how hard is it, really?

Today on "Today" there was a story about diacetyl, the "butter" flavor that's added to microwave popcorn and a whole bunch of other prepared and convenience foods. The whole idea scares the bejeebers out of me, especially since we've been trying to avoid preservatives and artificial anything in our cooking and eating Chez Mooth. Turns out, this stuff is killing the food-prep workers who make and handle it. And "Today" featured some guy who had a lung illness that was (somewhat sketchily) associated with the fact that he'd eaten two (!) bags of microwave popcorn every (!) day for years. Now, it could have been the diacetyl, or it could have been, you know, an overindulgence in junky food. But whatever.

Anyway, I bought a bag of Black Cat popcorn at the store recently, and I'm keen to make my popcorn the old-fashioned way: in a pan on the stove. It tastes great, doesn't take any more time (really) than nuking a paper bag and is so much better for me. (That, plus we don't have a microwave in the first place.) The NYTimes has a good recipe for stovetop popcorn.