Hello Popcorn loving friends!
My girls love any excuse to make something in the kitchen, but sometimes the work of finding a recipe that's simple enough for them to help with can be overwhelming!!
Below is our go-to recipe when the girls want to help make popcorn. Can I let you in on a secret? (We use the exact same recipe for each holiday and simply change out the color of the M&Ms and sprinkles! Shhhh!)
Ingredients:
16 cups plain popcorn, popped
12 oz white chocolate chips or almond bark
1 cup M & M’s chocolate candies (pastel)
1 cup mini pretzels
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup chex cereal
1/2 cup salted peanuts
sprinkles (Easter, pastel colors)
Directions:
Pour popcorn into a large bowl.
Mix in the M & M’s, pretzels, mini marshmallows, chex cereal, and peanuts. Add in sprinkles to taste.
Place white chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook for 45 seconds, remove from microwave, and stir. Continue cooking at 25 second intervals, stirring each time, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Drizzle chocolate over popcorn mixture and gently mix until most pieces are covered with chocolate.
Spread out on a large jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet) until white chocolate hardens.
Store in an airtight container.
Note: recipe can be customized for any occasion (different colored M&M's for different holidays). Add or subtract ingredients as desired.
Recipe modified from: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/12/sweet-and-salty-white-chocolate-popcorn-recipe.html
]]>As a Kansas based business, we're so excited to announce that Free Day Popcorn Company is now a proud member of From the Land of Kansas!
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"From the Land of Kansas promotes and supports Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses that grow, raise or manufacture agriculture products or products for agriculture use. "
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https://fromthelandofkansas.com/…/free-day-popcorn-company-…
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#freedaypopcorn #fromthelandofkansas #popcorn #knowyourfarmer #smallbusiness #shopsmall #shoplocal #kansas #kansascompanies
Things have slowed down a bit here on the farm. We're done irrigating the popcorn for the year. The kernels are now fully mature and full of starch. We're servicing combines and rigging up new (to us!) equipment, while counting down to the "most wonderful time of the year" - HARVEST.
Though the ears of popcorn are fully mature, they're not quite ready for harvest. In order for popcorn to pop, the kernels need to be at the correct moisture: 13.5%. Too wet, it won't fully expand. Too dry, there will be more "old maids" or unpopped kernels.
In order to know when it's "go time", we test the moisture on the popcorn. Each variety of popcorn matures in its own time, depending on when it was planted, where it was planted and how much water it received. A recent test of our red popcorn tested at 23-25% moisture. Getting closer but not quite ready.
We actually start picking our popcorn at 16-17% moisture so that there's less damage to the kernels as they run through the combine. After harvest, we'll store the popcorn in grain bins where the kernels will continue to dry down in an consistent and controlled environment. Once they reach that 13.5-14% moisture level, the popcorn will be cleaned (to remove broken kernels, dirt, etc) and bagged and ready to be shipped to you!
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If you've been following Free Day Popcorn for a while,
you'll know that we only sell the current harvest.
We take pride in the fact that we sell popcorn fresh
from the farm without blending it with older popcorn.
Before we bring in the harvest from the field,
we need to make some more room in our shop!
Our remaining inventory of Popping Ears
(Individual and 6 pack bags)
are 50% off with code
POPSALE50
while supplies last!
Save ]]>
Farming is a Gamble.
Burying a bunch of seeds under a couple inches of dirt is always a gamble. A lot of steps are taken to mitigate risk, but it’s still a gamble. Mother Nature typically provides a lot of things to worry about….Bugs, heat, too much rain, not enough rain, hail, wind, etc….you get the point. This year is no different. Last week we had a fairly significant weather event: Winter Storm “Ursa” if you buy into the naming of winter storms.
