Grub It Up: Real Snow Maple Snow Cones

I wish we could say that we've been off solving some big world problem, but we've really just been letting our busy lives get the best of us. So we were all (mom perhaps slightly less so than the two of us) really excited to get the last two days off of school to hang out in our jams and piddle about the house -- playing, crafting, and eating. This afternoon snack was supposed to be maple snow taffy, but it just didn't turn out like that. It likely had something to do with our lack of a candy thermometer and our general "wing it" attitude towards most things. But it was so delish -- it tasted just like caramel -- we didn't complain.

Real Snow Maple Snow Cones

(slightly adapted from maple snow taffy)

Ingredients
- small bowl full of fresh snow
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup salted butter

Directions
- In a medium-sized pot, over medium heat, heat the syrup and butter together. Time it for about 5 minutes after it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes -- test it on a bit of snow, you don't want it to melt the snow instantly.
- Pour the mixture by the spoonful over a bowl full of clean snow, mix gently.
- Eat.

(note the carefully applied purple eyeshadow on Cam -- mom let her wear her new "makeup" since we were going to be inside all day for a snow day. Cam takes the raccoon application approach.)

Grub It Up: "Homemade" Shave Ice

After our recent trip to NYC, where we cooled down on the High Line with delicious lemon mint and strawberry basil shave ice from People's Pops, mom decided to go with making homemade ice instead of snow cones as we planned on our bucket list. And, let's be honest, any snow cones we make would be the equivalent of shave ice anyhow.

So she talked to us about flavors, bringing up the ones we tasted in New York. We both responded pretty clearly: those weren't sweet and we wanted to bring the sugar. Mom didn't. But she also wanted us to enjoy them. So she shelved the sophisticated flavors and went with a recipe for "homemade" syrup she spotted online. No herb-infused simple syrup here -- this recipes relies on an old summer staple of Koolaid. But since she was giving us the chemicals, mom at least tried to keep a light hand with the sugar.

First, make yourself some shaved ice or ice chips (we got a shave ice machine on sick sale at Target, but you can use your blender to make ice chips, too). For the syrup, you'll need:

- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- one packet Koolaid drink mix (we used Target brand, so store brands are fine, too).

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil (can boil in a microwave). Remove it carefully and add sugar. Whisk until dissolved. Then add 1 packet of drink mix and whisk until dissolved. Allow to cool fully. Serve over shave ice and store leftover syrup in refrigerator.

We made both cherry/lime and grape syrup and because you only need a tiny (1 tablespoon'ish) amount of syrup per shave ice serving, we have had these almost every night for a week and still have a ton leftover. Really, this makes a GIANT batch of syrup, so maybe half it unless it's for a large group of people.