Popcorn Love

In my family, we love popcorn. When I was younger we had an electric popper and grew our own popcorn.  As my brother and I grew up mom and dad moved to the bagged stuff.  It was easier and more convenient.

Evenings at my parents’ house used to start with the opening of plastic wrap from a bag of popcorn and starting the microwave.  That all changed soon after I started working at Lehman’s.

In 2006, I asked my mom what I should get for my dad’s birthday. She told me recently he had been trying to pop popcorn in a saucepan on the stove and wondered if I could remedy that.  She didn’t like the thought of having popcorn all over her kitchen while dad struggled to keep it in the pan and stir.  I then purchased a Whirley Pop and all sorts of popcorn with it. I also added some Ladyfinger popcorn because he had recently said he liked that kind.

I think that may have been the best birthday gift ever.

The best part: getting Dad’s birthday and Christmas gifts are so much easier!

I always include a bag of Ladyfinger to keep his stash stocked. I have spent many enjoyable evenings at my parents’ sharing a bowl of popcorn with my dad. The Ladyfinger is now my favorite. Not much can hold a candle to it either.

I did get my dad some of the different colored popcorn (small bags of the blue, purple, red, and rainbow) and he still said the Ladyfinger is the best.  Like him, I like my popcorn to be salty and some of the other types have a more sweet taste.

Not too long ago I noticed the gears of his Whirley Pop were worn down.  With the heat of the stove and major use, they had worn down and it was not working properly.  Of course Dad being who he is, didn’t complain, he just made popcorn. Lehman’s had just introduced the new stainless popper with metal gears and I got him one. I thought, “If he wears those out, I’m not sure what I’m gonna do.”

Mom loves that the popper helps keep her kitchen clean.

Mom doesn’t always wash the stainless popper after every use. She and Dad just empty the popcorn out, and wipe it clean inside if needed. It’s almost like seasoning stoneware or cast iron.

When she does wash it, she just pours a little dish soap in there and runs a rag around it to clean it out a little.  It is an appliance that sits in a place of honor on the stovetop.

Last year at Christmas I was at a loss as to what to purchase for my brother and sister-in-law.  Then I thought that my brother eats as much popcorn as what the rest of us do so I purchased a Whirley Pop gift set for them, thinking they won’t use it as much as my dad.  One day recently my sister-in-law told me she had asked Greg (my brother) what popcorn he wanted, bag or stove-top. His reply? “Stove-top!”

Being a Lehman’s employee one would think I would own one of these wonderful poppers. But alas, I don’t yet! I love popcorn and especially Ladyfinger on the stove-top.  There are some cold winter nights coming here in Ohio and let me tell you, a bowl of popcorn and a warm blanket is the ticket!