A few hundred miles west of us had up to a foot of snow and many farmers are worried about their wheat crop. We were lucky and missed the snow. The biggest issue for our area was cold temperatures. We planted in warm weather, but a few days after we planted the temperature dropped into the 20’s. It stayed cold/wet for a few days so hopefully the corn all comes up! It’s important to plant seed into warmer soil. Planting in cold, damp soil causes the seed to absorb cold water which could reduce yield or kill the seed. Here’s an article about imbibitional chilling injury if you want to learn more. And yes, we also have websites that track soil temperatures for planting. You can check out one from the University of Nebraska here.
Popcorn germinates and begins to grow when soil temperatures are above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. So, the risk is that the popcorn will remain in the ground too long before temperatures increase. Remaining in the ground increases risks and we’re anxious for it to pop out! Hopefully we won’t have to replant. Some risks include bugs, fungus and gophers (13-Lined Ground Squirrels).
Bare spots in this drone photo show gopher damage. The gluttonous buggers eat all seed within a 15ft diameter circle. Adding insult to injury is when well intentioned badgers excavate larger holes hunting gophers. Badger holes represent a particular joy when walking through fields - you don’t really trip so much as violently collapse. Badger holes elicit a primal lexicon understood only by those who have survived the trauma. We. Love. Gophers.
What's next?
Now that temps are warming up, we expect to see the popcorn sprouting within the next few days… stay turned for updates as the growing seasons continues!
A whole day set aside for caramel popcorn?! Sign me up!
Since we have some new followers on our blog, I thought I'd re-share one of our all time favorite and most requested recipes.
I found the original recipe on Cookies & Cups blog and modified it a bit to fit my family's taste. We prefer popcorn with a light coating, so you can still taste the farm fresh popcorn and not just a bunch of sugar. This is melt in your mouth good. #makeyourday
Salted Caramel Popcorn
Makes about 40 cups of caramel corn
Ingredients
This new website will have a better integrated e-commerce system and allow us to more efficiently fulfill orders!
We are still working out some of the bugs and appreciate your patience while we get this new website up and running.
Let us know what features you'd like to see on our new website and we'll look into it!
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Shop "small" and make a "big" difference! Shopping at small businesses helps support hard-working families make their dreams a reality. It supports community minded organizations that can make a big difference in their town. Plus, it allows you to give a unique gift to yourself or loved one that can't be duplicated at the big box stores.
To celebrate, we've bundled some of our most popular items and put them on sale for you! Stack the sale price with the coupon code below and save even more!
Save 20% off your purchase of $30 or more with coupon code SHOPSMALL
at checkout through Monday, November 28, 2016!
Free Day Popcorn is honored (and surprised and excited!) to be featured on the podcast The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey as part of their 2016 Holiday Gift Guide!! On this special podcast episode, Jamie Ivey and her guest co-host Rachel Hollis (The Chic Site) showcase 13 amazing companies/products that you can feel good about purchasing Christmas gifts from this year. These are a collection of small (women owned) businesses (like us!), businesses that are ethically sourced (us too!) and business that give back (did you know we do fundraisers?!).
The Holiday Gift Guide episode goes live today! You can listen to the podcast here (or search for "The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey" on your favorite podcast app) and learn more about Free Day Popcorn and the 12 other companies/products featured. Be sure to listen to the whole podcast episode for a special coupon code for a 20% discount in our online store.
Visit our our online store to place your order today!
Local friends: don't forget, you can order online and select "local pick up" at checkout to avoid paying shipping! We'll notify you when your order is ready to be picked up!
The Happy Hour Podcast is hosted by Jamie Ivey, and each week she brings a guest to the
show. During the happy hour they will discuss anything and everything just as if you were around the table with your own girlfriends. Jamie loves to connect with women and encourage them as they journey through life. These conversations will make you laugh and cry all in one. The Happy Hour will be something you look forward to each week. You will be encouraged as you listen to other women talk about the simplest things in life to the grandest. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the conversation!
The Chic Site with Rachel Hollis focuses on a better life in simple achievable steps. Rachel Hollis is a wife, a mother, a Southern Girl, an LA Woman, and for all intents and purposes Party Planner Extraordinaire! She says... "I LOVE parties… I love
everything about them. I love the food, the wine, having friends and family and people from all walks of life together in one well-decorated space! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like a good party… and if there are people out there who don’t, maybe that’s just because you haven’t been to one of mine!
