By I closed on a beautiful home in Temple Terrace this week. The buyers — a young couple, first-timers — looked at the keys the way I looked at my real estate license in 2012: like they were holding the future in their hands.
Sophia came home with a perfect score on her lab report and announced it with the casual confidence of a girl who expects excellence from herself and receives it. She has Nikos's pride — the kind that pretends not to care while caring so fiercely it has its own gravitational field.
Some weeks are ordinary. This was an ordinary week. I sold houses. I cooked dinner. I called Mama. I drove to Tarpon Springs on Sunday. The extraordinary thing about ordinary weeks is that they are the ones you miss most when they are gone.
I made grilled octopus tonight — simmered first in wine and bay leaves, then charred on the grill until the tentacles curled. Lemon, olive oil, oregano. I ate it on the back porch while the sun set and the air smelled like lemon and charcoal. A quiet evening. The food was good. Good is enough. Good is everything.
I visited the bakery this weekend. Mama was behind the counter, flour on her apron, her face set in the concentration of a woman who takes baking as seriously as other people take surgery. I stood next to her and rolled dough and said nothing because the silence between us is not empty — it is full of every recipe she taught me and every critique she gave me and every morning she woke at 4 AM to make phyllo that nobody else can make.
The octopus was good — it always is — but what I kept thinking about later that night, sitting in the dark with the last of the lemon smell drifting in from the yard, was how much I love food that asks nothing of you. The grill was still warm when Sophia came outside and grabbed a handful of something from the bowl I’d set out: popcorn, tossed with a barbecue spice blend I keep in the pantry for exactly these moments. It’s the kind of recipe Mama would roll her eyes at — too easy, she’d say — but that’s precisely why I love it. Some evenings, good enough really is everything.
Barbecue Popcorn
Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola or avocado), divided
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Mix the seasoning. In a small bowl, stir together the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, chili powder, cayenne (if using), and kosher salt. Set aside.
- Pop the corn. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels and cover with a lid. Shake the pot gently every 30 seconds until the popping slows to about 2 seconds between pops, approximately 5–7 minutes.
- Transfer and season. Pour the popped corn into a large bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the melted butter, tossing to coat evenly.
- Toss with spice blend. Sprinkle the barbecue seasoning over the warm popcorn and toss thoroughly so every piece is coated. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- Serve immediately. Serve right away for the best texture, or spread on a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200°F oven for up to 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 165 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 320mg