Local dairy farmers through Dairy MAX are partnering with McDonald’s once again to drive incremental milk volume per store through the McCafe Specialty Coffees with a Java Sleeve (attached) promotion. The Java Sleeves will be distributed this week (November 16) and with all 21 ounce soft drinks. The Java Sleeve is a coupon good for buy one get one free McCafe Specialty Coffee (expires December 31, 2009). Customers will be encouraged to get on board with the McCafe product line. McCafe Specialty Coffees are Mochas, Lattes, and Cappuccinos that are up to 80% wholesome and nutritious milk.

McDonald’s franchises in Ada, Ardmore, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa will be participating in the Java Sleeve campaign, as well as locations across the region and beyond in Abilene, Amarillo, Ft. Smith, Longview, Lubbock, New Mexico, San Angelo, Tyler, and Wichita Falls.

For Dairy Farmers, partnering with the world-famous McDonald’s has been a long-standing relationship where single serve milk sales among kids and adults as well as yogurt offered in a variety of ways have continued to be success stories for away-from-home dairy sales. The McCafe product line has the additional potential to benefit milk sales tremendously with fifty percent of the U.S. population consuming specialty coffees.

Click here for more information, (bottom left hand of home page).

As promised, here is another homemade ice cream recipe from Sunday’s Dairy Max competition at the Oklahoma City State Fair. Edsel Ford’s creation was highly regarded by all judges and we agreed it would be a perfect dessert choice to follow Mexican or Tex-Mex food.

Cinnamon Walnut Ice Cream
1st place Mix-in’s Category
Edsel Ford, Mustang

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups half and half
2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
In a large bowl, stir sugar and cinnamon to blend well. Add half and half, cream and vanilla and stir until sugar dissolves. If desired, cover and chill to develop flavor.

Pour into a chilled 2-quart ice cream freezer container. Pack and churn according to manufacturer’s directions. Remove dasher. Stir in nuts. Serve soft or pack to ripen.

Dairy Max sponsored a homemade ice cream contest at the Oklahoma City State Fair yesterday (Sunday) and we thought we would share the winning recipes with you. As it happens, Susan Allen of Dairy Max had asked me to serve as one of the judges–who am I to say no when industry asks a favor like that.

Believe me when I say we had our work cut out for us choosing Best in Show. Every entry was delicious.

Here’s the Best of Show winning recipe, I’ll post the other entries later!

Vanilla Custard Ice Cream
* Best of Show *
1st place Vanilla Category
Ann Darnold, Norman, OK

Ingredients:
1 ½ c. sugar
1 t. vanilla or 1 vanilla bean, finely ground
6 egg yolks
½ t. salt
3 c. half & half
2 c. heavy cream

Directions:
Combine ¼ c. of the sugar and the vanilla bean or vanilla in a blender. Process until the vanilla is finely ground. Scald the half & half, but do not boil.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and salt. Stirring constantly, add the hot milk in a thin stream. Pour the custard into a heavy saucepan and add the vanilla/sugar mixture. Add the remaining sugar.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and place over a bowl of ice. Stir until cooler, about 5 minutes.

Blend in the heavy cream and freeze.

Kristen Meyer from Okarche was crowned Oklahoma’s 2009 Dairy Princess on August 24 in Stillwater at the Sooner State Dairy Show. Kristen will represent Oklahoma at various dairy events and shows during the coming year. Presenting the crown to Kristen was the 2008 Dairy Princess Wilma Van derLaan from Fredrick. First runner up was Leanne Van derLaan from Fredrick, and second runner up was KayLynn Million from Tahlequah. Contestants in the contest must own a dairy heifer or may be from an active dairy farm that is owned by their parents or grandparents. Shirley Wright of the Rocking W Farm is the long-time organizer of the event.

McDonald’s and Dairy MAX have teamed up to offer shoppers a free nutrient rich snack on the first day of the tax-free weekend. Shoppers who visit the McDonald’s location of 14001 North Pennsylvania in Oklahoma City will receive coupons for a new McCafe Specialty Coffees for adults and for free low-fat ice cream cones for kids between 10 a.m. and noon on Friday, August 7 while supplies last.

During a live radio remote with 98.9 KISS-FM, listeners will learn how dairy farmers have teamed up with McDonald’s to help make it easy to choose nutrient rich foods away from home. “American’s only consume about half of the dairy servings they need,” said Susan Allen, program coordinator for Dairy MAX. “The new McCafe specialty coffees can help because they are up to 80% milk. It’s a delicious way to get an extra dairy serving in your diet.”

Oklahoma’s newly crowned dairy princess Kristen Meyer from Okarche will be on hand to talk to consumers about the nutritional value of 3 servings of dairy per day and dairy farming practices today. McDonald’s representatives tell us that, while it varies from store to store, they use 6 to 12 additional gallons of milk per day with the launch of the McCafe Specialty Coffees, a boost to dairy farming families across the nation, like Kristen’s.

