Turn a Packet of Smartfood Popcorn Into a Bowl of Cereal
Just days after the gossip of mashed potatoes, I turned my happy ass back on, to extol the virtues of Smartfood Popcorn Grits. This may sound disingenuous, but there is one key difference between the two: the cereals are good and the mashed potatoes are bad.
I didn’t invent popcorn. Anson Mills has a recipe , PBS has a recipe , Takeout has a recipe , David Chang has a recipe , and as Anson Mills’ website reminds us, “The first Native American version of this dish appeared thousands of years ago, when the indigenous people whipped corn sand, and then crush it into a hollowed out stone in hot water. ” So I’m far from the first to make popcorn grits, but I really think I’m the first to make Smartfood-branded White Cheddar popcorn, and I really consider myself smart.
Like most of my good ideas, Smartfood was born out of laziness. I originally planned to write about popcorn grits as a way to use up leftover popcorn, but popcorn is mostly air, and it takes a whole bowl of corn corn to make one bowl of grits, so it didn’t go well for a few handfuls of movie leftovers.
Instead of making a fresh batch of popcorn, I decided to outsource the staff and buy a Smartfood package that comes not only pre-cooked but sprinkled with intoxicating spicy cheese powder. Once the bag was purchased, all I had to do was boil the kernels, rub them through a sieve, then heat and beat them with a little cooking water until they look like “regular” cereal. I didn’t add butter. I did not add milk (I never added milk to cereals). I added hot sauce.
I do not regret. My only criticism is that they lack the fried, sweet aroma and flavor of corn that were ruled out , but are still better than 80% of the cereal I served in Portland. They are smooth, creamy, corny and slightly cheesy and take about 12 minutes to cook. If, due to the lack of nikstamal, you hesitate to call them “groats”, that’s okay – in any case, this is an excellent corn porridge.
How to make Smartfood popcorn grits
Ingredients:
- 1 large (6.75 oz) packet of Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn
- 3-4 glasses of water
Instructions:
Pour water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Place a large fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Add a handful of popcorn to boiling water and cook until soft (10-15 seconds). Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the mushy popcorn to a sieve. Repeat until you run out of popcorn. Transfer the cooking water to a separate bowl or large measuring cup and set aside.
Using a wooden spoon or flexible spatula, knead and stir the popcorn to push it through the sieve, scraping the bottom of the sieve as needed to transfer the cereal to the bowl below. Continue stirring and simmering until a mass of unopened kernels and pericarp appears on the sieve. Return the cereal – which will look quite tough – back to an empty saucepan and heat over low heat. Drizzle again with water, whisking until the cereal is hot, creamy and smooth. Garnish with the hot sauce and Smartfood crumbs left in the bag.