartments and our offices moved."

I've been in my new apartment since mid-July and in our new office since the second week of August, currently there were are no excuses! Though I never cease to amaze myself with my keen powers of persuasion in the area of procrastination, I only put it off two weeks because the end of the month is when you get the best deals on gym memberships, right? This was the proverbial mounting of excuses that typically get me in trouble. Slowly they cloud my mind with, I'm too tired, I'm too hungry... yada, yada, yada.This is where being prepared is key, if you know what the excuses are, you're perfectly prepared to overturn the objections of your own persuasive logic.

Overturning Objections

I'm a master at convincing myself into believing things that foster laziness and procrasitnation. That's why it's good to flex my inner sales woman by practicing overturning my own objections. Your own inner dialog may sound different but the principle of motiviting yourself remains the same.

e.g. Too tired? = Exercise gives you more energy. Too hungry? = Eat a piece of fruit and get your ass to a yoga class. Don't feel like it? = You enjoy the feeling of the soft couch on your flabby bum, don't you?

The last few days, I've on a mission to get addicted to how working out makes me feel. It's sort of like when I finally figured out that wheat and gluten where making me exhausted. There was an initial boost of energy I noticed, and when I slipped up everything came apart at the seams. That's why I'm focusing my mind on removing obstacles and channeling my personal guilt for giving quality time to myself. While it feels weird to admit that I feel guilt in this area of my life, I know I'm not alone. Which leads me to...

Asking for help

Okay so this component is particularly hard, especially for those of us that like to feel pride in not thinking that they need help. In my household, I do most of the cooking and I'm often prone to giving in to other people's bio-rhythms. For example - if you're hungry, I'll eat. Hell, I'll even make you a killer sandwich! Such is my obsession with food, I approach it with a nearly religious attentiveness. Knowing this about myself, I need to do everything in my power to keep myself from choosing unhealthy habits. One of the ways I've learned to do this is to ask for prep help. There's nothing wrong with being the mastermind in terms of meal planning - it's actually a beautiful thing if you enjoy it. However, a little bit of equipment and/or the ability to ask nicely for help from a second set of hands is extremely important. 

I'm lucky enough to live with my boyfriend who works primarily from home. He's a developer and is fortunate in that he makes his own schedule. This morning, I made a quick marinade for a pork loin and popped it in the fridge on the way out the door. I later sent a chat message requesting help with the rice and pork loin and let him know approximately when I would arrive home. Given my spoor stills and giving an appropriate estimate for my time of arrival, overall it was a success. I came home to someone excited to share about what happened during their day, I worked out, felt amazing, we shared a bottle of wine and a great meal. What more can you want? If you don't have a second set of hands I'd recommend a rice maker with a timer or using quick recipes for during the week dinners.

At the end of the day, getting your priorities strait is about determining what's really important, removing obsticals for yourself, and fully comitting to asking for help when you need it. Today I'm happier for asking for help and removing a feeling of deep obligation for something I typically enjoy. It's often our own inablity to ask for help, recieve it, or give up control that perpetuates our own inablitly to prioritize the things that are most important to us. 

What allows you to maintain balance in your life? Have you ever felt guilt over putting your own needs first? Please share your experiences with me in your comments below.

Get Naked, Fresh Gluten-free Pizza

A couple weeks ago, prior to my vacation in Chicago I spent an hour at the Coolidge Corner Naked Pizza shop touring, talking and tasting. I had tried the gluten free pizza once before but I can say that it was really nice to get an opportunity to hear more about the concept and check out the facilities. First off, the owner Peter, his business partner, staff, and Wendy who works on the company's PR were all very hospitible. It's pretty cool that the concept was very health focused, something that's atypical for what you might consider 'fast' food. Given the good, fast, cheap, Venn diagram it would certainly be the exeception to this visual rather than the rule.

I was surprised not only about how technology forward they were, but also how efficent and tidy everything was. My first experience was a good one, I ordered from my iPhone because Luke and I just moved in to our new place and we didn't have food in the house or internet service *le sigh*. Luckily, the process was quick and easy, I had my two pizzas in less than 30 minutes and they were delicious.

