Sea Salt Caramel Corn

I love caramel corn!!  Lately, I've been craving some crunchy, sweet, salty, popcorny goodness with all my being.  I finally broke this afternoon.  Instead of running to the store for some Cracker Jacks, however, I went on a mission to create some caramel corn from as few ingredients as possible.  I've made caramel several times from granulated sugar and I decided to use the same principles in this recipe.  I thought this would take several trial-and-error sessions, but this was one of those magical moments in life when everything goes right - the first time.  Wow!  My food photography isn't the best here, but that's because of the nature of the recipe.  Timing is everything, so I didn't want to ruin my caramel by taking the time to fuss around with settings on the camera.  Afterwards, I was too busy eating to worry about fussing with the settings on the camera while taking final photos.  Now, I'm sure I'm making 20,000 typos because my caramel-laden fingers are sticking to the keyboard.  You'll find out what I mean after you make this yourself!

SEA SALT CARAMEL CORN

Ingredients:

Brown Bag Microwave Popcorn
1/8 cup + 1tsp. butter
1/2 cup sucanat
1 tsp. vanilla
Sea salt, to taste

1.  Prepare popcorn and pour into a large bowl.  (Note:  I don't really have a sweet tooth, so I don't like my popcorn to be completely coated in caramel.  I think it's best with a little bit of white popcorn showing through. If you'd like yours more evenly coated, just use a little less popcorn.)

2.  Place butter, sucanat, and vanilla in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

3.  Stir constantly, using spoon to break up sucanat crystals.

4.  Once the mixture begins to boil, continue heating and stirring for ONE MINUTE.  The timing is really important here, folks... I actually used the timer on my cell phone to figure out exactly how long  it took to get it to just the right point.  If you heat this any longer, it will quickly burn and turn into a shiny black lump of carbon in your pan! (I know this because I've burnt regular caramel several times...)

5.  After one minute of boiling, remove caramel from heat and pour into bowl with popcorn.

6. Stir, stir, stir...

7.  Add salt and enjoy!

Place butter, sucanat, and vanilla in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Stir constantly, using spoon to break up sucanat crystals.

Once the mixture begins to boil, continue heating and stirring for ONE MINUTE.

Stir constantly as the mixture begins to thicken.

After one minute of boiling, remove caramel from heat and pour into bowl with popcorn.  Stir, Stir, Stir...

Add salt and enjoy!

YUM!

Strawberry Maple Steel Cut Oats

I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal every morning.  Generally, I make a mixture of rolled oats, chia seeds, and ground flax seed; but sometimes, I just love a warm bowl of steel cut oats.  Steel cut oats taste delicious, and they have a wonderful chewy consistency that you just can't achieve with regular oatmeal.  A lot of people are turned off by the idea of steel cut oats because they take so long to cook, but I think it's really worth the time every once in a while.  Even though it takes over 30 minutes to prepare, this is a dish that doesn't require constant watching/stirring, so you can do other things while you cook.  As I write this, I have a 7 month old baby at home, and I'm still able to care for him while I make my beloved oats.  Try them... you won't be disappointed!

STRAWBERRY MAPLE STEEL CUT OATS

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup steel cut oats
3-4 ripe strawberries
100% maple syrup (just a drizzle)

1.  Bring water to a boil.  Stir in oats and reduce head to medium low.  Simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.  Stir occasionally until liquid is absorbed and oats are tender.

2.  While oats are cooking, chop strawberries in quarters (eighths, if the strawberries are large).

3. Place strawberries in a saucepan with a drizzle of maple syrup.  Heat over medium until boiling, stirring occasionally.  Water will be released from the berries, creating a lot more liquid than originally in the pan.

4.  Reduce heat on strawberries to medium low; continue heating and stirring until the liquid bubbles and thickens slightly.

5.  Pour oats and strawberry mixture into a bowl, add milk, and ENJOY!

Steel Cut Oats:  a great source of whole grains!

Bring water to a boil.  Stir in oats and reduce head to medium low.
Simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.  Stir occasionally until liquid is absorbed and oats are tender.

While oats are cooking, chop strawberries in quarters (eighths, if the strawberries are large).

Place strawberries in a saucepan with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Heat over medium until boiling, stirring occasionally.
Water will be released from the berries, creating a lot more liquid than originally in the pan.

Reduce heat on strawberries to medium low;
continue heating and stirring until the liquid bubbles and thickens slightly.

Pour oats and strawberry mixture into a bowl...

...add milk...

...and ENJOY!

See?  Baby C is still happy.  I guess Steel Cut Oats don't take too much time after all!