It’s October. A wonderful month, when you can actually see the change of seasons as fallen leaves crunch beneath your feet. The scarf that is hanging on the hook by the front door beckons you to grab it, and tie it snuggly around your neck, and the end of the month with all of its “BOO’S,” costumes, and enough candy to rot the teeth right out of your head, is just a few short weeks away. Yes, I love Halloween. Alas, I do not dress up anymore, but I remember my costumes fondly: Lucille Ball, with a giant orange wig; the Futuristic Girl, with a silver skirt a la Judy Jetson; and the requisite Black Cat, leotard and all.
With all of the candy lining the grocer’s shelves, it got me thinking about my favorites; Candy Corn, sweetly striped; Russell Stover’s marshmallow pumpkins; and those hard bricks of bright pink popcorn that my mother and I devoured every year. It wasn’t that my mother was junk food junkie, nor was she a health fanatic, she just has a soft spot for brightly colored, Halloween candy. It’s becoming harder and harder to find those leaden bricks of sugary confections, and they are not something I should probably eat anyway, with the money I have sunk into proper orthodonture work, but there are times when I get a hankering for the salty-sweet goodness of popcorn and a bit of sugar.
And so I give you Citrus Scented Popcorn. Making your own popcorn is easy, and it can be adorned any which way that you choose. For pennies on the dollar you can eat piles of this demurely sweet snack food, and save the worry about going to the dentist for another day. I jest, this popcorn is perfect– not too sweet, just a bit salty, and flavored with fresh orange zest, it is decidedly fresh in flavor. Made in October, it’s quite festive too. Boo!
A delightful salty-sweet snack, this popcorn is reminiscent of kettle corn, but is enriched with fresh orange zest.
Citrus Scented Popcorn
1/8 cup neutral tasting oil, such as canola, or vegetable
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
zest of 1 orange
In a small bowl mix the sugar, salt, and orange zest, set aside. In a medium sized, lidded saucepan, pour in the oil and the popcorn kernels. Place popcorn over medium heat, secure lid, and begin to shake the pan gently. It is important to keep the popcorn moving in order to avoid scorching. Continue shaking the pan, until you begin to hear kernels popping, about 4 minutes. Once popcorn begins to vigorously pop, turn off the heat, and allow kernels to finish popping.
Pour popcorn out and into large paper grocery bag. In the same saucepan, melt the butter. Pour melted butter onto to the popcorn, then pour in the sugar-orange mixture. Close the bag, and shake popcorn vigorously to season evenly. Pour the popcorn into a bowl, and eat up.
