Cheap Tip Saturday 9/24

Cheap Tip: Make Your Own Popcorn

The popcorn in the bag, while convenient, is not matched by the cheap price and tastiness of bulk popcorn. Growing up I only knew the delight of microwaved popcorn. I was always slightly envious of my friends who had an air popper. The loud, hot air that could transform jumping kernels into fluffy puffs of popcorn seemed magical to me. Last year, Z. and I bought our first appliance together: an air popcorn maker. I got the cheapest model when it was on sale. Prior to this, $15 seemed like way too much money to spend on something that will perform only one task. Considering we can always get high-quality popcorn at the Market of Choice for $0.89/pound for conventional kernels and when on sale, $0.99/pound for organic kernels (definitely worth the extra money!). When a big bowl bowl of popcorn requires 1/4 cup of kernels, the $15 appliance is well worth the money.

All through college, before I had my precious popcorn popper, I made popcorn on the stove. I would heat a high-sided saucepan over medium heat with a tablespoon or two of canola oil. I would pour my popcorn kernels into the pot. I would place the lid on the pot and leave the stove, shaking the pan occasionally and much more frequently once the kernels start popping. I liked to pull the pan off the heat when there was only one or two kernels popping at a time and there was a pause between explosions. I would keep the lid on for another minute or two because I knew a stray kernel would pop. This popcorn had to be eaten right away due to the oil and would not make good leftovers.

Plain air-popped popcorn on the other hand does make a tasty snack later. Just remember to put it in an air-tight container when it is cool, unless of course, you enjoy stale popcorn.

Variations I enjoy:

• Popcorn and Olive Oil. I love popcorn drizzled with extra virgin olive oil seasoned with some kosher salt. Paula Deen will be disappointed in me. I prefer olive oil to butter on my popcorn.
• Popcorn with Rosemary Infused Olive Oil. Over the lowest heat, warm the amount of olive oil you plan on using, about 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add one tablespoon dried rosemary. There should be no sizzling; you are just gently warming the olive oil. Allow to steep for 10 or so minutes. Pour the olive oil and rosemary through a fine-mesh strainer, discard the rosemary, drizzle the infused olive oil over popped popcorn, and sprinkle kosher salt over the top. 
• Popcorn with Nutritional Yeast.Nutritional yeast can be found in the bulk section of natural foods stores (or Winco, for that matter). I was introduced to this variation of popcorn by some Eugene-hippies that I was hanging out with. This recipe is all that I remember of them. Nutritional yeast sounds scary but is actually quite tasty with a nutty flavor that reminds me of Parmesan cheese. In fact, nutritional yeast is generally a featured ingredient in vegan cheese substitute recipes. If you are from Wyoming and reading this, please do not let all this talk of hippies and vegan foods deter you from trying nutritional yeast. The picture at the top is a delicious bowl of popcorn with olive oil and nutritional yeast. To enjoy nutritional yeast and popcorn I drizzle olive oil over my popcorn. Then, I add nutritional yeast and kosher salt to taste.
• Ranch-a-Corn. This is not for everyone. Either you love the flavor of ranch or you do not. I, of course, do love ranch. To make this variety of popcorn, you will need powdered ranch dressing mix. For a big bowl of popcorn, made with about 1/4 cup kernels, you will need 1-2 tablespoons ranch mix. Take it from me, too much of the mix is not desired. It is way too easy to breathe the stuff in when trying to eat the popcorn.
• Grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese. Need I say more?

Sincronizada Pacific Northwest-Style

My understanding of authentic Latin food is very limited but I have learned that one of the features that sets a sincronizada apart from a quesadilla is that a sincronizada uses two tortillas to sandwich tasty fillings. A quesadilla, on the other hand, features a tortilla folded in half. So, I decided to call my snack sincronizada.

I drew inspiration from the cheese sincronizadas that have seemed to become a staple the last couple of weeks thanks in part to a recent sale on shredded cheese to create a variation of one of life's simple joys: pear or apple slices topped with a piece of sharp cheddar. The creation of my Sincronizada Pacific Northwest-Style began just like many dinners, I sprinkled some cheddar cheese on a corn tortilla while a small skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray heated up over medium. Then, the process took a pleasant turn. I placed pear slices, about one-fourth of a pear, in a single layer over the cheese, sprinkled a tiny bit more cheese over the pears, and seasoned with freshly ground pepper and kosher salt. The salt and pepper really made the pear sincronizada special. Lastly, I topped the pears with a second tortilla, placing the delicious package in the warm pan. I toasted each side until the tortilla was slightly golden, a few minutes each side, very carefully flipping the sincronizada over. Enjoy!

Dried Apples and Pears

I love this time of year! There are lots of fresh apples and pears at great prices. You will also see more varieties of apples now then later in the year. Two years ago we noticed a handful of varieties of apples we either had never heard of or never tried before. We went on an apple tasting adventure. I found I really enjoy Ambrosia apples but my absolute favorite are Jazz. Basically what I am getting at, take advantage of the bounty and try the different apples, you may find something delightfully surprising.

We took advantage of the sale at Fred Meyer and bought about 4 1/2 pounds of organic apples, mostly Golden Delicious and a few small Honeycrisps, and about 3 1/2 pounds of organic pears. We will be keeping an eye out for more sales. Z's dehydrator has four trays so we did two batches of apples yesterday. I washed the apples, he sliced them very thinly, I tossed them in a little lemon juice to prevent any browning, and we placed them on the trays. The picture, above, started out as about three pounds. Who knows how long we'll be able to make that last but if kept in an air-tight container, the dried fruit should last for a few months. Enjoy!

More Adventures with Hummus

Ninja: The coolest kitchen appliance ever!

I know I have already shared a hummus recipe (Hummus!) Redundancy is not unusual with me. If you can't handle repetition, never ever ask me to tell a story. I have a serious problem repeating myself and telling you the same story over and over again. With food, I love figuring out lots of different ways to use the same basic ingredients or make the same dish taste different. I love my hummus recipe but we had some ideas we have been wanting to try. What would happen if we cooked the garbanzos first? It's amazing!

We rinsed and drained the garbanzos and added them to a small pot with a fair amount of olive oil and some garlic and cooked it over low for awhile. The beans will release some water so leave the lid off the pot. We let everything cool down before we made the hummus. I always add olive oil and lemon juice to taste and until the it reaches the consistency that we like. Don't forget, lots of black pepper. This new version of hummus was extremely smooth, nutty, and tasted the most like hummus from the store. Enjoy!

Hummus

One of my favorite cheap snacks is hummus and carrots. I eat this all the time! I'm sure there are plenty of great recipes out there but I've included the one that I always make. I don't include tahini. When I first started making my own hummus, I would add tahini. But, I didn't notice a difference when it was in the hummus and I didn't notice when it wasn't in it. So, I don't add tahini.

1 can drained and rinsed garbanzo beans

a couple teaspoons of bottled lemon juice

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 (I like 3) cloves of garlic, grated

salt and lots of pepper

I have made hummus quite a few times in a normal-sized food processor but my mini-processor works soooo much better. I can't get my hummus as smooth in the bigger processor as I can in the small one. I don't really know how much lemon juice and olive oil I add. I just add some, mix it, then add some more of something if it doesn't have the consistency or flavor I want yet. As Gordon Ramsay is found of yelling, "Taste your food!!!" Season your food the way you like it. If raw garlic is not your thing, I find roasting it first makes it much more mild. Another thing you can do, is grate or chop it, and saute it slightly on the stove with the olive oil you'll be adding to the hummus. I love the spiciness of the raw garlic, so I just use that now.