Popcorn!

Popcorn may be America''s favorite snack food. Preserved cobs of popcorn thousands of years old have been found in Peru, Mexico, and the American Southwest. Memories are made of popcorn balls at Halloween and stringing popcorn to decorate the Christmas tree. Today, sitting through a movie without a bag of crunchy kernels is almost unthinkable.

Popcorn is the ideal snack. Eaten without oil or butter, it''s a skinny 27 calories per cup. Since it''s a whole grain with a high fiber content, it has a well-deserved recommendation from both the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. Even the American Dental Association lists it as a wholesome snack! (Now, don''t you feel virtuous?)

But most of all, popcorn is fun to eat. Combined with some spices and herbs, it rivals the most expensive off-the-shelf snack but costs just pennies to make. Make it spicy for a sophisticated treat, or sweet to satisfy the kid in you.

In Popcorn, award-winning author Frances Towner Giedt starts with the basics of how to make terrific popcorn, then shows you how to dress it up. Whether your taste runs to sweet or spicy, low-fat or fruity, you''ll find more than 50 recipes here to excite, delight, and satisfy your urge for popcorn snacking