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One year ago - today! - Free Day Popcorn Company, LLC "popped" onto the scene and became an official business! Thank you to each and every one of our customers, backers, family and friends for making this first year in business a dream come true. So pop some Free Day Popcorn and celebrate along with us! So many good things in store for year #2!
Now, the announcement we've been waiting to make since we sold out last fall....
Popping Ears are in stock!
Visit http://www.freedaypopcorn.com/shop to order yours today! We have yellow, white and our limited edition "peaches & cream" Popping Ears available in individually sealed single ears and in 6 pack bags.
We've been working diligently behind the scenes since harvest to get the Popping Ears husked, sorted and packaged. We'll continue to add stock to the online store as we have them ready. We're very proud of this year's crop and can't wait for you to try them.
(Local friends: you can select 'local pick up' at check out to avoid paying shipping costs. We'll contact you once your order is ready for pick up!)
It's ALMOST here! #harvest2016, #fall2016 or as "Kernel Free Day" says #themostwonderfultimeoftheyear! We're literally days or even hours away.
Popping Ears
We planted our popcorn babies in May... and now at the end of September and the cusp of October, our popcorn babies are all grown up and almost ready for harvest.
We've done some preliminary handpicking of Popping Ears to see how this year's crop is looking. Early pickings reveal some pretty ears. We're pretty excited about how they turned out.
In addition to the yellow Popping Ears (far left in the picture) we had last year, we're excited to add a harvest of white Popping Ears (far right). In addition to these two varieties, Nate experimented with cross pollinating the yellow and white popcorn. We ended up with this beautiful ear we've affectionately called "Peaches and Cream" (center). Each one is a different mix of yellow and white popcorn kernels. The kernels resemble the white popcorn in shape, with some distinctly white in color. While the yellow kernels are a paler yellow than their yellow popcorn brothers. We like to think of it as a pretty resemblance to both of their 'folks'.
While trying to prepare for harvest and quality checking the popcorn, we of course had to do a test pop of our new white Popping Ears. This job is tough, I tell ya! Look how pretty the white popcorn popped off the ear! The moisture on the Popping Ear is approximately 13.5% which is perfect for popping! We couldn't be more pleased with how the white Popping Ears turned out and are hopeful they will be a crowd pleaser!
Not to be left out, we did a test pop on our Peaches & Cream mixed ear of yellow and white kernels. He's not quite ready to meet his public yet:
Notice how the kernels have mostly all popped and stayed on the ear. The moisture for this guy is a little too high yet! Have no fear, he just needs a little more time to dry out a bit and he'll be popping off the ear in no time. With several 90 degree days this past week, it won't be long!
Nate and his dad have found a way to mechanize some of the labor intensive process of picking our Popping Ears. Our hands and backs are very grateful! This will make the picking process go much faster - and allow us to get our Popping Ears in our online store and local pumpkin patches, grocery and gift shops that much sooner!
Stay tuned. We'll keep you updated as #harvest2016 continues. Subscribe to our website or follow us on facebook to know when 2016 Popping Ears hit the online store!
It's been about a week since our Kickstarter campaign ended. We may have fallen short of our funding goal, but we're so grateful to use it as a learning experience and a chance to connect with 34 cool people in the process. THANK YOU, for your support.
That said, we're still full steam ahead to bring Popping Ears to market this fall. We're counting down the days til we can pick popcorn (roughly 14 to go!)!
After harvest, just give us a week or two to sort and start packaging them. Popping Ears should be available in our online store by mid-October.
Subscribe to our website so you don't miss out on any of our updates: www.freedaypopcorn.com.
Make Your Day a Free Day!
