Snow Cream

Snow?...snow? I'm talking about snow in June?!? Yes, yes I am. I was drinking my morning cup of coffee, thinking of nothing in particular, when thoughts of my mom came to my mind. I miss her so much! There were three things she loved above all others... family, Christmas, and snow cream! My Aunt Kate told me this story a few years ago, so thought I would share it with all of you.

Shortly after my mom married, she and her husband moved to the farm adjacent to her family's farm. The cow pasture was between the two houses. It was my Aunt Kate's "job" to milk the cow in the morning, so that the family could enjoy the milk with breakfast. It had come a heavy snow during the night and several inches of snow covered the ground. While my grandfather was stoking the fire, my grandmother was busy making eggs, biscuits, and gravy. Kate donned her work boots, wrapped her head in scarves, found her gloves, gathered her gear and headed to barn where the cow was usually waiting. Only this morning, the cow wasn't at the barn. She began her search and found the cow in the pasture. Strange, she thought to herself. She coaxed the cow back to the barn, set up her equipment, and began to milk the cow. The only problem was the cow didn't give one drop of milk! Trying to figure out what was going on, a light bulb suddenly went off in her mind.

It seems that my mom just couldn't bear the thought of having all that snow available and not making snow cream. She had enticed the cow to her side of the pasture, milked it dry, and was enjoying herself immensely by the time my Aunt Kate arrived on her doorstep.

This is my aunt's recipe for snow cream.  She doesn't have exact measurements, so it goes something like this:

Snow Cream
1 quart milk or so
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sugar to make it sweet enough for you.

Mix well until the sugar dissolves. Pile in enough snow to make it thick and creamy. Grab a spoon and dig in!