A Snowy Day and a Loaf of Bread

The office is closed, the kids are geared up for a day outdoors, and the snowblowers are humming.  But, sometimes, the best thing about a Snow Day is what’s happening in the kitchen. What’s your go-to comfort food (or drink)? Please share your Snow Day indulgences in the comments. I’d love to know how you spend them, and, more importantly, what you’re eating.

Growing up, I remember coming in from playing in the snow and eating my mom’s homemade Potato Soup. (I’m assuming that potatoes, onions, and milk were supplies she kept on hand.) On Snow Days, my daughter’s family toasts marshmallows in their fireplace for S’mores. (Toasted marshmallows and chocolate bars smashed between two graham crackers).

I like to embrace the delusion that Snow Days are similar to that incredible dream where you’re at a smorgasbord with every imaginable food, tasting everything in sight because you know it’s a dream and you can. In other words, I feel free to stray from my usual low-carb fare simply because IT’S A SNOW DAY!

In my low-carb world, I deprive myself of the deliciousness of bread ALL THE TIME! When I’m truly behaving, I eat just the cheese and sauce from the top of pizza and leave the carby, chewy deliciousness of the crust behind.

So, you better believe that when I hear the first hint of an approaching Snow Day, I’ll be one of the first ones hitting the grocery store for a loaf of bread. (Maybe, just for the sake of conforming to society, I’ll grab a milk and toilet paper, too. There must be a reason if so many are doing it, right?)

People in our region have had their share of ridicule for storming the grocery stores for bread, milk, and toilet paper at the first hint of a snowy forecast. Even a friend of mine on Facebook wrote this today:

“I have lived in this country for 22 years and only one time did a snow storm prevent the bread truck from getting through. March 1996. For approximately two days. We all lived. There is no need for all the bread to be gone from the shelf three days before a predicted snowstorm. Get your lives together, people.”

Interesting assumption that the mad rush is due to fear of running out of bread. I simply won’t miss the opportunity to eat bread without guilt. As I wait in the 10 items or less lane, I imagine the possibilities from that plastic bag cradled in my arms: I could wake up to snow covered windows knowing that I would soon be compensated  with French Toast, sprinkled with powdered sugar. At lunch, I  could sink my teeth into  a buttery crust and gooey middle of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Even the thought of eating a piece of toast with apricot jam, to accompany an afternoon hot chocolate makes me giddy with anticipation.

On a normal day, those carbs and calories would total approximately one bazillion. Add that to some libations, a few trips to the frig for snacks, and a mixing bowl of popcorn for munching during movies and you’re talking two bazillion, easy.  But indeed, not on that day.

Snow Days are truly a thing of beauty. Bon Appetite!