Caramel Corn

One thing I’ve noticed since becoming an adult? 3-day weekends feel just like summer vacation. Remember how you felt on the last day of school every year? That’s exactly how I feel the Friday before a 3-day weekend. For some reason, having that one extra day off is a game changer, and I know that when I leave work, there’s nothing ahead of me but wonderful possibilities for those 3 days.

 And then, life has to go and get in the way.

This past Friday, I left work full of giddy excitement for the weekend ahead. TJ and I were treating ourselves by going out to dinner and I felt like nothing could bring me down! Well, it turns out that my super cute maxi dress did just that – it got caught under the seat of my car, and when I went to step out, I got all twisted up. Face? Meet asphalt. An hour later, we were leaving the hospital, me with a very swollen and fractured nose, and TJ with a growling stomach and a new wife who looked completely pitiful. We ended up making the best out of our weekend - TJ took excellent care of me, and we spent most of our time curled up on the couch, watching lots of TV and doing lots of relaxing. And even though it wasn’t what we had planned, we had a great weekend. Spending 3 days lounging around the house reminded me of the days back in elementary school when I was sick and would need to stay home with my mom. I remember that sometimes on those days, my mom would make us some amazing caramel corn and we’d watch movies together, and it would always make me feel so much better. Unfortunately, over the years, we lost that recipe, but this one is the closest I’ve been able to find. So, even if you’re in perfect health, curl up on the couch with a bowl of this, a good movie and someone you love. I promise it’ll make you feel good.

Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:

• 12 cups popped popcorn (about 1/2 cup kernels
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• salt, to taste

Instructions:

• Over medium heat, pour the vegetable oil in a large pot.
• Place one kernel in the pot, and place the lid on top, at an angle, so that steam can escape.
  
  
• When the kernel pops, pour the rest of the kernels into the pot.


• Gently shake the pot back and forth, keeping the top slightly open, until all the kernels have popped.
  
• Pour the popcorn into a large bowl and salt as desired.
  
• Place the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a microwave safe dish, and microwave for 30 seconds.
  
• Stir it all to combine, and microwave for another 30 seconds.
  
• Stir in the baking soda and the vanilla, and microwave for a final 30 seconds.
  
• When the caramel is done cooking, pour it over the popcorn, and stir well to coat.
  
• If you like your caramel corn on the chewy side, you can eat it as is.
• If you prefer it to be a little crunchy, spread the popcorn onto a foil lined baking sheet and bake in 5 minutes intervals at 250, stirring between each interval.
  
  
• We ended up baking it for a total of 15 minutes.