Wild rice popcorn, snow cream and other goodies!
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History of Wild Rice

The great French explorers were probably the first white men to enjoy the
delicacy that is wild rice. In their writings and other historical documents, the
great Indian wars were described: Ojibway and Sioux battling for over 250 years
for the stands of "manomin", as they called wild rice.

Today, Indians harvest wild rice much the same as they have for over 500 years.
One poles a canoe through the rice beds, the other strikes the heads of the rice
with a stick, knocking the ripe grain into the canoe.

The Indians of old then parched the grain in a kettle (similar to roasting coffee)
and thrashed it by stamping on it with their feet. It was then cleaned by shaking it
in a birchbark basket on a windy day.

Popped Wild Rice or Wild Rice Popcorn

This crunchy, salty, addictive snack will wow you, your friends and family far
out of proportion to how much time and effort it takes to prepare it.

Place a flat-bottomed strainer in a small cast-iron pan and heat 1/2 inch of
vegetable oil...

(NOTE: hot oil can be dangerous for anyone -- ask for help from an adult if
necessary!)

Anyway, heat the oil until a kernel of wild rice, dropped in the strainer, sizzles
and expands to about double its length and width in less than 5 seconds.
(It will look a bit like a plump, brown-speckled worm).

Cook 1 tablespoon of wild rice at a time in the strainer, draining each batch on
paper towels. Season with popcorn salt or herbs. Hmmmmm!

Make Some Rock Candy

(This recipe is also found on KIDS CALENDAR for August 30 on this web site).

What snack might you take with you when you go rock hunting? Rock candy, of course!

Did you know that you could make your own rock candy (or candy crystals, as they are sometimes known)?

Pour half a cup of water into a saucepan, and bring it to a boil.

Add about a cup of sugar to the water, spoonful by spoonful, stirring so that the sugar completely dissolves.

Keep adding the sugar until it is a clear syrup.

Take care that the syrup doesn't boil over (have your parents help you, in any case, at the stove).

Let the syrup cool for about ten minutes before carefully pouring it into a glass that has a weighted string hanging in it. (Tie a paper clip to the string for a weight).

This part was easy. Waiting for the crystals to form might be harder.

It will take about a week before there are crystals forming along the string.

Check the glass every day, and carefully break the crust that forms on the top of the syrup, to allow evaporation to continue. The less the solution is disturbed the better the crystal formation will be. Yum!

Whip Up Some Snow Cream

Who can resist eating some new fallen snow? You can concoct a tasty treat from
(clean) snow, called, logically enough, snow cream.

Two recipes follow; the first using snow as the main ingredient, the other using it
as the freezing agent.

Snow Cream #1
Into a bowl of clean snow, sprinkle some granulated sugar and some vanilla
extract and a bit of milk or cream to make a slushy treat. Eat it with a spoon or
sip through a straw as it melts.

Snow Cream #2
Into an aluminum can or bowl, mix together 1/2 cup milk, 1 tablespoon sugar,
and 1 tablespoon condensed milk. Flavor it with a little vanilla extract or cocoa
powder.

Place the can inside a larger container that has a layer of salt in it. Add snow (or
crushed ice), alternating with layers of more salt, until the inner can is completely
nestled in snow up to its sides. With a wooden popsicle stick or spoon,
continually scrape the freezing snow cream away from the sides of the can,
allowing more of the mixture to freeze on contact with the cold metal. In ten
minutes or so you should have a thick slush. Enjoy!

Send us a short note and let us know which activities you did and how they turned out.

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