bless·ing  [bles-ing]
the invoking of God’s favor upon a person

I should rename this “The Molasses Blog” since that’s about the speed I do blog posts!  So many things get ‘in the way’… work, new projects and clients, having fun with my incredibly fun-funny-wondermous nephew Wyatt and just life in general…
What a blessing to have Wyatt in my life!

Determined to throw out one more post before flip’n my calendar to 2012 (!), I squint as I write this as my left retina decided to just randomly detach itself from my eyeball days before Christmas… I ended up having emergency eye surgery on Christmas Eve eve, then having more (laser) surgery at my recheck the next morn on Christmas Eve… I was ordered to stay flat on my left side until today, and still must spend as much time as I can stand sideways a few more days for proper healing.  (For the record, should you ever find yourself sideways for long periods of time, you can do Control/Alt/Left or Right Arrow and your screen will magically turn that way for horizontal computing!)

I did get a great report at my follow up yesterday and am (knock-on-wood) healing nicely!  Before I get back to the topic at hand, I would like to sing the praises of all the docs that took care of me… from Eye Care Associates in Zebulon to Retina Associates in Raleigh and right on over to those at the Kittner Eye Center in Chapel Hill… what a grand bunch of well-trained folks… INCLUDING caring ‘bedside manor.’ I’m so grateful to all these folks and happy my sight is still intact in my eye… all the docs told me that had I waited even a day longer, it was probable I would have lost sight in my left eye… gosh how we take so many things for granted, like being able to SEE what’s around us!!
What a blessing it is to have sight!

And a quick hug to my sis too… for being my chauffeur and ‘patient advocate’ staying right by my side thru all of this and letting me recoup at her house too!
What a blessing to have a SISTER!

As we rush off into the new year, if you are like me, you feel the need to tidy things up a bit… organize and reorganize and have a fresh start.  Now, more than ever, so many of us continue to slide the old budget belt a bit tighter and I’d like to help you with that, starting, of course, in your kitchen.  When was the last time you took inventory of what’s in your freezer?  Have you EVER taken inventory of what’s in your freezer? I take for granted the fact that my freezer (make that freezerS) are full and hunger or the lack of money to feed myself  (or children if I had any) isn’t a worry as it is for growing numbers of those around us.  I admit I hoard food… another topic for another post… but ,
What a blessing it is to have a pantry, fridge and freezer(s) full of all sorts of foods at arm’s reach!

This weekend is a perfect time to take stock of your food blessings, starting in your freezer.  It really doesn’t take very long… here are just a few tips to get you going as you look to SEE what’s in yours! Be sure you have plenty of time to do this right and are not rushed so halfway through you abort the mission and have to go do something else.

The things in BOLD will give you a quick glace to see what you will need to gather and have ready in advance… now GO “git ‘er done” then come back and add your comments about your freezer adventure and let me know this post inspired youBearShareV10!

• Put on some fun peppy music that will get you in the mood… stuff you like to sing in the shower or car…  or just plug in your iPod and let ‘er rip!
• Sit out supplies:
  • name brand zippered bags, assorted sizes (based on my experience, store brands SUCK in this category)
  • dry erase board with markers
  • notepad/pen
  • some way to make labels (label maker, freezer tape and perm marker, your own paper labels with tape, etc.
• Clear countertop and/or table so as you take everything out you can organize the ‘stuff’ into categories and like-items into piles for repacking.
• Remove everything from your freezer.   If a small freezer, you can work fast enough so foods won’t thaw.  I do not recommend doing this on a hot day.  If you have a big freezer(s), do this on a cold winter’s day when you can simply sit the foods outside in shaded cold area.
• Give it a quick cleaning by washing out with warm soapy water.  “Rinse” with a mixture of water and baking soda.  This will remove soap residue, remove odors and give a fresh start.  To keep it smelling fresh, I prefer a few lumps of charcoal.  I find they absorb odors better than other options.  Just put them in a cup somewhere in the freezer and I think you will notice the same.
• As you get ready to restock foods into the nice clean freezer, toss out any with freezer burn (ice crystals…that stuff you can no longer recognize) or is so old you wouldn’t feed it to stray dogs or throw in a pond for fish!  And always remember…
  Never risk the plight of food poisoning over a little pack of old food… a regret you should never have!
• Using the ziplock bags and other supplies, repackage anything that needs it.  Mash things flat for easier stacking or for sliding into small spaces in your freezer.  Freeze in a pile, then you can leave that way, or stack like this upright, depending on what works for best use of space for you.
• As you repackage/replace your food, write each thing on the dry erase board.  As you menu plan for the week and make your grocery shopping list,  you can quickly glance at the list and see what you have to use.  As you use, simply wipe off the board, and as you buy and add new things or add leftover tidbits, write on this board (while also dating and labeling the package).  This system will greatly reduce your freezer waste (but only if you use it).
• I have a couple of outdoor refrigerators with small top freezers and a chest freezer… i keep ‘inventory’ on those by writing on the freezer door with a dry erase marker (just like a dry erase board)… and at a glance I can see what’s in there… wipe off with my finger when something comes out and keep a pen on top of the freezer to add what goes in.

