Thursday, September 04, 2008

Smug


Three of us were sitting at the camp fire after dinner the other night. It was just getting dark and that is the time when we look for “afters” and I had a surprise. I went to my pack and brought out a package of Jiffy Pop. My other two camp fire mates groaned and started talking about all the times they had been disappointed this product. They said they always marvel at the foil dome and how big it gets only to find an inedible burned mass inside.

I quietly held the wire handle pot over the open flame hoping to prove them wrong. Within moments I could hear the oil inside starting to sizzle and I occasionally shook the contents.

Like a rocket going off, the corn started popping and I shook it some more resting the batch every few seconds and then shaking again while suffering the constant haranguing of my camp mates about the inevitable doom our snack would face.

Eventually the popping was at an end. When there was a four second interval between the pops I removed the container. The dome was full, but I waited for the final insults before I opened it to find I had made an absolute flawless batch. There was not even one burnt piece and nearly all corns had popped; maybe five unpopped cornels in total.

I shared it with the nay-sayers, and they immediately had to admit that I pulled it off. Best yet, it was really-really good. It made the night. Better yet; it allowed me an opportunity to be smug. It is so cool when things work out better than one might expect.

9 Comments:

Blogger Auntie said...

Crap, Guy. When you wrote "looking forward to 'afters' " I thought you meant something else and accidentally kept reading ! ;-)

5:39 AM  
Blogger Beth said...

The only other person in the world (that I know) who can make a flawless batch of Jiffy Pop is my sister. I'll tell her she has a rival.

5:55 AM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Auntie, after all your time across the pond I figured you'd heard of the expression "Afters."

Beth, I'm up for a pop-off.

7:55 AM  
Blogger Uncle Walt said...

Sometimes, following the directions works. LOL


Speaking of popcorn and campfires ... I once hid some popcorn in the ashes of a campfire, so they would pop during the next fire and startle everyone. Good in theory - doesn't work too well in practice.

8:12 AM  
Blogger weese said...

my mom made jiffy pop for us when we were kids on our electric coil stove. came out perfect from what i recall. thats when you would melt your own butter to pour over the top. mmmm

9:54 AM  
Blogger JustRex said...

Auntie, you have a dirty mind. What are YOU doing .... after? (grin) I didn't even know they made Jiffy-Pop anymore... haven't seen it in years. The very thing is the subject of my movie theater rant. Way back in the day when I was a young'un, you would get popcorn with butter on it. Then it was butter flavored margarine. Then it was margarine flavored oil. Now it's some oil flavored chemical that tastes nothing in the least like butter. I keep expecting to see Charleton Heston standing outside a movie theater with a bag of popcorn screaming "It's made from people!"
And for some strange reason, nobody will go to the movies with me anymore...

5:15 PM  
Blogger richpix said...

Guy, some day when I get back out west I'll have to knock you up.

5:41 PM  
Blogger Undercover Mother said...

Gawd, I LOVE Jiffy Pop! Not only that, but it's like an activity for my kids! We're huge fans of the JP.

11:32 PM  
Blogger The Guy Who Writes This said...

Walt, with stunts like that it's no wonder you have to have a gun.

Nice memory, Weese.

Darev, It's made from ethanol!

Rich, Jolly Oh!

Mo3, there's an idea for your next 1st Thursday...

7:55 AM  

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