Popcorn

Making popcorn at home is very easy, easier than you might think. It is also much healthier than the bagged popcorn which has a lot of butter added to it.

So, ready? Take a large pan and throw 1 or 2 hand full of popcorn kernels. Add some olive oil just enough to coat the kernels and the bottom of the pan, a single tbsp should be enough. Cover the pan with a lid and let it sit on medium heat. Once you hear the kernels popping, turn the heat up to high.

When the popping stops (after about 2 mins or so), turn off the heat and transfer the popcorn to a serving bowl. You can sprinkle the popcorn with the seasoning of your choice; I like cheesy jalapeño.

Sweet buns

I had active dry yeast lying in my kitchen cupboard for years. I don't usually bake bread or cake so it was left unused. Even though it was expired, I decided to see if it still proofed. I quickly warmed up some milk, added some sugar and yeast to it. After a couple of minutes, the solution did not rise but since I had already taken out all purpose flour and added salt and oil to it out of optimism, I decided to go ahead.

I formed a wet dough and left it to rise in the oven with its light on. After an hour, the dough rose but only a little. At this point, I realized this was going to be a failed experiment but went ahead anyway. I kneaded the dough a little; it was very sticky to work with so I followed the "stretch and fold" technique. I made small balls out of the dough, greased a baking tray and laid the balls on it at some distance from each other. I left them to rise again but this time with the oven on at 150 ºF with a hope that it would rise well this time. And voila! this time it rose in just half an hour.

I greased the tops with some olive oil and left them in the oven to bake at 450 ºF. They baked for about 15 mins.

I left them to cool down for an hour. They were very soft after cooling down and tasted yum. They could have been a little more fluffier had I used a full strength yeast.

 This was my experiment on the Saturday night and now I have these for Sunday breakfast.