For tips on freezing foods, I’ll point you to a recent online article where I was consulted and provided helpful information on this topic.  You can read that at DinnerTool…

“How To Prevent Freezer Burn”
by Amber Greviskes

Now that you have your nice inventory list… here are a few sites where you can visit to plug in ingredient(s) to find recipes to create with them, or… simply “Throw Cook” something yourself.  If you need help or suggestions, post for me over on my “Throw Cooking” facebook page and I’ll throw you some ideas.

• a FAV of mine for inspirations… Foodily
• SuperCook
• RecipeMatcher
• My Fridge Food
• RecipeKey

Now… sit back, relax and enjoy ringing in the New Year with your freshly cleaned freezer and ‘whatever’ you pulled out to cook up!  And “just in case” our superstitions hold true,  I hope you’ll ‘throw’ some Southern Traditions on the table…

Black-Eyed Peas for prosperity and good luck… greens (cabbards for this gal-see recipe) for money and fortune… and of course, cornbread, which represents gold!  I’m having thoughts of a Bloody Mary BE Peas and Greens Soup… kept warm in the crock pot for anybody who wants to drop by… throw in your fav bloody mary mix, drain/rinsed canned or frozen, greens (cabbards, collards, cabbage, etc.), some chopped onions and celery if you have… and whatever seasonings strike your fancy!  Serve with Cornbread Cookies or your own cornbread recipe… iced tea or a real cold beer!  Now wipe that drool away, get ready to clean out your freezer for a fresh start… and have a safe and fun weekend with your friends and family… see y’all NEXT year.

What a blessing it is to be here today, writing this blog post, with ‘saved’ eyesight looking towards a new year!

Happy New Year Y’all…
Wendy… aka “Dee Dee”

Being the “throw cooker” that I am, those of you that know me know I’m gonna throw a twist into a meal or recipe, any chance I get.  Well there’s no reason Thanksgiving should be exempt from my voodoo.  My friends

Valonda and Sharon invited me back again to their show, NBC17′s My Carolina Today Show, here in the Raleigh Triangle market… those two are so cute and fun I can never say no to their invites… although being a big girl as I am, I feel like Goliath Chef beside them. I’m sure they must wear something like Size -4 or something like that… and so bubbly I just wanna pinch their cheeks… bless their hearts!  I usually take my clogs off during taping to help a little, but forgot when taping this week… the show will air tomorrow (Thursday, November 16th)… so as I post, I don’t have a link to the video yet they always throw up online… I’ll come back with that!

When Sharon asked me at my last visit to come up with ‘something’ for Thanksgiving, I didn’t have any ideas right off the bat like usual… but a couple of weeks ago, as usual, I had a vision… of one thing, and that’s all it takes to get me going.  They asked me yesterday if I just magically ‘come up with this stuff,’ and I told them, “well, actually, yes.”  My inspiration this time was collards. (And when I come up for air in-between this week’s BIG projects…. I’m going to post my “Almost Famous Collards” for you, and how I throw ‘em together.)  Once I had the collard vision, everything else just flowed right out of me… and so now, I introduce to you…

My Southern Thanksgiving Table… with a twist!

As you look through these realllllly easy recipes, you’ll see all our usual stuff found on Turkey Day Tables, at least mine anyway… turkey, cranberry sauce, collards, stuffing (AKA dressing), turnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and pecan pie ~ just twisted out a bit.  I hope y’all enjoy these and reallllly hope you will give me some feedback down there in the ‘comments’ box, and also, PLEASE SHARE on your Facebook pages and with your friends… I really need to get more folks here and need your help!  I give you entertainment and wondermous recipes, and all I ask is that you invite a few folks to subscribe…

OK… advertisement over!

