Snow Day!

It just doesn't get much better than this.  This morning I woke up bright and early in true Melody Ann Snowday fashion, and started the day by gazing out the windows at a blanket of 7 inches of snow and sleet covering everything in sight.  While I sipped on my favorite Whole Foods Pacific Rim blend coffee, and carefully chewed my steelcut oats with maple syrup, vanilla and raisins, I pondered what the day might hold for me.

Baking!  Sledding?  Snowman!  Soup!  You know what I'm talkin' about.  So I put on my many mismatched multicolored layers and busted out the cookbooks.

Priority number one on days like these is always snow cream.  So I waddled out the door, scraped mass quantities of still-falling snow off the hood of my car into an enormous bowl,  added some skim milk, vanilla, brown sugar (looked like dirt!), and maple syrup and whipped it into a snow cream frenzy.  Pour into a tall glass, gulp, freeze brain, feel five again.

Next up: exploratory walk.  Is that slushy looking part out in the drive really slush?  No.  Rock hard ice.  Is it really just a dusting that looks deeper because of drifts?  No.  It's really at least 7 inches deep and still going.  And really, really slippery and potentially hilarious for a clumsy person like myself to be out in.  Does it make proper snowballs/forts?  Not yet, but it's getting there...

After a very brief exploratory adventure, I surmised it was high time for some hot comfort in the form of my mom's fantastic chili.  See Exhibit B.

Alright, what's next?  Baking.  Sundried tomato herb garlic rustic loaf, to be specific.  I used the most random recipe out there.  We're talking like page 6 of a Google search from a lady in Great Britain who is definitely not a professional.  But neither am I, so I figured it must be a perfect fit.  I have to say, it smells absolutely fantastic right now as I wait for it to come out of the oven.  I did have to add a substantial additional amount of flour, and it didn't rise quite how I was expecting, so I anxiously await the finished product.  

So the taste is great, but I have to say I would have cooked it at 400 or 425 rather than 450 for 30 minutes, as the crust got a little dark.  It's better alongside a light soup since it's so dense.  I'm glad to have it, but I think I'll go with a simpler loaf next time.

After another outdoor adventure to the interstate, (which looks just like my driveway), I think I might need a glass of wine to warm me inside and out!  Now on to my next adventure...

I have no sled.  Must.  Make. Sled.