National Popcorn Day

Did you even know there was a National Popcorn Day? Neither did I.
But I love popcorn so why not take a little trip down popcorn memory lane.

Many years ago I attended a workshop while I was a cook at a preschool. We were asked a question- "If you had to live on one food for days and weeks or even years, what would that be?" A no-brainer. Why popcorn of course. Think about it. It's salty and crunchy. It's full of fiber and that's a good thing, if you know what I mean. I'm assuming that I would have the means to melt my beloved butter in which to amply drizzle over the popcorn. And who doesn't love butter. I mean butter happens to be my favorite food group for crying out loud. And fat is good for the skin right? So I won't get so wrinkly as the years go by.
What else... well, it seems I don't ever tire of eating popcorn. Ever. Now mind you, I don't eat it very often now. But I used to eat popcorn a lot! Like daily. Especially when I was pregnant with my kids. And I'm talking making it the old fashion way. Don't tell me some of you don't know what the old-fashion way is! Quite frankly, the ONLY way to pop popcorn.
Here's what you do-

Go to a thrift store and get yourself a heavy bottom old fry pan or a 3 qt. sauce pan (preferably NOT non stick) with lid. Designate it just for popping popcorn. We had a big old frying pan stored in the bottom drawer under the oven, while growing up on the farm. I now use a real old vintage sauce pan.
You heat the oil, add the kernels and keep the lid partly open for the air to escape and then you shake it over the heat. Does anyone out there still do it that way? Or is it a lost art and you've all settled for that mediocre microwavable muck. (did you know muck means waste matter? Sorry about that.) Then as the kernels are popping you dump the popcorn in a big bowl and keep returning the pan to the burner until all the kernels are popped.

We always melted the butter in the already heated pan and pour the butter over the bowl of popcorn. And to make sure you got every last drop of butter, you would transfer the popcorn from the bowl back in the pan to scoop up every last morsel of buttery sweetness. Like I said, I love butter.

If this sounds a tad bit too confusing, I actually found a similar recipe HERE that makes a bit more sense.

Anyway, an evening of popcorn and pop was a big deal in our home growing up. We'd gather around the TV and watch the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday night or the yearly showing of The Wizard of OZ. A couple times a year we'd get out the old projecter and watch old home movies. With homemade popcorn of course.

Maybe that's another reason why I never tire of popcorn. The nostalgia, the memories, the warm fuzzy feelings of home and family... and hot, buttery popcorn at the center of it all.

Googled National Popcorn Day and found this-

National Popcorn Day is celebrated at the end of January, although its exact date is a matter of debate. Various sources report it as January 19; others claim it takes place on whatever day the Super Bowl falls on. The Popcorn Board is often asked about the origins of this day; unfortunately, we do not know how or when this celebration began. Some other individual or organization (with obvious good taste) began this tradition.

The connection to the Super Bowl seems natural enough. It’s a highly regarded annual sporting competition pitting the top two national football teams against each other. Millions of viewers from around the globe hunker down with bowls of their favorite snack—popcorn—in heated anticipation of who will win the battle.

And to think that one of those NFL teams is the ARIZONA CARDINALS!! GO CARDS!