For those of you who don't live around me, or haven't heard, Central PA got hit hard with the rains yesterday. I work about 15 minutes from my house and they had us leave at 2pm because there were so many warnings.
I knew I was in trouble when we opened the door to exit and there was 2 inches of water covering the parking lot. I took off my shoes to walk to my car, but then a co-worker offered to drive me over. The road out of the parking lot was like a river. My car was parked about 4 cars up from a mini-pond of water. I don't know how the people parked there got their vehicles out.
It took me 2.5 hours to get 1/3 of the way home. Traffic was at a standstill everywhere and there were tons of emergency vehicles on the road. That car ride was one of the most stressful drives that I've ever made. There were no traffic directors because everyone was needed for emergencies. No blockades were really up because the water hit so hard and so fast.
I saw fields flooded with water, cars submerged up to their windows and a man on his bike trying to ride through water up to his mid-calf. At one point, I drove through a puddle that was so deep I thought I'd lose my brakes, but there was no other place to go. A tractor trailer turning down a side road that I was on came within inches of my front bumper while I gripped the steering wheel and prayed he wouldn't hit me.
Finally, when I called my parents to let them know I still wasn't home, I found out that all roads that led home were flooded. They had friends trying to get home that came to their house because they couldn't get any further. Thankfully, those friends have a sister & bro-in-law who were kind enough to let me come in for dinner rather than me sitting in traffic. The Bup got home from work safely and walked to my parents' for dinner since I wasn't home.
Around 9:45pm, almost 8 hours after I left work, I was able to get through and get home safely. I didn't take any pictures...I was too busy gripping the steering wheel!
Today, I spent part of the morning using the Shop Vac to remove water from the basement (it wasn't too bad, but we got about 15 gallons) and the other part calling the members of the choir and cancelling practice for tonight.
Then I made popcorn. Because nothing makes a more perfect snack on a rainy day than some warm, freshly popped popcorn.
I made it on the stove top, which is the very best way. I may never eat microwave popcorn again, at least not when I'm making it! My favorite topper is nutritional yeast, which is what I used, because it makes it taste cheesy, like that white cheddar popcorn that comes pre-popped in the bags.
Poppity Popcorn
Adapted from summerharms.blogspot.com
Yields about 15 cups
3 T coconut oil
3/4 c popcorn kernels
~1 tsp sea salt
Optional toppings: pepper, nutritional yeast, cinnamon sugar, Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder, cocoa powder, Italian seasoning
8 quart pot with lid
Add coconut oil to the pot and melt over medium-high head. Once melted, throw in 3 popcorn kernels. The kernels will pop when the oil is ready. Add the rest of the kernels and cover with lid. Using pot holders, begin to move pot back and forth to keep the kernels moving on the bottom of the pan. Kernels will start to pop, keep shaking the pan until the popping slows down. When there is about 2 seconds per pop, turn off heat, but keep moving pan until popping ends. Season with salt (or other toppings) to taste and enjoy!
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