Best popcorn recipe for healthy diet

Pour moderate amount of good oil (no coconut oil or palm oil, please) into a thick-bottomed pot,
add a pinch of salt,
distribute corn kernels evenly in a single layer,
add another pinch of fine salt.
Cover the pot and put heat under the pot on high.
Once you hear few pops in a row, wait for 15 seconds and turn the heat off.
Wait till popping subsides.
Open the lid and empty the pot into some suitable bowl.
Enjoy in place of supper with plenty of water. 

CranMuffins (CRANBERRY MUFFINS)

Season of fresh cranberries in New England.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cranberries, quartered
• 8 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, optional
• Cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle cranberries with 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside. Sift remaining sugar, flour, baking powder and salt into large mixing bowl. In separate bowl, beat egg, milk and oil. Make a hole in center of dry ingredients; pour in liquid ingredients. Stir only until mixed; do not overmix. Add berries and lemon peel. Fill greased standard or extra-large muffin cups with mixture. Sprinkle tops of muffins with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 400° about 18 minutes for standard-size muffins or about 22 minutes for extra-large muffins.

Yield: 12 standard-size

Originally published as Cranberry Muffins in Country February/March 1991.

Now, if you want to pretend it's healthy to eat 3-4 muffins with your evening tea, substitute sugar with brown sugar, substitute 1/2 flour with oats, I guess it will still taste good. And, of course, if you have a lot of physical activity, sports and otherwise, or you are a young child with quick metabolism, these muffins are exceptionally good. 

I halved cranberries,  not quartered, worked fine. Cinnamon sugar is just a mix of ground cinnamon and brown sugar. 

Brunch party menu 1-2-3 (part 3)

Part 3. This will feed 33+ people. 

Sharlotka

Vegetarian

A lot of sour green apples, really a lot (Granny Smith) - 8-10 big apples

4 tbs brown sugar

Cinnamon 

4 cups of milk 

3 eggs

Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract. 

Unsalted Kate's butter - 8 oz.

Layer of dry white bread generously dipped in milk mixed with eggs (natural vanilla extract optional), a layer of sour apples, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and again a layer of bread and a layer of apples, sprinkled. 

Stick big chunks of butter here and there by perimeter. 

Bake at ~350F for some time till it feels right - apples are soft and soaked bread is like bread pudding (takes about an hour).  

This dish better be prepared a day before the party than warmed in the oven. 

Brunch party menu 1-2-3 (part 2)

Part 2. This will feed 33+ people. 

Hash Browns / Mashrooms / Sour Cream / Cheese casserole

Gluten-free, vegetarian

Fry chopped onions till translucent. 

Fry mushrooms till fried. If you see mushroom juice expressed in the process, get rid of it.

Peel and cut potatoes in cubes, place into large bowl with cold water. Wait till the water gets cloudy, dispose of water and repeat.  The objective is to get rid of starch in order to achieve crispness when baking.

Splash oil on backing sheet, bake potatoes (some salt) till golden brown. If you see liquid expressed from potatoes in the process of baking,  get rid of it.

Put mushrooms and onions on top.

Put sour cream (large box) mixed with few eggs and some salt and nutmeg or cloves on top of mushroom/onions.

Bake for some time till top layer feels ready.
Top  with layer of grated cheese and bake till cheese becomes golden-colored melt.
Once ready and removed from the oven, let the casserole rest for 10+ minutes before cutting into it.

Brunch party menu 1-2-3 (part 1)

Part 1. This will feed 33+ people.

"Mimosa" (staple brunch cocktail) 

I don't have to spell it out here. 

Bagels (staple breakfast food) 

ALERT: THIS IS NOR GLUTEN-FREE, NEITHER VEGETARIAN.   

Pre-order 2 dozen Brugger's bagels for pick up or delivery fresh from the oven right before the party

Goes with cream cheese, butter, smoked salmon, smoked whitefish, cucumbers. 

I like poppy seed & pumpernickel bagels and jalapeño cream cheese. 

But don't forget: plain bagels and plain cream cheese are always popular.

Shakshuka (Jerusalem love affair with eggs)

Gluten-free, vegetarian

3 medium-size  eggplants - cut in chunks and bake   (some salt). 

Splash a bit of oil (sunflower / avocado / grape-seed) on the deep baking tray.   

