Lots of stuff going on right now. I don’t want to jinx anything, so this post will be about…popcorn…the single greatest snack in the known universe. I always make it with organic olive oil and seasoned with sea salt flakes. I use either a deep pot or a wide shallow pan, pour in the oil, pour in the kernels, put the lid on and turn the  heat to eleven. No fussing. Just popping. Once there’s only a pop a second, take the pot or pan off the heat. Done.

I’ve tried explaining to younger folks about how there used to be double and even triple features when I was a kid in L.A. We’d pay about $1:50 in admission and maybe another buck for a bucket of buttered popcorn. In between the first and second feature, you could get a “refill” of popcorn and a tasty beverage for just fifty cents. I have vivid memories of riding my Schwinn home from a worn and torn movie theater on Hollywood Boulevard and feeling like I was OD:ing on greasy popped corn and one too many root beers.

My love of popcorn probably started when I was a really young kid. Don’t remember who, but someone introduced me to the make-it-yourself-on-a-stove Jiffy Pop Popcorn. Here’s how it worked: you’d grab this little aluminum pan, already filled with popcorn kernels and just the right amount of oil and salt. The top was sealed with a crimped aluminum foil lid, which sat flat at first. But that was the best part – because the second you put it on the gas stove and it heated up – while you were shaking it around – you’d hear the first little pop, then another, then an all-out explosion of popping.

Slowly, that foil top would start to rise, inflating like a giant silver balloon. You had to keep shaking it so the kernels wouldn’t burn, but once it was fully puffed up, you knew it was ready. Then came the big moment – ripping open that foil and watching steam escape as the smell from hot, buttery popcorn filled the kitchen. It was like making your own little popcorn show. No fancy machines, no microwave, just pure stovetop excitement. Jiffy Pop was the closest thing to movie theater popcorn at home before microwaves took over. And honestly? It was way more fun.

I met the fellow above on a street in Tirana, the capital of Albania. Needless to say we at least one thing in common.