As if I weren’t already confused enough about what day it is, mother nature has decided to cap off the holiday season with a rather underwhelming snow day. Winter storm Hercules, named for the half-man half-god son of Zeus, has appropriately proven to be like a sort of half-blizzard half-Dairy-Queen-Blizzard phenomenon. And not to oust myself as a total curmudgeon, but I remember it literally taking an act of Zeus to get us out of school during the winter as a child. Anything under 12 inches, walk your awkward day-glow snow pants to school, Kid. You might arrive 40 minutes late with tears and mucous frozen to your face, but just remember that you’re also going outside for recess and you’re going to enjoy it. You’re going to eat that inner-city-ball-court-snow and delight in it.
There are very few days, being a grown-ass woman, when you’re encouraged not to go to work, excepting maybe full moons, days governed by your uterus (e.g. full moons), and funerals. Thusly, you don’t have to try too hard to convince me to wake up sometime after 7:30. There’s a Say Yes to the Dress marathon on that I refuse to feel guilty about prioritizing.
Please note quality TLC programming.
Honestly, we’ve seen worse snow days in Boston. But if you too don’t plan on leaving the house today simply on principle, then you’re also probably the kind of individual who plans on day drinking. Maybe you plan on day drinking and hurling snowballs at the local bird-life from your balcony like my upstanding 50-something year old neighbor. Maybe you plan on watching about 20 full hours of Friday Night Lights on Netflix and periodically sobbing, like me. Maybe, just maybe, you will blog. How you choose to fill your time on a snow day is a personal choice, but I think we all agree that it can’t hurt to toss a little rum into the mix.
Over the holiday, I created a cocktail that pays homage to New England tradition while also evoking the flavors of more tropical libations. It’s only natural to have margarita envy in 1 degree weather. I’m not going to pretend that all of these ingredients are kitchen staples, but honestly, if you’re a New Englander and you don’t have maple syrup in your pantry, kill yourself. You’ve given up. This does not count. If you don’t kill yourself, slap on some snowshoes and head to the nearest Market Basket. It’s cocktail hour, bitches.
P.S. If you were wondering what my New Year’s resolution was, it was go to bed by 11:30 on weekdays and, guess what? Already broken. So what have we learned here today?
Maple Ginger Flip
Makes 1 short cocktail
1 ½ tbsp grade A or B Maple syrup
¼ tsp Fresh ginger, grated
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp Water
2 oz Vodka
1 egg white
Ice
Note: Are you an egg-cocktail virgin? Is your ovo-prudishness making it difficult for you to fully commit to this recipe? It’s fine to ease into it. Start with half an egg white. This is mostly a mental trick, but sometimes success requires lying. Once you work up the courage, or are too drunk for fear, go for the whole egg white and watch the entire world shift before your very eyes.
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake quite vigorously for at least 30 seconds to get those egg whites nice and foamy. Strain into a short cocktail glass and raise your liquid courage high to Olympus. You’ll make it through this storm yet.
A Bowl of Sour Cherries 
