A few weeks ago, I saw a recipe for microwaved popcorn on the internet. It claimed I could put popcorn kernels in the bottom of a glass bowl, stick a plate on top for a lid, and, after a few minutes in the microwave, enjoy a big bowl of delicious popped cornn. I knew I would have to try it.

Over the years, the making of popcorn has changed dramatically for me. As a child, Mom made it on the stove, or we made it with one of those little Jiffy Pop foil pans. Then came an actual popcorn maker. You filled the bottom with oil, poured some popcorn kernels in, put the lid on and waited for the popcorn to pop. After that, someone came up with the "hot air" popper. Finally, everyone I know started using individually wrapped pacakages of microwave popcorn..

I tried it all of those ways. I never cared much for the hot air popcorn, even though it is healthier due to not using oil in the popping process. I also never really cared for the taste, smell, or texture of microwaved popcorn. Unfortunately, as time progressed microwaved popcorn became the only type made in our home. Since I was resigned to that fact, I embraced the opportunity to try making some with the internet recipe. If I were lucky, it would work and not have that awful fake taste that even the better brands of microwave popcorn all seem to have.

While Rachel was out of town this week, I bought a bag of popcorn kernels and gave it a try. After ten solid minutes in thee microwave, the kernels did start to pop. It wasn't very impressive. You certainly did not have enough popped kernels to fill up a bowl and enjoy. Not wanting to waste the sack of kernels, I decided to use our old hot air popper. It would be better than nothing. Besides, I had three bottles of popcorn seasoning that would give it some flavor. The only thing was that I couldn't find the popper. When Rachel got back home, I asked her about it, and she said it was a casualty of the remodeling last summer. We hadn't used it recently enough for it to earn the right to stay in the house.

I wanted popcorn! I decided to make it on the stove like Mom always did. I was going to go on the internet to see how to do it, but, lo and behold, the directions were right on the bag! I put a little oil in the bottom of a pan, dropped one kernel in, and waited for it to pop. Once it did, I poured in more kernels and put the lid on. Then I constantly shook the pan back and forth until all the popping stopped. That's it! It was just as fast as using a microwave pack. The difference in taste, however was amazing.

This got me to thinking how willing we Americans are to settle for sub-standard food to gain a little convenience. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand that reaching for that loaf of sliced bread from HEB is a lot easier than baking my own. But there are other things that really don't save us that much work or time. For example, mashed potatoes. You still have to boil the water. Peeling potatoes is quick and easy. Just the same, for a little convenience, we are willing to eat tasteless odd textured instant mashed potatoes. Macaroni and cheese is another one. Once you have boiled the noodels, you've done the hardest part. Is it really too hard to mix in your other ingredients and shove it into the oven for a few minutes? I like boxed macaroni and cheese, but it isn't anything like the real thing. Too many of our foods have gone down hill in this manner.

I think I will start doing some "from scratch" cooking just for the fun of it. I guess you could say that the idea just popped into my head.