Sorghum Popcorn Balls

In my last post I had mentioned Sorghum.  Yeah, I love it, what can I say!  Most everyone where I came from does.  There's nothing quite like it.  You can use it in recipes and it will add a deeper, richer flavor that is wonderful.

This is the second installment of Sorghum saga.  I hope you enjoy this.

Sorghum Popcorn Balls

Well, we had the adventure with sorghum in the country. This is a succulent treat made with the sorghum we carried home that day.

None of the six of us children had ever had or even heard of a popcorn ball. But mom had. Dad had gone to the store and got some popcorn. And it seemed like every day when he came in from work he had another little something in a little sack that they were all secret about. When we would ask mom, she would just say “never mind”. Never mind was never a good answer for me, even when I was little. But she finally did tell us one morning when we was getting ready for school that she would have a surprise for us when we got home. All of us kids could not imagine what kind of a surprise it could possibly be. We thought about it all day at school.

I even told my teacher first thing when I got to school that she needed to hurry up and get our day over so I could go home early. She laughed and said she wasn't in control of the time. I asked her, ”Who is, I need to talk to that person?' She said, “Honey, it doesn't work that way. We have so much time we need to be here and noone can change that.” She asked, “Why do you want the day to hurry and be over?” I told her that mom said she will have a surprise for us when we get home. And I need to hurry up and get home. I was in the first grade and there was a lot of stuff that just didn't make my list of things to be concerned about. So many hours at school each day was one of those things.

I knew what my mother was doing at each and every hour of the day. After all, I had spent the first five and a half years of my life with her alone every day of the week. So I really didn't want to be at school any way. And here, today she has a secret that I don't know about. It really upset me that she was doing something without me. Time ticked by slowly, but it did tick by. When we got on the school bus to go home, I sat by my oldest brother. I asked him if he had figured out what mom's surprise was. He said, “what”, “what are you talking about?” I said' “how could you forget that mom said she would have a surprise for us when we got home?” He said, “I don't know but I did.” I was so mad that he could dare to forget a surprise from mom.

This day it seemed like it took forever to get home. When the school bus stopped, the six of us jumped off the bus and went running to the house. As usual, our mom was there at the door waiting for us to get in. She always said she was taking a head count. She wanted all of hers, but she didn't want any extras. I can tell you now that if the other kids had have known what was in store for us, they would have gotten off at my house.

We got in and mom had the biggest smile on her face. She was a pretty woman anyway, (still is, I might add) but when she smiled I just thought she was beautiful. I threw my little satchel down and started jumping up and down. “Where is it, where is it?”, I asked. “Where's what?” she asked, still smiling. “You know, you know, you promised us a surprise, where's our surprise?” She said, “Ok, ok, turn around with your back to me, shut your eyes and don't look till I tell you to.” The six of us lined up in a row, (could have been a firing squad, and we would not have know any different) with our backs to mom and she went to the kitchen and all the while telling us not to look and keep our eyes shut.

She came back to the family room and said “turn around and open your eyes”. We all did, and one at a time our mouths flew open and our eyes got big. I started jumping up and down again saying, “What is it, what is it?” She had this large cookie sheet full of these round balls. They were beautiful , even tho I didn't know what they were. I said, “ohhhh, can I have one?” She started laughing and said, “They are popcorn balls”. She started handing them to us one at a time. When she handed me mine, I smelled of it. Oh, I recognized that smell. It was sorghum. She had made us sorghum popcorn balls. They were the best things we had ever eaten. Yes, she let us eat one before supper. Then we got another one after supper. We all loved that surprise. I remember one of my brothers trying to bribe her with being good if she would make us another surprise. That didn't work. She said you will get a surprise if you're “not” good, but it will definitely "not" be popcorn balls.(written by:pjg 08-13)

Here's a recipe for Sorghum Popcorn Balls

3/4 cup sorghum molasses
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cook sorghum and sugar over low heat to firm ball stage (250 degrees).  Add butter and soda.  Pour over popcorn (about 8 quarts, popped) and form into balls.  Dip hands into cold water to handle hot mixture.  Makes 18 to 20 popcorn balls.

I hope you give this easy recipe a try.  I know your children or grandchildren will love it, and to be truthful, you will too!  What better time of the year than now to hone your skills with sorghum.  Everyone around you will love you for it, especially if you share.  ggg  And with all the pie baking that goes on between now and the end of the year, you can use it in your recipes.

A quick rule of thumb:  When you are using sorghum, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, add 1 and1/3 cup of sorghum, then decrease liquid by 1/3 cup.

Well, there you have it.  Another little episode of "Fun Little Pieces" of life.  I hope that as you read some of my writings that you feel as though someone has been writing about some of the fun stuff in your life.  My desire is to conjure up happy memories from a time gone by.  Maybe even some you had long forgotten.  If you remembered something from days gone by, share it with someone, so it will not be lost and forgotten.

I pray that as you start today, you will ask God to be your guiding force, going ahead of you and laying out the path for you to follow today, one step at a time.  God always has our best interests at heart.  He will see you through what ever today brings.  I just thank God today, that He is my soft place to fall, when I grow weary.  Remember, He is your soft place to fall, also!  If God has a refrigerator, your picture is on it!!!!  God Bless You!!!

May blessings beyond measure be yours today!
hugs, Patty