Sparkle Kitchen: Winter Snow Cones
In the Martin & Sylvia story "First Day," Martin and Sylvia celebrate First Day by entering a snow sculpture competition. Even when it’s bitter cold out, you can have your own snow sculpture contest indoors with a sweet treat at the end to make it extra special.
This idea germinated when my son, a toddler, decided he wanted to eat all the snow he could get his hands on. I was running myself ragged trying to keep him away from dirty spots when I finally decided that it would be easier to let him have his way — with Mama-approved, clean snow.
So, I took a big, mixing bowl outside and filled it with pristine snow. Then I brought it inside and sat it down next to our kitchen sink. Propping my son up on a step-stool, I handed him a spoon.
“Well, go to it!” I smiled as I watched him absorb the reality that Mama wasn’t going to say no this time.
He tentatively nibbled a few bites, but then he reached into the bowl and started making mini-snowmen. Perhaps it was only so fun because it was too frigid to be outside, but the two of us made snowmen over the sink for almost half an hour.
When we were almost out of snow, I glanced over at a bowl of leftover Christmas oranges and inspiration struck. I usually only have snow cones in July, but why not eat them when the snow is fresh?
Winter Snow Cones
Ingredients
Clean snow or crushed ice
Fruit juice
Simple syrup (optional)
Directions
Scoop several spoonfuls of clean snow into a glass. Pour over juice from whatever fruit you have on hand. Citrus is delicious, but pomegranate makes a beautiful, pink color!
If the fruit is too tart (or you’re caught in a snowstorm with nothing fresh), you can also make simple syrup to pour over your snow. To do so, boil 1 part water with 2 parts sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Allow the syrup to cool before pouring it over the snow.
Enjoy!
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About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
