Movie Therapy

About five years ago, I sank into a deep depression. Drifted is actually a better word, because it was only after a few weeks of sitting down to nine o'clock suppers of a whiskey, a big bowl of popcorn, and whatever movie was on cable that I realized things were getting weird. Something has to change, I told myself. So I substituted fruit juice for the whiskey and went back to therapy. But I kept the popcorn. It was about all I could eat for a while.
Even now, after I've climbed out of depression and cancelled my cable, when I feel a blue mood coming on, I crave popcorn and a movie at home. There's something to be said for popcorn made the old-fashioned way, popped on the stovetop with oil in a large pot. I like my corn without butter or salt, preferring to add other flavorings, sometimes right into the oil, sometimes sprinkled on top. If you like the air popper, you could mix your seasonings in with the melted butter. I won't discuss fat-free imitation butter flakes because I believe they are a food substitute brought to us by aliens.

For a while I was into a curry popcorn I found in the City Cuisine cookbook. I ate so much of it I don't know if I can ever face it again. After that, I turned to a salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning I would buy in bulk from the co-op in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where I then lived. But once I moved away, I could never find it again. The fabulous Penzeys Spices carries an wide range of salt-free lemon-pepper spice mixes — do a search for lemon — but nothing identical. If you don't have a preconceived notion of what lemon-pepper should taste like, by all means check Penzeys out (see their website at www.penzeys.com or call 800/741-7787 for a catalog). I also recommend their zahtar.

Next, I went through a phase of adding sherry peppers, a bottle of which my parents had given me. They had tried some in Bermuda and liked it so much they brought home a case and doled it out as gifts. It was a huge bottle of a deeply complex, zippy, not overly hot seasoning. At first I used it with abandon on everything: cheese sauce, fried eggs, baked potatoes. I felt sad when I could see the end coming, so I restricted its use to popcorn. I've seen some recipes for sherry peppers but have never got around to making it. There was a brief period of sumac, that pungent Middle Eastern spice, and a similarly brief tamari-nutritional yeast phase. Popcorn with balsamic vinegar is an excellent staple.

These days, I like to add a little toasted sesame oil to the canola oil, because it adds a rich, nutty taste to the popcorn. Then, depending on my mood, I sprinkle on ample amounts of gomasio, a Japanese seasoning of ground sesame seeds and sea vegetable, or Chesapeake Old Bay Seasoning, in my opinion an underrated, underutilized spice mix that comes in a funky retro package.

To me, there is something highly therapeutic about a night made up of a good movie, a big bowl of good popcorn, and just myself for company. Indeed, I think of it as movie therapy. To schedule your session, first arrange for your husband or partner to take the children somewhere for the evening. If you are a single mom, get someone to watch your children. Then, if you're as neurotic as I am, you'll want to whip through the house for thirty minutes or so of power cleaning so that you can enjoy your movie in a serene, neat environment. Next, pop your corn, adding seasoning as you see fit. Then, pop in the video you've been wanting to see. I tell you, your delighted sigh as the previews roll and you lift those first hot, well-seasoned kernels to your mouth will let you know that you have done the right thing for yourself.

Curry Popcorn
from City Cuisine, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken (New York: William Morrow & Company, 1989)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unpopped corn

Measure spices onto a plate and place near stove.

Place oil and one kernel popcorn on a burner. Turn heat to high, cover pot, and cook until kernel pops. Then add popcorn and cover again. When corn starts popping, quickly add spices. Cover and cook, shaking constantly, until the popping stops.

Be careful not to breathe in the spiced fumes as they can burn your throat.

Makes 12 Cups