Every Friday night Ali and I watch a movie with the kids – they actually call it “Friday Night Movie Night” lol. We have a fun dinner – like tacos or bolognese, sometimes takeout, making a point to really enjoy it. Then we tidy up, put baby down, haul out a bunch of snacks, and find our respective spots on the big ol’ couch. It’s something the kids look forward to all week. At some point I started making homemade popcorn, a method I learnt from the blog Cookie and Kate, because Aiza and Faezan found it sort of magical and I just don’t love the microwave kind. But my version was missing that buttery cheesiness that makes movie popcorn so addictive. That’s how I came up with this technique.

If you haven’t made homemade popcorn before, it’s honestly really simple. So simple that even Ali makes it now…which is saying a lot. It’ll feel a little finicky the first time, but once you’ve tried it it’ll be nbd. As for the nutritional yeast (I was scared of it too), well you know that processed kraft stuff we sprinkled into our popcorn bags at the movie theatre that tasted so darn good? It essentially tastes like that, but is actually good for you. I also discovered that by pouring the melted coconut oil on first and THEN sprinkling the nutritional yeast right after, you create this layer of cheesy, lip smacking-ness that coats every kernel instead of falling down to the bottom of the bowl. I hope you try it and enjoy it for yet another quarantine night in. x

salty, cheesy popcorn with coconut oil (vegan)

serves 4

ingredients:

½ cup of corn kernels
2 tbsp of coconut oil + 3 tbsp melted for topping
2 tbsp nutritional yeast + a little for sprinkling on top
½ tsp kosher salt (more to taste)

directions:

Step 1: In a large pot on medium heat add 2 tbsp of coconut oil with 2 corn kernels. Put the cover on and wait for both kernels to pop, a couple mins.

Step 2: Once they’re popped, take the pot off the heat, add all the corn kernels so that they’re in a single layer at the bottom of the pot and put the lid back on. Still off the heat, count to 60 and shimmy the pot a little so that all the kernels have the chance to get properly heated through – this will help encourage all the kernels to pop and no burning.

Step 3: Put the pot back on medium heat covered and wait. Within a minute or so, the popping will begin and once you hear steady popping you can crack the lid just a smidge to let the steam out and ensure your popcorn stays nice and crisp. Once you only hear a pop every two to three seconds (I actually count between pops to be sure) you can take it off the stove and let it rest for a minute or so to let some final friends pop. Pour your freshly popped corn into a large bowl.

Step 4: Now for the yummy part! Drizzle the warm melted coconut oil over the popcorn making sure to evenly distribute it. Next, sprinkle the nutritional yeast all over, tossing the popcorn a little so you get it on as many kernels as possible. Finally, sprinkle the salt. The yeast will stick to the corn courtesy of the coconut oil and you should have this wonderful cheesy layer on parts of each popped kernel. As this point taste and see if you’d like more salt, or a little more of the coconut oil/nutritional yeast combo. Sprinkle a little extra nutritional yeast on top of each person’s bowl if you’d like. That’s it, happy snacking!

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