It is not a secret that I have been actively working to do as many free things as I can find around the city and by keeping costs down it has allow for other extravagances like ice cream for dinner, kettle corn, and going to the zoo when it is not a Monday.
One of our bucket list items for July was to go to the Thursday night (free) movie at Crocker Park. Since this is an outdoor movie I figured we should just make popcorn to take with us and since I had time to kill before leaving, I thought I would try to make kettle corn.
I must admit that I never knew what kettle corn was until my son convinced me to buy some at an art fair when he was four. Now he equates festivals and fairs with that sickly sweet stuff. Actually he seems to think that anywhere we go in the summer someone will be selling it and he is not wrong.
But I digress, I googled how to make kettle corn and the directions, all of the directions that I found, were exactly the same and all claimed to be easy - some oil, some sugar and of course, popcorn kernels.
How hard could making kettle corn be?
Turns out it is not that difficult except the whole timing it so it won’t burn and shaking it so it won’t burn and probably not trying to do it while two kids beg for your attention and their need to want to help make the kettle corn.
I’m not sure if the mistake was I kept looking to make sure it was popping or if I just left it on the stove to long but not all of the kernels popped and there was still a lot of oil left in the pan when I was finished. No really, I drained that stuff off in colander. And, let's just say it looked more caramelized then kettelized and it also became one big brick of stuff. Not to mention less then a week later and I still smell the cooking oil.
Ah well, live and learn. I know my son would be thrilled if I mastered this and he is already asking me to try again. In fact, just today he said to me you have to keep trying…
