Kettle Corn recipe - for those cravings when I cave in....

Just a little not so healthy Kettle Corn recipe I came across today at Seattlest. Yes, from time to time, I give into my craving for kettle corn. I first tasted it when we lived in Mount Vernon, in Skagit County, Washington. I really liked the 'quaint' downtown and the annual street fair which included many vendors who brought along homecrafts. While I like where we live, I often find myself wishing we had made our permanent settling down in Skagit. The Daffodils and Tulip Festival, the easy driving, the scenery, farming still is farming. We have some sweet memories of our short few years living in Skagit. 1995 - 1997.

Kettle Corn
As the name suggests, kettle corn must be made in something approximating a kettle (we used a 4-quart saucepan with a lid); an air popper (which for conventional popcorn is great) simply won’t do. This makes a largish portion for one, but feel free to double it.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup popcorn kernels
2 tablespoons white sugar
kosher salt to taste
melted butter (optional)

In your saucepan, heat the oil and popcorn kernels over medium-high heat, shaking the pan to keep the kernels from burning. When the kernels are about to start popping, they will become slightly lighter in color, and most importantly, they will start to smell like popcorn. At this point, sprinkle the sugar over the kernels and cover. With the lid on, continue to cook the popcorn by gently shaking the pan over the heat. When the popping has slowed (don’t keep cooking until the very last kernel has popped, you will end up burning the sugar), remove the pan from heat and empty the popcorn into a large bowl. Toss with salt immediately (when the sugar on the popcorn is still hot and sticky, the salt will adhere to the kernels better) and sprinkle with melted butter if you like. Enjoy while still warm.