#popcorn #freedaypopcorn #farmfresh #poppingears
28 backers
$954 pledged of $6,500 goal (14%)
45 hours to go
We can't thank you enough for backing and believing in this project. While reaching our goal is still a long shot - with only 45 hours to go - we've learned so much in this process, from fine tuning our message and our goals in production of the project video, to interacting with backers and potential backers, etc.
We value the experience for what it is and move on with a renewed sense of purpose. Even if we do not reach funding, we appreciate that Kickstarter has allowed us to reach some of their community and introduce farm fresh Free Day Popcorn and Popping Ears with those that would otherwise not have heard about us. More than half of our backers are people that have found us through Kickstarter!
That said, with or without funding, Popping Ears will be coming market later this fall. We have a number of our current retail outlets that have been anticipating this year's harvest of Popping Ears! Nate is counting down the days to harvest and we have a crew ready and waiting to hand-pick our Popping Ears!
As a thank you for backing our project, keep an eye out for an "backers only" update at the end of the week with a coupon code good for a future purchase of our farm fresh, non-GMO popcorn at www.freedaypopcorn.com!
As shared in a previous update, we have found that vacuum sealing is the best bet for sealing in freshness for our individual Popping Ears. The good news is that this internal chamber vacuum sealer is less expense than the shrink wrapping machines at which we previously been looking. Yay for cost savings!
Below is a mock up of the bags of Popping Ears. Look past the white paper. The labels will be clear stickers that will allow the kraft paper to show through underneath. Labels are currently being ordered. Final art submission will be completed as soon as we harvest the Popping Ears, so we can include the harvest date on each package! This guarantees you have the freshest popcorn you can buy without growing it yourself! The box on the back will be for the barcode!
Time is flying by! It's hard to believe there's only about a week to go!
Thanks to all the new backers in the last few days. It's fun to see people from all over the US find (and back!) our project!
To date, we have:
25 backers
$767 pledged (11% of $6,500 goal)
8 days to go
We still have a way to go to reach our goal in 8 days time, but crazier things have happened!! If you believe in this project, please share away with friends and family members. Nate and I appreciate your support so much!
Popping Ears in the "starch" phase
Our days are spent more and more on Free Day Popcorn related activities as we approach harvest in a few more weeks! Right now, the popcorn is starting to mature and the plants are using a lot less water. The kernels are in the "starch" phase and are hardening very quickly as starch fills them. You can still bite through a kernel but not for long! Over the next few weeks they will continue to mature and harden in anticipation of being handpicked and ready to be popped!
aerial photo of Free Day Popcorn field
This last week has been especially busy on the packaging and production end! After researching shrink wrapping machines, Nate discovered that we really need to vacuum seal the Popping Ears. A shrink wrapped package only serves as a dust cover, whereas vacuum sealing the ears will help keep the Popping Ears at the correct moisture level for ultimate pop-ability and will seal in freshness. We have our eye on a commercial internal vacuum sealer and are getting quotes on vacuum seal bags. The advantage of an internal vacuum sealer is that we can use completely clear bags to showcase the Popping Ears.
After receiving printing quotes, Stacey is finalizing the label designs for the pack of 5 and individual Popping Ears. She was also able to find elastic stretch loops with pre-tied bows to attach the labels to the product. These babies will increase our efficiency and standardize bow size. Nate no longer has to take an hour to tie one bow. We're excited to be getting a better picture in our heads of what the final product will look like. Stacey's been putting together some prototypes and hopes to be able to share a markup with you all soon!
This morning, we had a telephone interview with a reporter from The Altoona Mirror (Stacey's local hometown paper). Free Day Popcorn & Popping Ears will be featured in their special Agriculture section on Septmeber 5!
August 16, 2016
Just wanted to share that our Free Day Popcorn's Popping Ears Kickstarter campaign was recently featured in one of our local newspapers "The Deshler Rustler" this past week.
featured in The Deshler Rustler (Aug 10, 2016)
It's always a bit surreal to see your name and your company in print anywhere! We're hopeful that our local community will see what we're up to and help support our Popping Ears project on Kickstarter - just like you have! If you're local and read the article, let us know!