Gotta run… as Food Stylist and Recipe Developer for Our State Magazine, gotta be up realllllllllll early in the morning and in Greensboro BY 7:30…. to shoot some wayyyy outside the box special recipes I developed for February issue… been working on them for a few months!  Can’t tell ya any more than that… Top Secret, but you just run yourself on over and subscribe right now so it will come right to your mailbox in mid-January! (It’s a perfect gift that gives all year long too… for yourself or others.)  You are just not gonna believe your eyes.  Lordie Mercie, they are bringing in video folk too, to film the ‘behind the scenes’ of the assembly of these recipes and what goes on at a special photo shoot like this, so this gal needs all the ‘beauty rest’ she can get… but to tell you the truth, I’m SOOOO excited about this and feel like it’s my Christmas Eve and don’t anticipate much sleep, ‘tween that and the tornado watches going on thru the night.  I’m about to bust wide open to tell folks about this… by my lips are sealed… for a few more weeks anyway.

So… hope you enjoy these recipes… and Share Away!

FOR 1 page PRINTABLE RECIPES, click HERE! Or, click the recipe name.

Grilled Barbecued Twisted ‘n Kicked Turkey

We’re twist’n & kick’n up Thanksgiving this year with some new ways to cook and serve traditional oldies.  Everybody loves grilled goodies and this turkey is no exception.  This recipe features some culinary goodies made here in North Carolina but you can sub your own favorites as well.

Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size:  however much you cook!

Sliced Turkey breast (you can used cooked)
Turkey Legs (raw)
Tiny Town Turkey Rub     (from Savory Spice Shop Raleigh-visit one in your area or order online!)

1          cup                 NC’s Fireside Black Jack BBQ Sauce                         Visit their Web Site
½         cup                NC’s Crooked Condiments Gaelic Ale Mustard      Visit their Web Site
1          teaspoon        jalapeno powder (more or less to taste)   (also from Savory Spice Shop)

TURKEY:  To save time, you can buy cooked turkey breast.

Shake (generously) some Tiny Town Turkey Rub onto turkey.

SAUCE:  Mix BBQ sauce, mustard and jalapeno power in small bowl.

Slice (cooked turkey) and place on grill.  Baste with sauce and grill on each side until well-heated and sauce has caramelized a bit.

Cook raw turkey legs, turning frequently, until at 165° by thermometer.  Once done and before removing from grill, baste generously with sauce and turn a few
times to allow sauce to glaze and caramelize.

Use this to also to baste Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing.

Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog

Cranberry BBQ “SauSal “

Throw your guests a twist at Thanksgiving or any time you serve turkey or chicken with this SauSal… (a little Sauce with a hint of Salsa)
You can throw this together in about 10 minutes with a bag of cranberries and some goodies you probably have on hand!

Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8+

1          bag                 fresh cranberries
¼         cup               favorite BBQ sauce
1           cup                sugar
½         cup               brown sugar
¾         cup               your favorite salsachopped cilantro
1                                  jalapeno, seeded and diced

Throw everything but cilantro and jalapeno into heavy saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until berries have popped and sauce has thickened.

Pour into serving bowl and chill.  At serving time, sprinkle with cilantro and jalapeno.  Serve with BBQ Turkey and Bacon Wrapped Cabbage Rolls and Stuffing.

This is also good on leftover turkey (and ham) sandwiches and wraps.

Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.        May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog

Bacon Wrapped Collard Rolls with Stuffing

Collards….
the quintessential southern green, and no traditional Thanksgiving table in these parts would be complete without ‘em.  But this year, throw together some of these and throw on the grill along with your turkey for a real surprising twist… and your dressing, or stuffing, whichever you call it, is tucked inside!  Like most of this meal, these can be made ahead and just throw on the grill when you cook your turkey.

Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8

8                                 collard leaves, torn into large pieces
8       slices               bacon
4       cups                 your favorite stuffing
toothpicks

BBQ Turkey Sauce (see that recipe up above)

In deep skillet or pot, heat water 2 inches deep.  Once boiling, throw collard leaves into water (stacked on top of each other).  Blanche several minutes until tender.  Remove and drain in colander being careful not to tear leaves.

Cook bacon in layers of paper towels in microwave (or skillet) several minutes until almost done, but still soft and pliable.

Lay collard leaf onto flat surface.  Spoon ½ cup of stuffing horizontally and roll up.  Wrap a slice of bacon around the roll and secure with toothpick.  Continue until all rolls are completed.

Throw on hot grill and baste with the Turkey BBQ Sauce, turning to glaze while sauce lightly caramelizes and bacon finishes cooking.  Serve with grilled turkey.

Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited and link back to this blog

Rosemary Skewered Fall Veggie Kabobs

These are really easy to throw together for a new twist on traditional Thanksgiving vegetables.  You can also make these ahead of time to throw on the grill with the rest of your Grilled Turkey Day meal.

Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8

8                                   stems of fresh rosemary
8          (or more)     fresh Brussels Sprouts
16       1” chunks      fresh turnips
16       1” chunks      fresh butternut squash
1          large               red onion, cut into 1” square slices
1          stick                butter, melted
Few     sprigs            fresh sage
salt and freshly ground pepper

Strip leaves from rosemary stems, leaving about 2” of leaves on tip end.  Set aside.

Steam Brussels Sprouts in microwave until tender but not mushy, about 3-4 minutes.  (Time will vary depending on wattage of your microwave.)

Steam turnip and squash chunks in microwave until crisp tender being careful not to overcook;  if too done, they will break apart when sliding onto skewers.

Thread onto skewers… squash, turnip, onion, sprout, squash, turnip, onion (or whatever pattern you choose)… I use 1 Brussels Sprout in center but you can add more if you like.

Throw onto grill making sure tips with leaves are over unheated area so they won’t burn off.  Use sage stem with leaves to baste with melted butter while cooking.  Grill, turning gently with tongs, until slightly charred on all sides.  Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper or seasoning of choice.

Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog

BUTTERscoth PECAN Skillet Pie

Yummmm….
cooking and serving pie from a skillet just seems to make ‘em taste better!  This pie just says ‘fall’… with the toasty pecans and richness of the butterscotch.  Top with Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream and get ready for accolades all around for your DEElicious DEEssert.

Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8

1 1/2      cups               pecan pieces
2          tablespoons   flour
3              large             eggs – beaten with whisk till slightly frothy
1      11 ounce bag     butterscotch morsels
1/2          cup               brown sugar
1              stick              butter — melted, cooled
1          teaspoon        vanilla
1                                     unbaked pie shell, (I use Pillsbury from dairy section, not frozen)
Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream
Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray 10″-12’ cast iron skillet; place crust into prepared pan.  It will naturally ‘ruffle’ as shown in picture.

In medium bowl, mix pecan pieces with flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into pie shell and bake 350* for about 40-45 minutes.

Let pie cool before slicing as it is easier to cut at room temperature.

Serve with dollop of Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream and pinch of sea salt.

Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog

North Carolina Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream

Lordie Mercie.
You just don’t get much easier than this when it comes to Throw Cooking.  This is a fun and easy recipe for little ones to throw together with you in the kitchen.  Eat as is, or plop some on top of a slice of BUTTERscoth PECAN Skillet Pie.

Recipe By: Wendy Perry
Serving Size: 8

1          ½ gallon         vanilla ice cream, softened
2          large                 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1          tablespoons  apple pie spice
½         cup                  molasses
sea salt

Put softened ice cream into mixing bowl.  Throw in sweet potatoes and spice.  Drizzle with molasses and swirl into ice cream mixture.  Refreeze.

Serve as is or over pie with a pinch of sea salt on top!

Sweet potatoes can be cooked in microwave on high power, about 10 minutes.  Cook until soft when squeezed with a towel.  Be sure they are well cooled before adding into ice cream.

Recipe Copyright© Wendy L. Perry, Inc.
May be shared with credit cited with link back to this blog

That’s all for now folks!

Goodness gracious, February has evaporated!  My grandmas surely were right about that “time flying” thing when you’re “seasoned.”  (I strive to abstain from using the word old, older or any derivative of it.)  I surely don’t wish my life away, BUT, I cannot tell a lie (doesn’t that have some sort of relationship with cherry trees?)… I’m mighty glad to be seeing winter quickly moving into the rear view mirror.

I’m a Spring Chick!  The R A I N B O W spring brings makes me giddy.  I love looking upward to see GREEN buds on a palate of BLUE sky… and gazing down to see YELLOW buttercups already making their debut in my yard… I start looking forward to cute little roadside signs, often hand-painted, letting me know it’s time for RED strawberries…  and grin when I see Lavender chive blossoms burst open for my salads (although I mostly enjoy chomping on them right out there in the yard).  But there is one color I dread come spring… the glaring WHITE on my winterized legs!  Now I’ve never been a sun worshiper (boring!) and I do make sure to use sun protection, but I must admit that I do feel a little better with a tad of color when debuting shorts, skirts and skorts come Spring.

