What to do with a metro shutdown

While dandruff is just fine for making Maple Syrup Candy, I prefer snow. Making candy is easier than shoveling, and you have to get rid of it somehow (the snow, not the dandruff, for which shoveling should only be used for the most extreme cases). When you're snowed in this weekend thanks to weather-induced metro shutdowns, you can crunch away on this stuff comfortable in the knowledge that you're doing your part to keep the walkway clear.

• Fill a large flat tray with well packed snow

• Pour about two cups of maple syrup into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly

• Test if it's hot enough by pouring a dollop on the snow. It should stay on the surface, hardening into a pretty amber squiggle. If it sinks into the snow you have a snow cone. Tasty, but it won't get you out of shoveling.

• When the syrup starts staying on the snow's surface when you apply it, pour the rest out in long thin strips. As soon as it cools, remove and dry the pieces.