Today was Max's first day of first grade. I have no idea how that happened. Not in a, "hey, wait, it's only the beginning of August?" kind of way--I know how that happened (he goes to a year-round school so his summer is only six weeks long). No. More in a, "how on earth can you be six??! Six! And starting grade school? Where they don't have snacks in the morning or bathrooms in the rooms?" kind of way. It's killing me. And although I was more of a mess on his first day of kindergarten last year, I still managed to puddle things up a bit. Okay, a lot.
Now, I should say that I actually like the year-round format of our elementary school. It's very nice to have a few weeks off in the fall and spring, as well as an extra couple of weeks during the holidays. But the end of summer break is hard--especially when most of Max's play friends have another month before their summers end.
So I have some activities lined up for August that will hopefully keep summer alive and well around here. Today's project (and treat) was making ice cream in a bag. You will need some milk or half and half, sugar, vanilla, ice, two quart-sized ziplocs, one gallon-sized ziploc, rock salt and any mix-ins you'd like--unless your kids are straight vanilla types like mine (are you shaking your head in wonder? Because I don't get how they can love every candy on earth as long as it is NOT in their ice cream). Oh, and mittens or other means to keep little fingers warm.
I scribbled down the instructions for this at the start of summer--I think from Family Fun magazine but I'm not 100% sure. We made two batches which was enough to serve four. We must not have used enough ice as the ice cream never set up much past soft serve. I just stuck it in the freezer for a little bit (like 30 min) and it was perfect. But don't take my word for it. Take the word of a first grader. Sniff.
Ice Cream in a Bag (adapted from Family Fun Magazine)
Ingredients
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2 Tbl sugar
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1 cup half and half or milk
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1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/2 cup salt (The bigger the granules, the better. Kosher or rock salt works best, but table salt will work.)
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Ice cubes (enough to fill each gallon-size bag about half full)
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2 pint or quart sized ziploc bags
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1 gallon sized ziploc bag
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Any mix-ins you'd like
1.Combine the sugar, half and half or milk, and vanilla extract in the smaller-size bag and seal tightly. Place the sealed bag into the empty, same-sized ziploc.
2. Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bags inside as well. Seal the larger bag. Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens (about 5 minutes). Feel the small bag to determine when it's done. (**ours did not set up firm enough for our liking--maybe too little ice? We just popped it into the freezer for 30 min**)
3. Take the smaller bags out of the larger one, add mix-ins, and eat the ice cream right out of the bag if you like. Serves 1 (though I felt one "serving" was enough for two little ones).