Behind the scenes, things are moving along. In some ways, it feels like we are doing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. We're putting this project together piece by piece and praying it looks like a complete picture in the end (with all of the pieces in the right place)!
This morning, we met with our "bag guy" about labeling and printing options for our pack of 5 Popping Ears. We're expecting a price quote soon and hope to have labels printed in September to be able to fulfill orders in late October/early November. We're excited that they will feature a tamper evident seal to help give our customers piece of mind that their Popping Ears are indeed fresh from the field!
We also received sample of burgundy stretch loops with pre-tied bows that will adorn the pack of 5 Popping Ears with the instruction tag. Nate is probably most excited about these - as he won't be asked to tie bows anymore! ;-)
Stacey's been designing updated drafts of the Popping Ears labels and tags for the individual ears and the packs of 5 Popping Ears. We're awaiting price quotes from local printers. We're getting closer - piece by piece.
A sneak peek at something we've been expectantly awaiting... and hoping it would be as cool as we pictured in our minds: Peaches & Cream Popping Ears
"Peaches & Cream" Popping Ears
These were an experiment. One we are still not fully sure if they will pan out or not but will hopefully be the best of both worlds. We cross-pollinated our white popcorn with our yellow popcorn, giving you a Popping Ear with both yellow and white popcorn kernels.
Let us know what you think, would you be interested in a "Peaches & Cream" Popping Ear? Or have a really creative name of what to call them?
We won't have a huge supply of these multi-colored beauties, so they'll definitely be a limited edition.
As always, drop us a line if you have any questions or suggestions!
freedaypopcorn@gmail.com
Thanks everyone for your support of Free Day Popcorn Popping Ears on Kickstarter! Our first week live is in the books!
To date, we have:
13 backers
$448 pledged to our goal of $6,500!
22 days left to make our goal!
We still have a ways to go and appreciate your help in sharing this project with your friends and family. Word-of-mouth is our best chance to make or break this Kickstarter goal. We've been busy submitting ads and news releases to media and several local papers will publishing news about Free Day Popcorn to let even more people know about this project!
While the Kickstarter's been live, we've been busy behind the scenes. Stacey's been getting price quotes on packaging and printing costs. Nate has been taking a preliminary look at some shrink wrapping machines to be prepared to purchase at the end of a successful Kickstarter on August 31! He's also been busy on the farm taking care of the popcorn. We had 1.5 inches of rain over the weekend which was a welcome drink to help the Popping Ears mature and fill out.
If your reward category includes a "hand shelling tool", you may be wondering exactly what it is and how it is used. A hand shelling tool or a hand sheller is an aluminum tool that easily allows you to shell (remove) mature popcorn kernels from the ear. You place the pointed end of the Popping Ear in the widest part of the tool and twist to remove the kernels. You can then pop the kernels using your favorite popping method (air popper, oil popper, stovetop, etc.). Using the hand sheller is a fun and easy way to remove the popcorn kernels if you don't wish to pop on the ear in the microwave.
popcorn hand sheller removes kernels from the ear
If you haven't done so already, please follow us on Facebook for more information about our farm fresh, non-GMO popcorn and see what we're up to on the farm.
Thanks everyone for your support of Free Day Popcorn Popping Ears on Kickstarter! Our first week live is in the books!
To date, we have:
13 backers
$448 pledged to our goal of $6,500!
22 days left to make our goal!
We still have a ways to go and appreciate your help in sharing this project with your friends and family. Word-of-mouth is our best chance to make or break this Kickstarter goal. We've been busy submitting ads and news releases to media and several local papers will publishing news about Free Day Popcorn to let even more people know about this project!
While the Kickstarter's been live, we've been busy behind the scenes. Stacey's been getting price quotes on packaging and printing costs. Nate has been taking a preliminary look at some shrink wrapping machines to be prepared to purchase at the end of a successful Kickstarter on August 31! He's also been busy on the farm taking care of the popcorn. We had 1.5 inches of rain over the weekend which was a welcome drink to help the Popping Ears mature and fill out.