Cut tomatoes in rounds and place as first layer on the tray. Be more generous with tomatoes than I was today! Add salt.

Put pre-baked eggplant and freshly cut sweet peppers mixed together as second layer (some salt). 

Slice some garlic.  Add spices such as cumin.

Crack eggs on top, yolk intact. At least a dozen (some salt on top).

Bake till eggs become solid. To get unusual brownish color for the yolks use oven "broil" setting.
This is "feed the crowd" recipe. In normal circumstances use the frying pan & stove top. 

 

 

Almond flour cake (gluten-free, dairy-free)

It's really simple.
Started making one for a friend of mine who benefits from gluten-free diet - and can't stop.
You'll need 3 bowls, 1 measure cup, 1 teaspoon, 1 table spoon, one mixer.
Mix 3 cups of almond flour, 1 pinch of salt, 2/3 teaspoons of baking powder, lemon zest in one bowl.
Take 5 eggs and separate yolks and whites.
Mix whites with 1/2 (or slightly less) cup of sugar and few drops of lemon juice till you get pronounced peaks.
Mix yolks with 1/2 (or slightly less) cup of sugar, 1 table spoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice till consistent and pale yellow.
Mix yolk mixture into flour mixture, then fold in whipped whites.
Bake in round form at 350F for 30 minutes.
Once done and cooled, there are numerous ways of making it presentable.
Say, spread thin layer of jam in a circle (for stickiness) and drop some slivered almonds on top.
Or cut the cake and pour some fruit preserve which is on liquid side (black currant) in spiral starting from the center.
Or top with fresh strawberries.


I leak my bowls clean - each one is a dessert by itself.

Mammographer

There was this guy, mammography tech. Divorced, no kids.
He saw such beauty in women's breasts that he became obsessed with it and broke the medical code of conduct.

Women that come for breast cancer screening test can be pretty vulnerable.
And they have to wait for days, up to to 2 weeks, to learn the results.
He was telling them they can contact him and learn the results a bit earlier in case they are nervous.
If they were interested, he handed them his phone number.

Results were none of his business but he gained access to computer system and actually could check patient's data.
As we know he broke medical code of conduct.
Some results were bad news, some needed one more visit, most were good news.
Most women didn't call him but some did.
If news were good he delivered them and asked whether they'll be interested in the opportunity to have their photos taken at his studio.
Because he is an artist who is working as mammography tech for living.
He is taking photos for competitions and contests - and he knows she will bring him luck, for she is so beautiful.
Most women didn't agree to come for shoots, but some did.
Some expected him to make advances and prepared to protect themselves, some flirted and tried to seduce him after he took their photos striped from waist up.
But he was very professional and never did any such thing as have sex with them or even touch them.
All he was interested in were their breasted as an art object.
He was very grateful for having them in his studio.

When news were bad or not clear, he evaded delivering them. Most women never called again but few called after learning they were about to have a surgery.
They wanted their half-naked photos taken before the surgery.
He valued these models even more.

When he grew old and stopped working, eventually he had to move to retirement home.
His niece flews from NY to put her uncle's house on sale.
To her astonishment, there were hundreds and hundreds of black-and-white photos of women breasts,
young and old, perky and sagging, white and black, pale and tanned. Each had a number and the age of the model.
She asked her uncle who nearly lost his vision what to do about them.
He asked to bring him #56 and toss the rest.
His niece who was about to put his house on sale to raise money for his retirement home fees, spent day and night, day and night looking for #56.
But to no avail.
While browsing through boxes full of A1 size photos, she got used to and started liking these pictures of breasts.
She couldn't bring herself to tossing them into the garbage.

Instead she got rid of the furniture, put the photos up on the walls and put small price tags next to them.
She was Art Major, after all.
Most of the people who came to open house didn't pay attention but some bought one or two photos.
It was a small town.
The word spread.
People started coming to see the photos.
Then people from towns and cities nearby started coming.
Meanwhile, the photographer got very sick.
The niece extended her stay. She got very good offers for the house and sold it.
The new owner asked to keep some photos. The town library took some.
The town hall acquired some and planned exhibition hall with ex-mammography technician name on it.
The hype was attributed either to the fact that some prominent ladies on city council came forward and claimed to be the models decades ago -
or to the story of the artist, now on his deathbed, who did mammograms for living.