Category: Local food

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Snow Cream, or The Winter Harvest

bowl full of snow cream
Making snow cream outdoors

It’s an old recipe: Mix cream, sugar and flavouring with fresh snow and stir it up to make a yummy dessert.

We have lots of the main ingredient since Snowmageddon hit Nova Scotia on March 18. It tickles me pink to have some of the stuff in the freezer, waiting for the day when I can give summer visitors a literal taste of this winter.

Today, before rain turns the fluffy snow to slush, I made a couple of batches. I chose a drifted snowbank on the shady side of the house and removed the top crust that has formed since last week’s big snowfall in order to get at the fine-grained powder beneath. I filled a big bowl with it. I had already combined the other ingredients, and stayed outdoors to mix them with the snow so it would stay cold.

For freezing, I made a light fluffy product, not creamy like ice cream. In a  previous batch, I used more cream and less snow. It was more ice cream-like at the time, but after being in the freezer it froze hard and wasn’t very scoopable.  It would be fine if you eat it right away. I think we’ll be very happy to eat fluffy sweet snow in the heat of July. If we really want ice cream, we can always buy some!

Recipe below photos.

Snow Cream Recipe

All measurements are approximate. You really can’t go wrong.

Ingredients

1 cup cream
1/2 cup sugar or honey
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 large mixing bowl full of fresh, fine-grained snow

Combine everything except the snow until smooth. Drizzle over the snow, then mix it all together gently. If possible, do this outdoors so the snow crystals don’t melt.

Serve immediately, or put in plastic containers to stay frozen until summer.

Variations

Maple: omit vanilla and use 1/2 c real maple syrup instead of sugar. If you can get amber (dark) maple syrup, with its rich flavour, use it! Incredible.

Chocolate: Add 1/4 cup chocolate syrup.

Mocha: Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon instant coffee.

Strawberry: Add 1/2 cup frozen strawberries and blend well with the milk before adding to the snow.

Get creative! The possibilities are endless.

You can use milk substitutes: soy milk, almond milk etc.

Use sweetened condensed milk and omit sugar.

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“There’s lots of room here to be different”

Talking to people who are drawn to live on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, I find it interesting to learn about what attracts them here.

Living in Nova Scotia is a choice, whether you come from “away” or  have your roots in the province.

I often buy meat from Kevin Veinot at local farmers’ markets. His farm has been in his family for seven generations. Yet he too has made a conscious choice to live here, and to farm sustainably.

As he says in this video, “There’s lots of room here to be different.”

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Bing’s Eatery and Socialhouse – a nice surprise in Maitland

Bing’s Eatery and Socialhouse in Maitland, NS

The Tidal Bore in South Maitland had passed, and we were ready for lunch. Heading northwest to Maitland, we stopped at Bing’s Eatery and Socialhouse, expecting a typical “greasy spoon” with various deep fried offerings.

We were surprised to find a cozy interior painted in a deep colour that set off the original paintings on the wall.

We split a Harvest Wrap with turkey and a Caesar salad. The lively, organic veggies were wrapped in fresh herbs and a tasty dressing, and the generous Caesar was as crispy as could be.

Inside Bing’s Eatery, a cozy interior

The pièce de résistance was the dessert, a bumbleberry (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry and strawberry) crumble with vanilla ice cream that lingered delightfully on our palates long after we left the building.

Choice of beverages included a variety of local and Canadian beers and other drinks. Propeller Ginger Beer, made in Halifax, is a very refreshing non-alcoholic choice for a hot day.

Our choice of beverage

The paintings on the wall were the work the owner, Bing himself. He used to run a tidal bore rafting outfit nearby, and opened the restaurant two years ago.

They have live music on Fridays. Check out the website for more details.

Sometimes it’s hard to find quality food in rural diners, so we were delighted with our meal and eager to recommend Bing’s to you!

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The Rope Loft in Chester: a favourite restaurant

Father’s choice on Father’s Day, so of course we went to the Rope Loft on Chester’s Front Harbour.

Entering the Rope Loft
The Rope Loft in Chester

We didn’t dock and dine this time, but you can do that, and berth your boat for the night too, if you’re lucky.

If the walls could talk, they would have many nautical yarns to tell. The old oak timberframe building dates back to the privateer ship Teazer, as it was built with remnants of the famous ship after she burned and sank in Mahone Bay in 1813.

But there’s no salt pork and hardtack on the menu. The Rope Loft Burger is the best around. One of our fathers was very pleased with his sirloin tip roast with baby potatoes and Yorkshire pudding which, he declared, was almost as good as his own. That’s high praise!  The mothers enjoyed Baked Salmon and Seafood Marinara respectively.

A walk around the Village completed our lovely Father’s Day outing.

When the weather is warm enough, you can sit on the deck and watch the activity on the Front Harbour.

The restaurant is a busy place during Race Week. Last year, the Tanzer 22 class was headquartered at the Rope Loft.

Check out the Rope Loft website for a bit of history and some pictures – and of course the menu!

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Doers and Dreamers 2011 is ready

Doers and Dreamers 2011 cover
Doers and Dreamers 2011

Planning a trip to Nova Scotia this year?  Live in Nova Scotia and plan to vacation in another part of the province?

The new Doers and Dreamers, the province’s flagship travel guide, is ready.

So are other guides such as the 2011 Motorcycle Tour Guide, the Halifax Guide, and Taste of Nova Scotia.

Check them out on the provincial tourism site. They’ll send them to you free.

Even if you travel for business, Doers and Dreamers is handy to have.

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Cooking blog from Berwick

Union St. Cafe
Great food and entertainment in Berwick

Jenny Osburn of the Union St. Café in Berwick has a great new blog, Kitchen Witch – the secret ingredient is love.  She’s interesting, funny, and has a great recipe in every post.

Don’t just visit her blog, though.  Go eat!  The restaurant which she started with her mother, sister and aunt a decade ago is still going strong with Jenny at the helm.  She comes from a family of great cooks. More than that however; the food is far from your ordinary fare. It is healthy and local, made from scratch, creative and delicious.

The Wick Pub next door, part of the same establishment, is home to an open mic Kitchen Party on Friday nights, hosted by Jenny’s dad, singer-songwriter and soundman Don Osburn. It is also a concert venue. All this information can be found on the Union St. Café website.