My nephew John likes my popcorn and has requested the recipe. So here it is.

When I was growing up, popcorn was our most favorite evening snack. My mother popped it in a big Wearever aluminum pan on our gas stove. Years later, when Natalie and I were newly married, we taught high-school religious education in our parish, St. Hubert’s. The kids met with us in our home every week and a tradition soon developed that we end the evening with popcorn. And the tradition of my youth continued; we popped it in a large pan, in shortening, on the stove.

Now shortening has gotten a bad rap lately because it is a hydrogenated fat with lots of trans fats. So I modified the recipe to use heart-healthy olive oil.