When the wind blows cold and icy the last thing you probably want is a frozen treat. But, you should make due with what you have, and what I have right now is a lot of snow (and its still coming down!). Nor’easter Nemo is circling New England and although people are suggesting that the storm’s name alludes the adorable baby clown-fish that has to be found, there’s absolutely no Disneyfication to power outages, constant snow plowing, and cabin fever.  I guess people forget that the original Nemo is someone to fear, someone who roamed the high seas and the depths below in his steam-punky Nautilus. Captain Nemo, the mysterious and vengeful son of an Indian Raja who hated the British, is a much more fitting character for this storm. It. Is. Scary.

And while I’d love to appease Captain Nemo with a little snow-time-treat, one that tastes almost exactly like a dreamsicle,  he had this habit and rule of only using and eating things that came from the ocean. So I have a feeling he wouldn’t like these Orange Snow Creams. So for the sake of our taste buds, we can assume the storm is named after that little cute orange fish instead (who would probably like these orange snow creams if given the chance to taste one).

Its best to assemble this snow cream out in the cold so the snow doesn’t melt in your kitchen. You can gather all your ingredients, mix the first part together, and then finish the process outside…only to quickly sprint back inside out of the blizzard!

Orange Snow Creams

serves 3-5

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon orange flower water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

2 tablespoons orange juice

6 cups snow, clean and fresh

1/4 -1/2 cup cream

1. In the bottom of a large bowl, mix together the sugar, orange flower water, vanilla paste, grated orange rind, and orange juice with a fork.

2. Top sugar-orange mixture with snow. Fluff the two together with a fork like you would fluff cooked rice.

3. Pour a bit of the cream over the snow and mix with the fork. Continue to add cream and fluff with the fork until the mixture resembles a snow cone. You can add more cream to make it smoother like ice cream or less to make it more like a granita. Portion into small bowls, top with additional grated orange rind, and serve immediately.

Its counter-intuitive I know, but I promise, using the mounding snow to your culinary advantage will make being snowed in for days a little easier. Stay warm!