There was once an excellent book called "While the Pasta Cooks," which showed how to prepare everything quickly for a wonderful dish in the time the pasta was bubbling on the stovetop. There could just as easily be a cookbook titled "While the Popcorn Pops." There are all kinds of delicacies we can prepare as the popcorn bag inflates for a few minutes in the microwave.

If you're only relegating popcorn to an occasional snack, you're missing out on a fast, whole-grain secret weapon that can be a gourmet addition to your meals.

If you don't believe me, look no further than a stunning recipe for a buttery curried popcorn that sits atop a gorgeous squash bisque — it also gets a second dose of hidden whole grain goodness from old-fashioned oatmeal.

It's the brainchild of veteran cookbook author Lorna Sass in her new "Whole Grains for Busy People" (Clarkson Potter, $19.95). Sass, who also wrote the James Beard Award-winning "Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way," ingeniously includes the same curried popcorn in a delicious ginger-carrot soup with wild rice and cranberries as well as in the cayenne- and smoked paprika-accented finely ground crust for turkey cutlets.

Plenty of others in the know also recommend popcorn as the savvy cook's shortcut to adding whole grains and a gourmet touch to meals. In "Encyclopedia Popcornica" — an online guide from the popcorn industry trade group's collaborative www.popcorn.org — peanuts, hot pepper sauce, soy sauce and garlic combine with ground popcorn for a Thai-influenced quick crust for chicken. Creativity reigns when it comes to their cheesy popcorn corn bread, which adds ground popcorn to yellow cornmeal, shredded jack or pepper jack cheese and diced green chilies in an outstanding side dish.

If it's not a full meal you're in the mood for, while the popcorn's doing its dance in the microwave, another quick solution is to stir up gourmet spice mixes. Use your favorite flavors and foods as inspirations: tacos, nachos, potato skins, chili and pizza. One of my favorites is to copy pesto by combining crushed, dried parsley, garlic powder, parmesan cheese and finely chopped, ground or whole pine nuts. You can toss that onto popped corn, or blend the mixture with melted butter or margarine and combine with the popcorn. These spiced popcorns are great as snacks or flavored additions as "croutons" for salads and soups.

As new as it might be to experiment like this in your kitchen, using popcorn as a meal enhancer is old news. Popping was the first known use of corn; the oldest popped ears ever found were 4,000 years old. Popcorn continued its creative culinary timeline in the meals of everyone from Christopher Columbus, to 16th century Aztec Indians, to the inventors of the microwave oven who used popcorn as their first ingredient in the 1940s.

SQUASH BISQUE WITH CURRIED POPCORN

Soup:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon mild Madras curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

1 quart low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Salt, to taste

2/3 cup oatmeal (old-fashioned rolled oats)

2 packages (12 ounces each) frozen cooked winter squash

Curried popcorn:

4 cups salted popped popcorn

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter or olive oil

2 teaspoons mild Madras curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Grated zest of 1 lime (optional)

Yields 4 servings.

To prepare soup: Over medium heat, melt butter in a heavy 6-quart soup pot. While the butter is melting, stir in the curry powder, cumin, garlic, cinnamon and cayenne pepper (if using). Toast the spices for 30 seconds.

Add the broth and salt to taste. Stir in the oats. Place the blocks of frozen squash on top. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat slightly, cover and continue cooking until you can break up the squash with a fork, 3 to 5 more minutes. Stir well, cover and cook over medium heat until the oats are either very soft or partially dissolved, about 5 minutes longer.

While the soup is cooking, prepare the popcorn topping: Place the popcorn in large bowl. Put the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium heat. While the butter is melting, stir in the curry powder, cumin and fennel. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Drizzle the seasoned butter over the popcorn while stirring. Toss and rub the popcorn with your fingers so that it becomes evenly coated with the spiced butter.

When the soup is done, stir in the cilantro and some lime zest, if needed, to sharpen the flavors. Adjust the seasonings. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each portion with about 1/3 cup of popcorn. Pass the remaining popcorn at the table.

— "Whole Grains for Busy People: Fast Flavor-Packed Meals and More for Everyone" by Lorna Sass (Clarkson Potter, $19.95).

THAI PEANUT AND POPCORN CRUSTED CHICKEN

Sauce:

3 tablespoons peanut butter

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Chicken:

2 cups popped popcorn

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

1 egg

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Yields 4 servings.

To prepare sauce: In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, lime juice and hot pepper sauce until smooth.

To prepare chicken: Preheat oven to 350 F.

Process popcorn in a blender or food processor until ground. Pour ground popcorn into a shallow dish; stir in peanuts and set aside.

In another shallow dish, whisk egg, soy sauce, garlic and hot pepper sauce until blended; set aside.

Heat oil in a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Dip chicken breasts first in egg mixture and then in popcorn mixture until well coated. Place in skillet and brown on both sides — about 3 minutes per side. Place skillet in oven for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with the sauce.

— "Encyclopedia Popcornica" (www.popcorn.org)

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.