If your reward category includes a "hand shelling tool", you may be wondering exactly what it is and how it is used. A hand shelling tool or a hand sheller is an aluminum tool that easily allows you to shell (remove) mature popcorn kernels from the ear. You place the pointed end of the Popping Ear in the widest part of the tool and twist to remove the kernels. You can then pop the kernels using your favorite popping method (air popper, oil popper, stovetop, etc.). Using the hand sheller is a fun and easy way to remove the popcorn kernels if you don't wish to pop on the ear in the microwave.
popcorn hand sheller removes kernels from the ear
If you haven't done so already, please follow us on Facebook for more information about our farm fresh, non-GMO popcorn and see what we're up to on the farm.
The weather has officially turned. April and May's cool, wet days have been replaced with a hot and dry June - 90's to 100's in the middle of the month. The heat is good for the crops and they have really grown. The lack of rain however, isn't good. We've been irrigating to provide the crops with water. A big reason why Nebraska is the nation's leading popcorn producer is because of the ability to irrigate. Without irrigation, the popcorn wouldn't grow well at all. Rain is forecast for this weekend so hopefully all the dryland crops will get a much needed drink. In the meantime, we irrigate.
Irrigation has come a long way in the last 60 years. My great grandfather used to irrigate by digging a trench, pumping water through it, and siphoning the water down the rows of the crops with a siphon tube. The field needed to gradually slope away from the trench so the water would flow. It took an incredibly long time and used a lot of water.
Photo source: Irrigation Museum http://www.irrigationmuseum.org/item1.aspx?id=275
This picture is how it would have looked but our farm had dirt trenches, not concrete.
Siphon tubes were eventually replaced by irrigation pipe - long pipes with gates on them to allow water to flow down the rows of crops. These are much easier to use than siphon tubes because you only need to open gates to allow water to flow...not dig a trench and start a new siphon for each row. The field still needs to be relatively level and a lot of water is used. It is also a lot of work - you have to lay out the pipe, set gates, pick up the pipe, etc. It gets to be a lot of fun when hornets or skunks are living in the pipe.
The photo shows white popcorn getting a drink from the irrigation pipe.
If you've ever flown over the Midwest and looked out the window, chances are you've already seen signs of the main way we irrigate. The circles in the fields are from center pivot irrigation.
Here's a video showing a pivot in action -it was watering our yellow popcorn!
The basic idea is that a pipe with sprinklers is suspended over the field and pivots around a central point. Think of it as an upside down suspension bridge with a pipe instead of a road. The pipe is supported by towers, mounted to wheels, and travels in a circle throughout the field. Center pivots are much more efficient than siphon tubes and flood irrigation. They are also easier to maintain - when everything works.
Here's a close up video of a pivot tower.
Pivots require maintenance and do break down. It can be a lot of fun to fix them. We operate a very old pivot that requires a ton of tender...loving...care...So far this year we've replaced 2 gearboxes, a center drive motor, one tire, fixed the endgun and repaired an underground pipeline. All that while only making it across the field 1.5 times...Hopefully all the bugs are out of it for the season! Checking that pivot is a moment of great anticipation. I can't quite describe the warm and fuzzies you get when you round the corner and see everything working as it should.
Dad is the brains of the operation. The top picture is him fixing the endgun so it shuts off and doesn't water the road. The bottom is me, holding a bolt in a pipe as he threads on a nut to fix a leak.
That's all for now! The corn is getting ready to tassel, shoot silks and form ears soon. More pictures, videos and blog posts to come. Thanks for reading!
]]>Ideal Market in Superior, Nebraska, will be popping and sampling Free Day Popcorn in their store on May 5 - 7, 2016.
Stop by and pick up a hot & buttery sample bag of Free Day Popcorn to snack on while doing your grocery shopping. It's locally grown, non-GMO, fresh from the farm, popcorn!
