Snoranges and Snow Cream

On our honeymoon, in the dead of winter, my husband introduced me to what we later came to call "snoranges". It's an orange juice slush using snow. The name came to us around the time of a particular dog treat commercial. Remember Snausages? I think they're still around. "Snacks" + "Sausages" = "Snausages." So.... "Snow" + "Orange" = "Snorange".

Since we've had so much snow this winter, we've been having Snoranges. They're really good. The only problem is that they'd be much better in July than January. But using snow, it just doesn't work that way. That's OK. In July, we just make them with ice and a blender. And they don't have to be made with orange juice, though no other juice works quite so well. We've tried them with grape juice, with ginger ale, and various other things. Apart from orange juice, the best ones are made with fresh fruit, particularly strawberries. Even though these summer treats are minus the snow and often minus the orange juice, they're still Snoranges to us. It becomes a Strawberry Snorange, or a Raspberry Snorange. We love Snoranges.

A couple nights ago I remembered what my family friend, Cindy H. (now Cindy B.), taught me along time ago. When Mom and I spent Christmas with them when I was in 7th or 8th grade, Cindy taught me how to make Snow Cream. I tried it a couple nights ago after we got a fresh 4 inches of the lightest fluffiest snow I've ever seen. I understand there are a number of recipes for Snow Cream, and I'm looking forward to getting online and checking them out. I just made mine up based on my memory of Cindy in her kitchen back in Birmingham, Michigan that Christmas.

I took a 32 oz plastic tumbler and packed it full of fresh clean snow. I dumped that into a bowl, stirred in 1 cup of milk, 2 heaping soup-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. I mixed that all up and it turned out more like a milk shake (too much milk). It was lightly sweet and very fun to eat with a spoon. I use real vanilla, which is pretty dark. The final result looked more like mashed potatoes than a sweet frozen treat, which made for a rather wierd and contradictory sensory experience. But it was good.

I tried it again last night, after a day of sunshine, and was very disappointed in the icy results I experienced. I've learned that fresh snow is definitely the best. Perhaps someday I will become a conosuier of Snow Cream recipes as I investigate them. I'm sure there are some really good recipes out there created by folks way more talented with food - and snow - than I.

Now I'm HOPING we get some more snow this year! Not that 85 inches isn't enough, mind you.