I'm back. The computer, however, is still not back. It spent a week and a half at the Computer Healer, who threw up his hands and banished it from his shop. We sent it on to the Computer Exorcist to see what he can do. So I snagged Brooks' girlfriend (Just kidding - it's his laptop. We call it his girlfriend because the two of them are inseparable.) to do some posting.

We had a bit of a snowstorm in my neck of the woods. The girls had been dying to make Snow Ice Cream, which they'd heard of but never sampled. For a couple of years, they'd had this recipe in the backs of their minds, but the timing and the catching of clean snow never worked out.

Until this week. The minute Ava heard about the impending snow storm, she put a clean washtub out on the stoop to catch the pristine flakes. (She also put spoons in the freezer and ice cubes in the toilet.... Have you ever heard of those Snow Day Supersticions?)

So Saturday night - the measuring and mixing.

2 cups milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon powdered instant coffee
1 gallon clean fresh snow

1. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and instant coffee until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth.
2. Place the snow into a large bowl, and pour the chocolate mixture over the snow. With a large spoon, stir until the snow ice cream is thoroughly combined. Serve immediately.

This was a fun recipe to make and it felt good to check it off of our Recipe Bucket List, but it wasn't delicious or anything. After a couple of bites, the kids realized that it was ice cream without the... you know.... CREAM. In our mouths, it tasted like a sweetish and chocolatey water, really. A bit unsatisfying.

A few bites were enough.