Soooo, back to saying buh-bye to February.  Being that it’s National Cherry Month AND being that cherries in any shape, form or fashion are about my FAV fruit, I couldn’t “march’ forward without some sort of cherry treat.  My foodie friends know I’m the quintessential NON-baker, so as I looked about for inspirations, “no bake” recipes screamed w.e.n.d.y.! I’m also not one of those folks who cannot exist without sweet stuff, so this concoction realllly got me out of the proverbial ‘box.’   But when I started digging to see what I had on hand to create a new masterpiece, a “no bake sweet treat” is what emerged.  I hope you enjoy making these FAST goodies as much as I did…
(“fast” + “EZ” + “no bake” = My Kind ‘o Throw Together Goodie)!

“A Date With Cherry”
…cherry chocolate chip date nut balls

…a recipe by Wendy Perry
Yield:  1 dozen
Prep Time:  less than 10 minutes

1      c.               asst. nuts/pieces* (salted or unsalted)
pinch of salt    (if your nuts are unsalted)
1/2  c.              dried cherries, unsweetened
3/4  c.              dates (whole or pieces)
1/4  t.               almond extract (Watkins)
1/4  t.               vanilla extract (Watkins)
2      T.              water (or if for adults, Amaretto, vanilla or cherry rum or chocolate liquer)
1/2  c.               mini chocolate chips
1/2  c.               flaked coconut (half toasted)**

* This is a great recipe to use up those tidbits of nuts because a mixture is a ‘good thing’ in this recipe.
For recipe creation, I used pecans, walnuts and some macadamia nut pieces (previously toasted for another recipe).

Throw your nuts and salt into a food processor and whiz until fine crumbs.  Throw cherries, dates, extracts and water (or alcohol) in and pulse until you have an ooey gooey paste.  With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

Pinch mixture and make 1″ balls.  Roll in coconut and place into freezer to firm up for about an hour.  Keep chilled.

**Toast coconut in non-stick pan until some is toasted and some isn’t so you have a half-n-half mix.  Bu doing this, you’ll get a nice “chew” with the bits that haven’t toasted, yet a nice toasty crunch with the flakes that are toasted.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

After spending a little time in the yard yesterday to start spring cleaning it (before snakes may slither in!!!), I once again, as realized about this time each year,  confirm that I DETEST yard work, period.  I so want to be one of those folks who look forward to piddling in the yard, fluttering about pulling weeds here, planting flowers there… “becoming one with nature!”  Just ain’t me…. and I was nowhere in sight when God was handing out those genes.  I’m the one with good intentions, going to the annual Wake Forest HerbFest where I roll around one of the cute little Radio Flyer wagons and get all giddy filling it with tender young herbs and unusual tomato plants.  Usually, in 2-3 weeks time, the thrill is gone,  and I’ve grown the nicest pots of DRIED HERBS you’ve ever seen.  Thank goodness a few of my favs, like chive, don’t need a lot of attention and thrive on their own.

Last year, I dabbled in hay bale gardening where I planted a lot of varieties of maters, but forgot about those after a bit too… yet a LOT of maters actually came to be.  I haven’t yet decided if I’ll try that again this year or not… more about that later! 

Back to yesterday… (because with every small movement, this muscle or that one takes me back there), I concluded that the main reason I don’t like yard word is D.I.R.T.!!!  (I don’t even care for all that sand at the beach, which is a problem when you love the beach!).  Dirt gets everywhere... under my fingernails (even when wearing gloves?!?), inside my socks… hair… mouth, even in my bra!  I just get too dirty out there in the dirt, period.  So when I came in yesterday at dusk, I pondered the whole dirt thing, and came to this conclusion.  I hate dirt.  Yet, I love dirt CAKE!  So here’s to dirt and those that “dig” dirt (with the highest admiration!)… whether under your fingernails from outside, or licking off your finger with my kind o’ dirt from the kitchen!

Wendy’s Dirt Cake… quick and EZ

…a fun cake to serve a crowd any time of year, but especially nice in the springtime!

Serves 12ish  

   1      large pkg.         Chocolate Creme-Filled Cookies* 
   2      8 oz.                  whipping cream (make fresh or use 2 packaged)
   2      8 oz.                  cream cheese, softened
   2      large                 instant pudding mix
   4      cups                  milk
                                     food coloring, opt.
                                     flower pot safe for food, about 5 qt. size
                                     garden trowel for serving
                                     flowers, gummy worms/bugs for garnish

DIRT:
*You can save money by using “no name brand” cookies from dollar or discount store.
Save 1 (or more whole cookies) to plug hole in bottom of flower pot.

