Friday, April 26, 2024
AMason jar full of popcorn kernels confused the little girl. “Grandma, come here,” she pleaded, pointing up to her grandmother’s pantry. “What is that?” “That’s popcorn,” Grandma answered. The girl remained silent before turning to her grandmother and asking, “Do you know how to cook that?”
Teresa Sims laughs when telling the story about her granddaughter, now in her early 20s.
“She had never seen popcorn that wasn’t Microwaved,” she said.
Teresa, a longtime Granbury resident, continues to make popcorn the old-fashioned way – scraping a pot across a burner on the stove.
Popcorn has always been a big part of Teresa’s life.
“We had one of those black cookers with the long handle we used in the fireplace,” Teresa said. “Oh my gosh it was so exciting.”
Halloween would find her mother in the kitchen making gooey but delicious popcorn balls.
“It was a big mess, but I love to this day popcorn balls.
“Sometimes if we were lucky we’d have just popcorn for supper. I still have popcorn for supper occasionally, my husband and I do.”
Her husband likes his popcorn salty with plenty of butter. Teresa likes hers with Cajun seasoning, no butter.
Then there’s the family tradition.
“Every Christmas every male gets a tin tub of popcorn, whether they’re little or old,” Teresa said.
She relishes the memories of Brazos Drive-In and Palace Theatre in Granbury where she would devour a bag of popcorn and a sour pickle while watching John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara on the Big Screen.
Later, when she worked in the Metroplex, her job would occasionally take her through Burleson. She would stop at the movie theatre just to get a bag of popcorn. No movie, just popcorn and then she would be on her way.
“There’s nothing like movie popcorn,” she says.
