one less gadget

I am staying at my parents' house as you all know by now, and they are completely addicted to my pretzels.  I dug this one with my own hands: I started making them, and now every day I get a short and simple list of requests: please make more pretzels.  I bake them in the evening, and by the next morning they are all gone.  I keep on waiting for the day when they say they've had enough, but two weeks have passed and the daily pretzel diet continues.

We were going to watch a movie today but because it rained my parents decided to postpone it for a different day.  Don't ask me why, since it rains daily here, I am guessing they just don't feel like watching a Fifth Avenue Cinema movie in French with subtitles.  In any case, we are watching it at some point this week (I think it is called Potiche or something like that) and I will need popcorn to smuggle into the theatre.  I usually air pop my own popcorn and put yeast flakes on it to make it healthy (B12 rich), but my parents don't have a popcorn maker, so I have experimented today with a different technique, which I think is as old as the history of popcorn:  just pop them in the pan.  You take a pan with a lid, put a thin layer of oil on the bottom (use a silicone basting brush or a piece of crumpled paper napkin to spread it around) and let it heat up.  Then, add 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels and salt to taste (i.e. a lot).  Cover with the pan and set it on highest heat setting, removing the pan from the heat once all the kernels have popped.  Do not remove the lid yet, wait five minutes.  You'll see why if you don't follow my advice.

Anyway, that was my method, and it created delicious popcorn.  I think I am going to donate my popcorn maker to Salvation Army to save space.  And by all means, now you don't have to buy and make popcorn in the microwavable bags, it is expensive, full of chemicals and it creates environmental thrash (the bag).  If you want to use the microwave, I am sure that putting the kernels in a ceramic or glass bowl with a plate on top and microwaving on high for 2 to 3 minutes will work.  I am going to try that next.