Home-made Microwave Popcorn

I love popcorn!!  I love the ease of microwave popcorn, but I don't like all the chemicals included in it...  The other option is the hot air popper, which we use a lot.. but we store it in a cupboard that is hard to access.   All of this means we don't do popcorn very often.
The other day I was in the grocery store and almost bought the microwave popcorn, then I wondered if I could make it myself.   Turns out I can!
I tried it two ways

First get a simple brown paper bag (yes, a paper lunch bag) and measure out 1/4 of popcorn kernels, 1 tsp olive oil and some salt.

 Pour popcorn kernels in paper bag.

 Add oil and salt.

 Shake, then fold top of bag 3 times.   Put in microwave -- you will need to listen to your own microwave.   Mine took 2 mins.

 Carefully open up bag (there is some steam) and pour into bowl.

 Voila --  popcorn!

And for the more healthy option -- get your paper bag, and 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, place in bag, fold top and pop in microwave.

Who knew microwave popcorn could be so easy and so inexpensive (and so healthy!!)  I found the taste was very similar.   I will continue with the plain popping (no oil) -- kids didn't care, they wanted butter on top. 


Recipe:
1/4 popcorn kernels
paper bag


OR


1/4 popcorn kernels
1 tsp olive oil
salt 
paper pag


place in bag (shake if adding flavouring) fold top of bag 3 times, place in microwave for 2-3 mins.   Cooking times will depend on your own microwave.   Listen and when the pop slows down, its time to take popcorn out.  Mine took 2 minutes.
Enjoy chemical free popcorn!  

1st Maple Syrup Season -- Success!

As you may have read this was our very first year tapping the trees in our yard.  

 There was a lot of sap collecting...   We collected for 4 weeks.

 There was a lot of checking the buckets for sap.  Only one day we forgot to empty and they over flowed.

 There was a lot of this... Boiling down -- Every weekend for the last 4 weekends we did this.

 This was batch #1...  Our very first - which turned out to be a complete disaster.   We boiled it too long, using a thermometer which didn't work very well.  This one actually ended up in the garbage.

 Mmmmm, batch#2

We sure didn't want the 2nd batch to end up like the first - this one we didn't boil down enough.  But we made 6 cups of beautiful sweet light syrup.

Batch #3 

We got it!   Thick, sweet syrup.   This time 8 cups.   After the huge success of this, we boiled batch #2 down and got it perfect too.

Batch #4

Again, beautiful....   We learned the later in the season, the darker the colour.   The colour is amazing and it is sweet, just as sweet as batch #3.   This time we harvested 10 cups.

What an amazing experience.   If you have maple trees in your yard, then you have to try this!   We now have over 20 cups of maple syrup!   

I know I have said this in the past, but this summer we promise to mark all the maple trees on our property.  As a wise man once said, if some is good, more is better!

Pickled Turnip

You know how you go and get a shawarma and there are delicious pink pickled things on it -- those are pickled turnip, and I love them!   Can't get enough of them.  There is only one problem with them, the grocery stores that I regularly visit NEVER carry them.

What is one to do??  Sit and sulk?   No, what ones does is figure out how to make them!   That way all homemade shawarma, gyros and even salads can have a never ending topping of pickled turnips!

Step #1 - remember to get the turnip and beets at the grocery store... it took me a few trips before I remembered.

Pickled Turnip

Ingredients - about 5 turnips, 1 beet, garlic, vinegar, salt and water.

 Peel the turnips.

 Then cut the into smaller than "french fry" size.  Think of your sandwich and then think if the size you want them.

 Next take your beet and peel the skin then cut unto chunks.    It is at this point your fingers will start to turn red.

 I added garlic, because garlic is good.  And why not?

 While the vinegar, water and salt come to a boil, stuff the jars with the turnip adding a beet and garlic here and there.  You can see the beets start to "bleed" right away.

 Here we have the two jars full.   Into the fridge they go.

 Here they are about 5 days later... Good enough to eat already!

 And about a week and a half later they are good to go!  

Recipe:

5 small turnips

1 beet

3 or 4 cloves of garlic

1 3/4 cup water

1/2 cup vinegar

2 tsp kosher salt

Heat the vinegar, water and salt over medium heat, just until it comes to a boil.  In the meantime peel and cut the turnip into match stick size, peel and cut the beet into chunks and peel the garlic and chop in half.

Start layering the turnip into the jars.  Divide the beets and garlic evenly between the jars and the layers.  Add the hot liquid to the turnips, put in fridge and wait... and wait... and wait a little longer.  After about 10 days they will be ready.

Enjoy!

Home made sweetened condensed milk

I love to bake, to try new things - I call them experiments...  I often start reading the recipe then decide to make it before reading the entire ingredients list.  And sometimes, I read the title only and start.  


The other day while I started making a snack for the kids it happened, I started the recipe without fully reading the whole ingredient list.   It started off not to bad, I measured out the oats, sugar, butter then I got to condensed milk.   Arghh, I had no condensed milk.   I have to admit, it's an ingredient I usually stay away from.   But this was started, what to do?


Make some of course!

Who knew how simple it was to make - sugar, milk, vanilla and about an hour of stirring it on the pot!

There you have it - homemade sweetened condensed milk!


3 cups milk (I used skim milk - it's what I had)
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla


Put it all into a pot, heat to medium until the sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble.  Turn heat to medium low and stir often (all the time) for about an hour.


It reduces to about 2 cups of condensed milk.