Place cookies in processor and pulse until consistency of dirt!  (If you don’t have a processor, this can be done in a zippered bag by rolling into crumbs with some sort of bottle or jar.)  I like to keep a few cookies out and break into pieces to have a ‘crunch’ in the dirt crumbs.

FILLING:
Mix pudding but using a little less milk than you would for usual pudding so it will be a bit firmer in the cake.  With mixer, blend in the cream cheese; whirl in the whipped cream, or you can do them (pudding/cream cheese and whipped cream) as 2 separate layers in the cake.

Start by covering hole with whole cookie(s) and a layer of dirt in bottom of pot.  Alternate 2-3 layers (number of layers will depend on size/shape of your pot.  End by topping with ‘dirt.’ 

GARNISH:  throw in some silk flowers (or real as in picture if in jar or bottle of water)… hang a gummy worm or two around too.

CONTAINER: Some clay pots have been chemically treated so best to use a cleaned plastic or ceramic type flower pot.   If using a clay pot, it should first be washed well/sterilized through a cycle in the dishwasher.

SERVING SPOON:  It’s fun to keep the “theme” going by using a garden trowel which you can find at a dollar store. 

PUDDING:  These is where you can get creative and have fun… make chocolate, vanilla or anything that goes good with the chocolate cookies.  In both these pictures, I used mint…wished I had taken a good picture of the INside!  I like to do this at St. Patty’s Day and make sure I add a little green food coloring to get a nice bold green layer in my cake!  “DIG” In!

Wendy’s Creamy Snow Cream Custard
Although we don’t have snow right now(thank goodness!) here in my spot of North Carolina, others of you have plenty to make up for our shortage. This is one of my most requested recipes and I thought with the SnowPocolypse going on across America, it would a good time to share here on my blog. Readers of Carolina Country Magazine were treated to this story in the Jan.2011 issue that just happened to fall in their mailboxes a few days before our Carolina Christmas snow… so it was fun to get emails from folks all over the place I never knew who ate themselves silly with this while housebound with chilluns’ and remnants of Christmas strewn about.

Growing up, we could hardly wait for snow here in North Carolina. Seems it was rarer back then than now! My mama (bless her soul) would n.e.v.e.r. allow snow cream to be made with the first snow, because she said that first one “cleaned the air,” (?) which meant we may not get ANY snow cream if there wasn’t a second snow. She was far from being any sort of culinarian and I suppose she was just passing along old tales from her mama. Whatever the reason, I didn’t take too kindly to such nonsense, but not being one to sass back at mama, I would sadly look out at that beautiful blanket of snow and anxiously wait for the next one!

Nowadays, the first sign of snow and I’m making Cream plans and the neighborhood kiddos are call’n to make sure I’m ready. My logic is that the first inch or so does that ‘air cleaning’ making subsequent inches… *”pure as the driven snow!” lol…whatever that means… Here’s to all my friends ‘snowed under’ this week… with all the snow some of you are having, you could make a living selling this stuff if you could get out the door!!

Make this nectar in a jar so you can make small batches or a cup of Snow Cream at the time… just keep the jar sit’n out in the snow till you need another cup!
Exact measurements are not important.

Start with a BIG Mason Jar…
• Pour in condensed milk (no sub for that!) along with a can of evaporated milk or equivalent amount of ½ and ½. (Milk will ‘do’ but won’t be nearly as good.)
• Add in a capful of vanilla… might want more… just taste and adjust… (I use Watkins, the BEST… and you can order from my Watkins store over there on margin tab or HERE)
• a little sugar…. (a couple of tablespoons at the time to taste)
…put the lid on and ShaKe sHakE ShAKE!!! (Note: You can combine this with shaking of one’s booty as to incorporate physical activity to burn off calories in order to make room for those you’re about to ingest lest you should harbor any guilt about such an indulgence.)

• Gather bowl of fluffy snow….
• Put a few scoops of snow into bowl or cup.
• Pour a little of the cream at the time over fluffy snow (icy snow won’t do)….
• Mix in as added… Stir till as thick or thin as YOU like it… I like mine sorta custard-y and thick enough to eat with a spoon… but just as dang good if thinner and sippable…

Now that, my snow bunny friends, is DEE-lish!

*NOTE: Since it came up, I just has to google the origin of ‘pure as the driven snow’ and although there were a LOT of versions, seems the majority point back to Shakespeare…so if interested, you’ll just have to google yourself, because way TMI for this post!