You can purchase Free Day Popcorn at Ideal Market in their bulk containers. Buy as little (or as much) as you want!
Take a selfie of yourself enjoying your Free Day Popcorn while shopping and post it on our facebook page! We'd love to hear how you enjoyed it!
Make your day a Free Day!
It's pretty exciting to get into the field after winter. We don't have a heated shop yet, so working on equipment can be cold! Once March and April rolled around, area farmers started getting their fields ready to plant. This may include: disking, ridge tilling, shredding stalks, applying fertilizer and/or pre-emergent herbicide, as well as other things. We had a pretty warm spring early on and it was tempting to want to plant field corn early. However, we held off until after April 10 - the earliest planting date as per the USDA for our region.
The idea is to go from this:
To this:
We won't start planting popcorn for a couple weeks. Popcorn needs warmer soil temperatures to germinate and grow so we usually start in early May. We do know where we'll plant it and the fields are ready...just waiting for warmer weather. Popcorn can't be planted too late though because the ears/kernels wouldn't have enough time to mature. According to the USDA, May 20 is the last date to plant popcorn in our region. We'll be plenty nervous if our popcorn isn't all in the ground and growing by May 10 :)
This is what I mean when I say planting:
(the globe on top of the tractor is GPS auto-steer, hands free steering!)
Planting field corn has been going well. Early on, we were concerned that the soil might be too dry to plant. Very dry soil makes it difficult for our planter to bury the seeds deep enough and they also need moisture to sprout. We ended up getting a timely inch of rain and that really helped out! Once it dried a bit we began planting once more but were stopped by some significant rain this week...the 3 inches that I mentioned earlier.
There shouldn't be water there^
It rained a little less than 2 hours so the three inches came down really fast. It also hailed and we were lucky that the crops were still underground, otherwise they would have been badly damaged. The problem with that much rain that fast is that it can wash the seed we just planted right out of the rows. It also causes erosion and washes away a lot of the work that was done in preparation of planting. Thankfully we practice no-till farming so we don't lose as much top soil as we would if we disked/plowed our fields. It's kind of a wait-and-see approach to determining what areas might need to be replanted. (Replanting = expensive and not much fun) Overall, we were more lucky than some of our neighbors who had upwards of 5 inches, grapefruit sized hail and severe flooding. I'm not complaining about the rain, it's definitely a good thing! I just wish we could have saved a couple of the inches for later in the summer when we're likely to need it!
The weather forecast is still predicting wet weather for the next few days so we're in a holding pattern right now. Once it dries out we'll be back to planting and hoping that the work we already completed doesn't need to be redone.
It will be very difficult for anything to grow there....Just planted Monday.
That's about all to report for now, thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more updates...my guess is that my second blog post won't take the 32 years the first one did!
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It was hard to rain on their parade. So instead, we diverted them to a different Valentine project that was less messy, more tasty and just as festive as their hearts! We made Sweet n' Salty Valentine Popcorn Mix. It's quick and super easy for little helpers and the flavor modifications are endless.
Sweet n' Salty Valentines Popcorn Mix
Ingredients:
16 cups plain popcorn, popped
12 oz white chocolate chips or almond bark
2 teaspoons shortening
1 cup M & M’s chocolate candies (red, pink & white)
1 cup mini pretzels
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup chex cereal
1/2 cup salted peanuts
sprinkles (pink, red)
Directions:
Pour popcorn into a large bowl.
Mix in the M & M’s, pretzels, mini marshmallows, chex cereal, and peanuts. Add in sprinkles to taste.
Place white chocolate chips and shortening into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook for 45 seconds, remove from microwave, and stir. Continue cooking at 25 second intervals, stirring each time, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Drizzle chocolate over popcorn mixture and gently mix until most pieces are covered with chocolate.
Spread out on a large jelly roll pan (or cookie sheet) until white chocolate hardens.
Store in an airtight container.
Note: recipe can be customized for any occasion (different colored M & M's for different holidays). Add or subtract ingredients as desired.
