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Monthly Archives: August 2012

This explains a lot

So, scientists have found a correlation between obesity and diabetes and cognitive ability.  The US is trending toward became a nation of obese people.  What does this say about our future?  And actually, this helps explain a lot of what’s going on now.

Have you noticed all the campaigns in getting kids to eat healthier? Because we apparently have an issue with childhood obesity? Have you noticed that some of the kids we move through the school system are abnormally dumb? Do you think they might be related?

Ok, no, I don’t think all kids are uniformly dumb. People are naturally gifted in different ways. Some naturally excel in academics and some don’t. So long as they make an attempt (and not a half-hearted one), it’s fine and that’s not what I’m talking about.

Also, I am not talking about people acting dumb because they think it’s fashionable to do so. Don’t lie. That’s mostly what you see in mainstream media. People being dumb and becoming famous, however briefly, for it. We are becoming a society that celebrates stupidity, or at least acting stupid. It’s beyond irritating. Why celebrate talent, intelligence, anything useful when instead you can celebrate stupidity and a lack of shame?

No, I’m talking about how if you’re seeing issues in adults with obesity and cognitive ability, I would think it’s an even bigger issue with kids. They are still developing. They wouldn’t be losing some cognitive ability, but never gaining or developing it. They really might end up being really dumb when they grow up because of their cognitive developmental issues because no one bothered to control what they were eating. We are bringing it upon ourselves. We will raise up a nation of stupid people. Explain to me how this is a good thing.

Um…apparently this has been a PSA on childhood obesity. I guess. Also, do you think nigh all politicians were obese at some point?

I make! Caramel popcorn edition

I often buy my popcorn in bulk because I’m not a fan of those fake butter microwave things.  The last time I bought popcorn, the store had it in one of those sliding, chute dispensers.  That’s fine—it saves me the trouble of finding a scoop—but it means that it’s highly likely that too much popcorn will come rushing out of the chute and into your bag.  Which is what happened to me.  And it’s not like you can put it back.  That’s bad form.  So…what do you do with all this popcorn?  Well, make some caramel popcorn.

Just remember to pick out the unpopped kernels before you dump the caramel on. Otherwise, be really careful when you eat.

I don’t normally make candy (the caramel) because I have to break out the candy thermometer and it’s kind of a pain to wash afterward.  Well, you don’t actually need one for this recipe.  For one thing, the caramel going over popcorn.  And, if the caramel ends up too soft, there’s a drying portion in the oven.  It works out really well.

Materials:

  • 4-5 qt popped popcorn (what you would typically get with a bag of microwave popcorn if you buy those kinds of things)
  • 0.5 c corn syrup (dark preferred)
  • 2 c brown sugar
  • 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp salt (optional)
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Procedure:
  1. Preheat oven to 250F.
  2. Bring corn syrup, butter, sugar, salt to a boil, stirring constantly.
  3. Boil unstirred for about 5 min (or bring temp up to 250F if you have a candy thermometer).
  4. Take off heat, stir in baking soda and vanilla.  Mixture will foam.
  5. Pour over popcorn, stirring to coat.
  6. Spread over sheet pan and bake for 1hr (this is to dry out the caramel a bit, you can do more or less depending on how brittle you want it).

Notes:

  • If you like a butterier caramel popcorn, up the butter amount.  I’ve made it with a whole cup of butter before.  You have to stir for a pretty long time before everything gets incorporated though.  Also, a cup of butter is kind of gross.
  • The corn syrup is there to keep the consistency of the caramel smooth.  If you don’t have it, the caramel can come out grainy.  I’ve been told that you can use a bit of lemon juice to the same effect.  I’ve not tried it myself though.
  • Add peanuts to make something like Cracker Jacks.
  • Next time, I’ll try making a smaller batch in the microwave and see how it turns out.
  • Also, I got to use an em dash!  Two even!  A matched set!