Cape Cod powdery cheesy corn

I went to K-Mart to buy a jar in which to store my new obsession: refrigerator pickles. Afterward, I was going to buy some fresh popcorn from one of the vendors in Penn Station. But then I glimpsed this new line of popcorn from the Cape Cod company and decided to give it a try instead.

I'm a sucker for cheesy corn, so I went for the white cheddar instead of the kettle corn or sea salt varieties. The good news is that I won't be tempted to eat the entire 750 calorie bag in one sitting. The bad news is that's because the semi-salty cheese powder is not cheesy enough. And when I drop one in my lap, the fine white powder clings to my clothes. Don't get me wrong. There is a hint of cheese flavor there, just not enough for my taste. I think I would be better off with one of the other two flavors. Apparently I'm in the minority there, since on the company website it says customers begged them to bring cheddar corn back.

Luckily there aren't any unpronounceable weird ingredients in this popcorn. And there are no preservatives. I guess they knew that that would be unnecessary on a bag of popcorn. Are there actually people who open a bag of popcorn and don't finish it within a day or two?

Not craving hatch down the hatch

Sorry, Crave Canyon, but this popcorn really didn't do it for me. 

I am a spice wuss, it's true. But this popcorn isn't even that spicy. The problem is that the chili powder is just that: powder. It kept making me cough. If there were a way to make it adhere to the popcorn better then I would be absolutely willing to give it another try. I am fond of corn companies that try out unusual flavor combos and these guys obviously do that. 

Also, this could be a regional thing, but I've never heard of a hatch chili and neither has my hot sauce loving husband. So, the name of this snack confused me at first. The rhyme is cute, but I think making the actual flavors in a bigger font would make more sense. Just my two cents. 

It seems they are not the only ones to combine hatch chilies with cheese and Popcorn Indiana calls theirs exclusive. Uh oh! Fist fight?

And now I see Hatch, New Mexico, is considered the chili capitol of the world. I guess you got me there, Crave Canyon.  

All of it fits in my belly

Popcorn is a strange beast since it's either thought of as healthy and blah or unhealthy and decadent. There is not much middle ground unless you're popping it yourself. 

Although most of the Popcorn Indiana products lean more toward the unhealthy (but delicious) side, this is going for the opposite end of the spectrum: people who rank calories before taste. This popcorn is designed for people like the overly made-up woman I overheard berating her boyfriend for eating the outrageous dinner of a grilled cheese with salami. 

The Fit popcorn, unfortunately, suffers from the Snackwells problem, which is that when one is eating a snack labeled as being low cal, one then eats more of it. I never even got a chance to check how many servings there were in this bag since I went through it so fast. And plus, since it wasn't super great tasting I kept eating it in hopes of finally being satisfied by it. 

Don't get me wrong. It's not all that bad of a popcorn. The seasonings are pretty tasty, but there could have been a tad more flavor. Or maybe all the tasty flavors are too high in calories. 

Note that there are five flavors of Fit corn. I had the olive oil one, which I see now includes only tapioca (ew?) and parsley. So that explains the lack of depth to the flavor. 

In any event, I would buy it again, especially to try one of the other flavors, since I wouldn't feel guilty if I ate the whole bagful. 

Quinn popcorn update

I can't believe I waited this long to attempt popping Quinn Popcorn on the stove! It made a world of difference. It took about as long to pop it on the stove as it would to pop in the microwave (as I had tried previously) and I had only a single unpopped kernel. Of course, I do have to wash out the pot now, but it's a small price to pay for all the kernels to pop and none of them to be burnt.

It is pictured here in my favorite tomato bowl with the parmesan & rosemary topping.

Travel snacks at Newark Penn Station

The wintry weather kept us from going to Asheville, North Carolina, this weekend. But it didn't keep us from hopping a train to Philly for a few days.

The most important task before boarding a train at either the New York or Newark Penn Stations is picking up a bag (or two) of freshly popped popcorn for the journey. But not just any popcorn kiosk will do.

Always avoid the Zarro's popcorn no matter where you are. I don't know what they do to their popcorn, but it smells and tastes like chemicals. And anyway, they hadn't fired up their popper when we were getting ready to board our train.

I didn't realize popcorn was a seasonal treat, but I suppose it is considered for summer only, like iced tea. (Good luck finding a decent brewed iced tea at Newark Penn, by the way.)

This kind gentleman sells the best popcorn at Newark Penn Station. His kiosk is next to the McDonald's.

The popcorn from this stand is a tad greasy, but it does the job. There are some seasonings you can add, like cinnamon and a bright yellow one labeled butter. Probably best to avoid that one.  He also sells various kinds of nuts.

We wound up finding copious amounts of popcorn in Philly, so much so that by the end of the trip I felt like I had OD'd on popcorn. At least for one day.