This has been a winter to remember. When today's youngsters are old-timers this will be recalling this one. The temperature and snow will become even colder and deeper.
There has been plenty of snow for the kids to enjoy, although most of them probably confined themselves to their electronic gadgets. We were lucky. We didn't have any, but we did have snow ice cream.
Back in the day, ice cream was something special We had no refrigerator. We felt lucky to have an ice box, but the old ice box wouldn’t keep ice cream very long. So, the only time we had ice cream was when we went to town. On Saturday night, we would walk downtown for the band concert at the courthouse square.
In winter there were no band concerts and fewer leisurely trips to town, and less chance for an ice cream treat. But there was snow ice cream.
When that first measurable snow came, Mom usually would make a bowl of snow cream. It tasted great, and as I grew older I was able to make the tasty treat. However, my duties usually related to gathering the white stuff. Someone often chuckled and added, “Don’t get any of the yellow snow.” I may not have been very old, but knew they were telling me to get clean snow and avoid any area the dogs had used as an outdoor restroom.
Later, when we were fortunate enough to have a refrigerator with a freezer, it still was fun to make snow ice cream.
Most of the recipes for snow ice cream are quite simple, but there are a few variations.
The simplest, and the way I recall making it, requires only four ingredients. That is one cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup sugar and four or five cups of clean snow.
Mix together the milk, vanilla, and the sugar. Stir this mixture until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the snow to your mixture, stirring constantly, until it is as thick as the ice cream.
Some recipes add one beaten egg. That makes it a bit richer. Some call for separating the white and yellow of the egg, beating, and then adding together. Others even call for cooking the egg mixture a bit. And then some add a dash of salt.
Keeping it simple seemed fine to me.
One of the good things about freezers these days is you can even save some of your snow ice cream and eat it a bit later.
The EPA or some organization today probably warns that the snow is full of all sorts of toxins, but go for it. Enjoy it. You won’t be eating that much anyway.
Snow and those old memories also brought back the thought on snow angels. I suspect some kids still make them.
If you’ve never made one, you’ve probably seen them in movies or on television. You lay down in the snow on your back and move your arms up and down over your head to form the wings. Then you move your legs side to side to make the bottom part of the angel’s robe.
When you get up from the snow, your snow angel will be imprinted into the snow.
If you have youngsters around, encourage them to make some snow angels and gather snow for ice cream the next time we have a fresh snow. Hopefully, there won't be too many more 2014 snows before spring.
Guess, I’m still a kid at heart. I like snow, and would love a bowl of snow ice cream.
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