[vegan] Maryland Style Popcorn

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Hello, Collective!

Today we are preparing you for National Popcorn Day! This year, we all will be celebrating on January 19th. This recipe is super simple and adds a bit of "zest" to your normal day-to-day popcorn. I grew up on the Maryland coast and LOVE ME some old bay. The flavors bring me back to my childhood when family and friends would gather around a newspaper-wrapped picnic table and indulge in premium, locally caught seafood.

Now, I have been upfront about my pre-vegan lifestyle - I used to be a huge seafood lover (growing up on the coast and spending the majority of my adult life, here in Florida). Just because I choose to not consume animal products (including seafood) doesn't mean I don't miss the nostalgia or SEASONINGS from the animal products I once enjoyed.

That's where this popcorn recipe comes in! The flavors from the old bay and the herbal notes from a good olive oil come together in this quick and easy (nostalgic) snack recipe.

Popcorn...without butter??

That's right! This recipe does not use any vegan butter (of course you could substitute the drizzle of olive oil for butter in the final steps of the recipe, but the salt in the old bay makes it so you don't crave that salty-buttery taste of traditional popcorn) - if anything I personally think that using butter may make the popcorn too salty, but if you decide to try it - let us know in the comments or on Instagram (@theecogreenco).

What is old bay?

For those of you not native to the northeast, you may not have heard of old bay seasoning. It is a blend of herbs and spices like black pepper, celery salt, red pepper flakes, paprika and a few others. If I were to compare it to anything the CLOSEST thing I could compare it to would be a "Cajun-like" seasoning - it is definitely not Cajun, but similar-ish. This seasoning was created in Baltimore, Maryland, named after one of the passenger ships that cruised the Chesapeake Bay since the early 1900's- hence Marylanders die-hard attitude towards the spice blend. I am one of these people .. to the extent of being a freshman in college and carrying a small bottle in my purse to sneak into the dining hall! It is great on fries, roasted veggies, salty snacks and veganized seafood!

Important Popcorn Tips!

Two important notes when making homemade popcorn:

1) A little goes a long way! In this recipe we use 1./3 cup of kernels - this yields 10 CUPS of popped kernels ( a single serving of popcorn is 4-5 cups). If you don't think you can manage eating 4-5 cups of popcorn, definitely decrease the amount of kernels you use

2) When cooking on the stove top - NEVER stop moving the kernels. Consistently shake the pan to ensure the bottom of the kernels do not burn before they pop!

We would love to see your recreations of our recipes! We also LOVE hearing from you! So if you decide to give our recipes a try, tag us on Instagram @theecogreenco and hashtag #TEGC so we don't miss it!

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