Locally-grown Popcorn!

Here’s a recipe for making popcorn from the hard little jewel-like cobs available this year from Moonlight Rose Farm. You need only need 2 tablespoons of kernels to make about 4 cups of fluffy popcorn, a perfect amount for a small, already seasoned, 8-inch diameter cast-iron skillet.

Popping corn

• 1 small ear of popping corn
• ¼ teaspoon corn, peanut, or canola oil
• salt

Put the ear of corn in the middle of a clean kitchen towel—it will help stop kernels skittering. Pinch the bowl of a teaspoon between thumb and forefinger and use it to excavate 2 tablespoons of kernels from cob. (Store the rest of the cob for future use.)

Mix kernels in a small bowl with a quarter teaspoon of oil and a couple of pinches of salt, the finer the better. (Salt will stick better if it’s pounded fine with a pestle and mortar.) Spread kernels over the bottom of an 8-inch cast iron pan and cover pan with a piece of foil, crimping foil around its edge. Poke slits in foil to let steam escape and put pan on the stove. (We used a gas stove.)

Switch on heat under pan, and let it heat up to medium-hot, shaking pan from time to time to roll kernels. You’ll start to hear popping noises, more and more popping noises. Keep shaking pan from time to time until popping crescendos and slows down. Cut heat under pan and let pan sit on the stove until the popping has completely subsided.

Uncover and pour snowy-white pop corn into a bowl. Season to taste with a little more salt. It doesn’t really need anything else. A trickle of melted butter and other seasonings are entirely optional .