As far as gluten-free goes, I was impresed by the lightness of the dough. Since the crust is made from rice flour rather than garbonzo bean it doesn't make you feel like a lard-butt sloth after you eat it. The texture sort of reminds me of a delecate thin crust which is softer style. I mean this as a compliment as the flavor that isn't so far removed from pizza that you automatically know that it's gluten-free. That said I wonder if the cook times were teaked just slightly for the gluten-free crust it would seem crispier.

Thus far, I've experienced the Superbiotic (twice) one of my favs and a must-try if you're a fan of cilantro (if you're not a fan it can be made sans the soapy flavored cilantro for the herb haters). I also really enjoyed the greenhouse with lots of veggies. If you check it out, let me know what you think!

For non-gluten-free peeps my boyfriend said that he liked the thin crust but prefered the regular, his exact quote was, "It's hard to love any thin-crust pizza after you've had Stella's" (For watertown peeps, http://stellaspizza.com is a must try too.). Since we're in a new neighborhood Naked is a fine local choice, I have to say that I've had my share of gluten-free pizza in Boston and I really like Naked's style.

That said, I'm off to grab a slice right now! NOMS!!!

Gluten-free / Tree Nut-free Granola

Being allergic to nuts and sensitive to gluten makes finding a good granola a chore. Most of the time the prepackaged granola I can eat is very basic, so yesterday I made my own. In addition to being MUCH cheaper than grocery bought granola it's actually really easy to do and fun to adapt. I'd encourage you to use the recipe below as a guideline for your own experimentation. I was fortunate enough to have a number of Navitas Naturals powders and berries on hand which I added, so if you don't have something listed below I encourage you to adapt this to what you do have. There is no reason to spend extra money on ingredients that aren't necessary. Feel free to change up the dried fruit component to anything you like and let me know how it turned out.

I adapted the recipe below from one that Alton Brown published, here. Using the recipe as-is the granola was fine in texture, when I make it again I'll likely add a bit more liquid to the mix. I'd hypothesize that a couple of tablespoons of brown rice syrup would make the liquid bind the oats better and make the texture more of a chunky granola. I'll post an update the next time I make this if my assertion is true.

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 cup unsalted dry roasted cashews (cashews are not tree nuts they're drupes)
• 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut

Wet ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I used Grade A VT Maple because I had it on hand)
  
• 2 tablespoons molasses (this made the kitchen smell like gingerbread or spice cake)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Persian spice (mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom) 
• 1 tablespoon maca root powder (can omit if unavailable)
• 1 teaspoon hemp powder (can omit if unavailable)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon agave

Add post baking

• 1 cup raisins (If you have a Trader Joes available near you I'd recommend using the Golden Berry Blend)
• 1 handful of goji berries
• 1 handful of white mulberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients combine the oats, cashews, pepitas, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

I'd also recommend allowing the mixture to cool fully before storing it. I reused an old steelcut oats tin can to ensure that moisture wouldn't be an issue. If you try this at home let me know what you did differently in the comments below.

Gluten-Free Salmon Cakes

Sometimes having pre-packaged ingredients around the house for a quick dinner can be essential to saving your wallet and sanity. This past week I made a quick subsititution to the recipe on the back of the package - that made for tasty gluten-free salmon cakes. Since I'm also allergic to shellfish, this recipe always helps kicks my crab cake craving. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 (6-oz.) Chicken of the Sea® Premium Skinless & Boneless Pink Salmon Pouch
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs*
3 Tablespoons butter

*In place of breadcrumbs I used 1/3 cup of smashed Glutino crackers, 1/3 cup of cornmeal, and 1/3 cup of maca powder (you can also use corn flour or brown rice flour, this is to bind the fish together). You could also use gluten free breadcrumbs but I have great things to say about the texture of the cornmeal.

Directions

In bowl, combine red pepper, green onions, mayonnaise, lemon juice, seasoned salt, garlic powder- and cayenne pepper. Stir in Salmon, egg and 1/3-cup breadcrumbs (mixture may be sticky). Divide and form mixture into 8-10 balls. Roll salmon balls in remaining breadcrumbs; flatten into cakes about 1/2-inch thick. In skillet, melt butter over Medium heat. Fry salmon cakes 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Pair with salad greens, lemon wedges, and a dill or other complimentary dip.