Recipe modified from: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/12/sweet-and-salty-white-chocolate-popcorn-recipe.html
Ideal Market in Superior, Nebraska, will be sampling Free Day Popcorn in their store on February 17-19.
Join us on Thursday, February 18 from 4:00 - 6:30 p.m. and get to know your grower! We'll be popping some of our locally grown, farm fresh, non-GMO popcorn, giving away free samples, and talking about the growing process.
You can purchase Free Day Popcorn at Ideal Market in their bulk containers (as a reduced rate!). We look forward to seeing you there!
Make your day a Free Day!
It's my go to recipe for gourmet popcorn, and I'm happy to share it today. It's easy to make. Hard to mess up. Only a few ingredients. Consistently delicious. The fact that others like it and asked for it was just a bonus.
I found the original recipe on Cookies & Cups blog and modified it a bit to fit my family's taste. We prefer popcorn with a light coating, so you can still taste the farm fresh popcorn and not just a bunch of sugar. This is melt in your mouth good. #makeyourday
-- enjoy!
Salted Caramel Popcorn
Makes about 40 cups of caramel corn
Ingredients
1 cup unpopped popcorn kernels (about 40 cups popped popcorn)
1 cup salted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup light corn syrup
2 tsp kosher or sea salt, divided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. (You may need two baking sheets depending on size. I use a large jelly roll pan with higher walled sides to avoid spillage in the oven.)
Pop popcorn kernels using preferred method. (We prefer to pop ours in peanut or other similiar oil on the stove top. Air popping tends to dry the popcorn out.)
Remove any old maids or half popped kernels. (There's nothing worse than biting into a caramel coated old maid.)
Place popcorn in a large bowl (I use an extra large 13 qt bowl with plenty of room for mixing!)
In a saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and 1 tsp salt together over medium heat. Bring to boil. Boil for 4 minutes without stirring.
Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir to coat evenly. (If you don't have an extra large bowl, you may need to mix it in batches.)
Pour popcorn onto lined pan, sprinkle remaining salt on top and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.
Allow popcorn to cool on a parchment lined counter. Break apart and store in an airtight container.
Note: Popcorn is freshest and best when consumed within a few days of making. However, if stored correctly, this salted caramel corn still tastes delicious a couple weeks later... if it lasts that long!
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It's my go to recipe for gourmet popcorn, and I'm happy to share it today. It's easy to make. Hard to mess up. Only a few ingredients. Consistently delicious. The fact that others like it and asked for it was just a bonus.
I found the original recipe on Cookies & Cups blog and modified it a bit to fit my family's taste. We prefer popcorn with a light coating, so you can still taste the farm fresh popcorn and not just a bunch of sugar. This is melt in your mouth good. #makeyourday
-- enjoy!
Salted Caramel Popcorn
Makes about 40 cups of caramel corn
Ingredients
1 cup unpopped popcorn kernels (about 40 cups popped popcorn)
1 cup salted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup light corn syrup
2 tsp kosher or sea salt, divided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. (You may need two baking sheets depending on size. I use a large jelly roll pan with higher walled sides to avoid spillage in the oven.)
Pop popcorn kernels using preferred method. (We prefer to pop ours in peanut or other similiar oil on the stove top. Air popping tends to dry the popcorn out.)
Remove any old maids or half popped kernels. (There's nothing worse than biting into a caramel coated old maid.)
Place popcorn in a large bowl (I use an extra large 13 qt bowl with plenty of room for mixing!)
In a saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and 1 tsp salt together over medium heat. Bring to boil. Boil for 4 minutes without stirring.
Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and stir to coat evenly. (If you don't have an extra large bowl, you may need to mix it in batches.)
Pour popcorn onto lined pan, sprinkle remaining salt on top and place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes.
Allow popcorn to cool on a parchment lined counter. Break apart and store in an airtight container.
Note: Popcorn is freshest and best when consumed within a few days of making. However, if stored correctly, this salted caramel corn still tastes delicious a couple weeks later... if it lasts that long!
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