Worth waiting for

This week, Wichita had its first significant snow of the season. A whole two inches of fluff fluttered to the ground, causing school children to rejoice and creating over 100 fender-benders across the city. The storm is what police officers call "wake-up call weather." Sales of driveway salt and wiper blades must have soared.

Snow's arrival each year means many things to me. It means my husband, who drives a 35-foot vehicle for a living, will arrive home late, after avoiding careless drivers all day. It means my radio station may get a flood of school cancellation calls. It means that instead of taking a brisk walk in the White Wonderland, I have the desire to curl up in my window seat eating truffles and cheese. And it means ice cream. Snow ice cream.

From the copious snowfall in 2007

My mother must have learned how to make snow ice cream from her mother, and who knows where the recipe came before that. I remember being a little girl and waiting for the right amount of snow to fall each winter, because if we had enough, there would be ice cream.

The first few inches are no good to use, mom told my sister and me, because it's full of dirt and impurities from the atmosphere. The drifts that fall four, five, six inches in are better and cleaner. Once enough snow had fallen, we placed a large mixing bowl in the planter by the front porch

and waited.

When the bowl was full, we'd take it inside, where mom would help us mix in milk, sugar, and vanilla until we had ice cream that rivaled (and beat) that ice cream machine stuff. It only takes minutes to make and minutes to eat.

Put on your down-lines boots, grab your favorite mixing bowl, and follow me outside. This stuff doesn't keep.

The McClure's Classic Snow Ice Cream

• one large mixing bowl full of fresh, clean snow
• about 1 cup of milk (full fat is best)
  
• 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar
• 1-2 tsp. vanilla

Once you've gathered the snow, bring it inside quickly and get to work. Using a large spoon, pour in milk, a third at a time, until you've reached the consistency of ice cream you would like. Some people like their ice cream hard, like custard, some the consistency of soup.

After the milk, stir in sugar to taste. Add vanilla and mix everything together well. The snow will melt a little while you work, but if you go quickly, it won't affect the finished product much. Serve immediately. I've found that about three cups of fallen snow will yield a one-cup serving of finished ice cream.



Kate's Honey-Buttershots variation

• one large bowl of fresh, clean snow
• 1 large shot of Buttershots liqueur (I used a one-serving bottle from the liquor store)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup honey
• about 1 cup milk
  

Prepare ice cream as above, except for one step. You need to prepare the honey/milk mixture before bringing the snow into your home.

So, before adding the snow, heat honey in the microwave for about seven seconds, or just until it melts into a runny liquid, then mix it in with the milk. Refrigerate the milk/honey mixture for a few minutes before retrieving the snow. Then, combine the snow, liqueur, and milk mixture until you reach your perfect consistency. Since this version is heavier on liquids, you may need to dash outside for more snow. Serve immediately.