Filler Up

Although it's better to give than to receive, the Easter basket I remember most was one my Godmother gave me almost 20 years ago. It was made of solid James J. mint chocolate and filled with chocolate and Easter candy. I love it when things that are made of chocolate are filled with more chocolate.
If you're thinking that I'm the one you want to make your Easter basket, on most days perhaps, but today I was taken by the notion of cinnamon popcorn and Hot Tamales in Easter grass; here's what I came up with (notice the Hubba Bubba Glop, the Hot Tamales are underneath).

But I love shopping for sweets, sweets and electronics. I'd already filled an Easter basket with scrumptious Tarjé treats (their baskets are also amusing, I got this one for my cousin) that were a lot more traditional than what I have in store for my nephews.

✔Cocktail Weanies and Meatball bubble gum
✔Gummy Maggots
✔A Box of Boogers
✔Rock, Paper, Scissors Candy
✔Pooping Bunnies
✔ Chocka Ca-Ca
✔Zit Poppers
✔Bacon Flavored Toothpicks
As for me, I'm eating cinnamon popcorn and Hot Tamales right now, and although my basket will be filled with popcorn, theirs will contain Ratz-Riffic.

Which leads me to the Q:
What Would I Like In My Easter Basket?
And the A:
Rural Route 1 Popcorn (and Hot Tamales)

Here is *Cindy from the RR1 retail store in Montfort filling up one of the buckets I'm gorging myself on now.

That refill bucket (refills are .70 and .50 cents off) once held the ambrosial Cherry Cheesecake popcorn. Not to fear, I got an even larger bucket this time.
Cherry Cheesecake popcorn is cheesecake flavored white fudge popcorn with cherry Jelly Belly beans—see previous post. It is truly one of the best flavors I have ever had and I could NOT stop eating it to the point I had to leave it with my cousin (also on a diet) when I became the bloated tick that I now am.

I have loved candy in my popcorn for many years. My favorites are the standard Milk Duds and buttered corn, and Jujy Fruits with salty white. From this day on I vow to put jelly beans in my popcorn too.
Rural Route 1 rivals two of my favorite popcorn outlets (neither of which exist today, so the winner is...) and makes my all time favorite popping corn.
If you live in the Madison area, just hop on hwy 18 headed for Verona and keep going west until you hit Montfort, home of many windmills.

The first thing you'll notice in the RR1 retail store is, of course, the popcorn. Then you'll notice all the samples of popcorn, which are generous and inviting.
I accepted the invitation. When I left I was already planning what I'll get next time, a variety of cheese popcorns starting with White Cheddar (it's got a bit of peppercorn in it and is quite delicious).
RR1 has been in business since 1983, they love to give out samples, and their most popular flavors are the cheeses of which I speak—there are always five or six. They had Cheddar, White Cheddar, Cheesy Sour Cream, Cheesy Ranch, Cheesy Jalapeno, and Crazy Corn when I was there.

When I first arrived, a few people were chittering away in the parking lot about Cheesy Jalapeno popcorn. Yes, this is what we talk about in parking lots in Wisconsin. The dog is from out of town.

There are seasonal corns too. Black Walnut comes in just before Thanksgiving, peppermint comes in around Christmas (still available), they have a barbeque cheese throughout the summer, and a Packer season corn I'd like to see during the summer months (watermelon and pineapple—yum).

CC Winkle (pictured above with K'Nuckle) is another one of my favorites (caramel corn, cashews, and fudge). Eat some of this and send your diet running for the caves of Afghanistan.

✐: Jodi asked whether or not the fudge flavors such as CC Winkle, Ivory Almond K'Nuckle, and RC Snakle are made with pieces of fudge. They are not.
The fudge corns are "smothered" in fudge for a creamy fudge coating. When you bite into them, they're thick and smooth.
The CC Winkle for example, starts out as caramel corn which is dipped in fudge. The Cherry Cheesecake is cherry coated popcorn blended with white cheesecake fudge. The popcorn doesn't contain chunks of fudge, but is rather coated with it.
There are cashews in the Winkle, almonds in the K'Nukle, and cranberry bits in the Snakle, which is flavored with raspberry.
I'll try to be more descriptive with my next haul from Rural Route 1 which will hopefully include:
Cheddar, White Cheddar, and BBQ Cheese, RC Snakle, and Natural Corn. If the store's a poppin', I'll come a knockin'.

*I originally thought her last name was Olson, sorry Cindy