popcorn with Julie
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From Alice Eats: a Wonderland Cookbook by Pierre A. Lamielle and Julie Van Rosendaal
We’re looking back at issue #9. Our food and gardening inspired issue is almost sold out. Grab your copy today.
I have lots of cookbooks but very few are well-thumbed and stained. Most of my favourites come from Julie Van Rosendaal. Her cookbooks are the first ones I go to when baking—I always have a freezer stash of her oatmeal muffins and her breakfast bean cookies.
Julie is a fixture on the Calgary food scene and always generous with her time and talents (see below for a recipe she passed along). She shared her creative career, as a food writer, with us in issue 9. We decided to catch up with her to see what she's been up to (and it's a lot!) since that issue was released.
What’s changed in your career since issue #9?
Looking back, my career hasn't changed a whole lot since 2011. I've been writing more for bigger magazines (like Readers Digest and Western Living) and I've learned to say no a little bit more. But I still do radio and TV, write and blog. I'd like to say my to-do list has changed since 2011, but there are still some of the same things on it, like my total blog redesign!
What new projects have you completed since issue #9 came out?
Spilling The Beans, a cookbook I co-authored with my best friend since junior high, Sue Duncan, came out in the fall of 2011, and Alice Eats: a Wonderland Cookbook, which I co-produced with illustrator/chef Pierre A Lamielle, was released in fall of 2013. In the spring of 2013 I launched RollingSpoon.com with my friend and ex music magazine editor Elizabeth Chorney-Booth - it's a web magazine that combines music and food - we talk to musicians about what they like to cook, and eat on the road. Everyone has a food story, and it's something that connects us all on a very personal level. If you want to get to know someone, getting a peek in their fridge or sitting down at the dinner table with them is a great way to do it.
You can read more about Julie's creative career as a food writer in issue #9, our food and gardening-inspired issue. Issue #9 is our oldest available back issue and is almost sold out.
Sriracha Caramel Corn
10 cups popped popcorn
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup or Rogers Golden syrup
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. baking soda
1-2 tsp. Sriracha (or to taste)
sea salt
Preheat the oven to 250F and put the popcorn in a big bowl.
In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and boil without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally, for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and Sriracha – it will foam up at first, but stir it well to get any lumps of baking soda out.
Quickly pour over the popcorn and stir (with a heatproof spatula or tongs) to coat well. Spread out onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Cool and break apart. Serves a medium-sized crowd