If you don’t make it to our special event on Friday, stop by your local McDonald’s and taste the new lattes, cappuccinos, and mocha’s or any of the other nutrient-rich dairy choices. “McDonald’s has been a long-time partner with dairy farmers,” added Allen. “Single-serve jugs in low-fat white and chocolate milk as well as fruit and yogurt parfaits, and now the McCafe Specialty Coffees make it easy to get dairy on-the-go.”

For more about McCafe, visit www.dairymax.org and click on the McCafe link toward the bottom of the page.

Dairy MAX is sponsoring a “From Cow to the Cone: Homemade Ice Cream Contest” at the Oklahoma State Fair this year on Sunday, September 27, at 2 p.m.

Entries are due on August 15, and are now available online. There will be celebrity judges and cash prizes, with an “old fashioned ice cream social” feel.

Look for rules and guidelines here as well as an online entry form.

“From the basic ingredient, milk, to the freezing process, to enjoying the frozen dessert, everyone has strong opinions about ice cream.”

This July 4th weekend the kids may enjoy making their own ice cream. It’s a great way to beat the heat and ice cream is always popular with the kids.

Susan Allen, Dairy Max, offers this great idea:

This recipe is a combination of a 3-A-Day of Dairy recipe, and my all time favorite Ag in the Classroom lesson, “Ice Cream in a Bag.” It is a fun activity for kids to do at home, at camps, at the lake, or anywhere you need to keep them busy. Plus, you end up with delicious ice cream for a snack. This recipe has 25% of the Calcium we need all day.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups reduced fat (2%) or low-fat (1%) milk*
½ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
3 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp freshly grated orange peel (zest)

Other items/tools needed:
Ice
¾ cup water
¾ cup rock salt
1 gal zipper freezer bag
1 qt zipper freezer bag
Measuring cups and spoons
Duct tape
Cloth towels or hot/cold mitts

1. Add all ingredients into a 1 qt. zipper freezer bag and seal tightly with duct tape.
2. Place the quart zipper bag with the ice cream ingredients inside a 1 gallon zipper freezer bag.
3. Pack ice inside the bigger bag, and around the small bag.
4. Add the rock salt and water.
5. Seal the larger bag with duct tape.
6. Have kids shake or toss the bags between them while protecting their hands with cloth towels or hot/cold mitts.
7. Continue until ice cream is frozen.
8. Open the outer bag and discard the ice and salt.
9. Rinse the bag containing the ice cream.
10. Divide the ice cream into sundae cups and enjoy!

*For a creamier consistency use reduced-fat (2%) milk. For a sorbet-like consistency use low-fat (1%) milk.

Fresh-Squeezed Orange Ice Cream recipe by Jackie Newgent, RD, award-winning author of The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook.

Nutritional information for this recipe can be found at www.3aday.org
–Susan Allen

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day, way back in 1984.

He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious food that is enjoyed by a full 90% of the nation’s population. In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the United States to observe these events with “appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

The International Ice Cream Association also encourages retailers and consumers to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month. In 2009, National Ice Cream Day is Sunday, July 19.

The U.S. ice cream industry generates more than $21 billion in annual sales and provides jobs for thousands of citizens. About 9% of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, contributing significantly to the economic well-being of the nation’s dairy industry.

The “got milk?” Milk Mustache Mobile – Drink Well. Live Well. – Tour made a stop in Oklahoma City hosting a series of free, community events to help residents achieve overall wellness. While the “kick-off” event scheduled for the zoo (April 29) was rained out, local dairy processors Borden Milk Products, Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores and Hiland Dairy Foods handed out samples of low fat and fat free milk and yogurt before a Redhawks game downtown (April 30), and at a Homeland location in Norman (May 1).

On hand to do health assessments were registered dietitian LaDonna Dunlop from the Oklahoma County Extension Office, and Susan Allen from Dairy MAX, representing the area’s dairy farmers. “Milk is Nutrient Rich with nine essential nutrients, and a good choice for families to help build strong bones and healthy bodies,” said Allen. “And, at only 25 cents per 8-ounce glass, milk is a bargain.”

Miss OSU Betty Thompson was there to talk about her favorite beverage, milk, which is also Oklahoma’s official beverage. Betty encouraged people to “re-think their drink” and consume three servings of low-fat or fat-free milk or milk products every day, just like she does.

The “got milk?” Milk Mustache Mobile – Drink Well. Live Well. – Tour is traveling the country from coast-to-coast from March to August to reintroduce Americans to milk – a nutrient powerhouse.

To learn more, click here!

The “got milk?” Milk Mustache Mobile – Drink Well. Live Well. – Tour is stopping in Oklahoma City from April 26 – May 1 hosting a series of free, community events to help residents achieve overall wellness.

Who: The “got milk?” Milk Mustache Mobile Drink Well. Live Well. Tour and the local dairy processors Borden Milk Products, Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores and Hiland Dairy Foods.

What: “got milk?” and local milk processors are hosting a series of events in the Oklahoma City area for community residents. At these events, residents can:

- Experience the “Wellness Oasis” and get tips on how to achieve wellness and balance in their life

- Receive health assessments from a registered dietitian

- Sample low fat and fat free milk and yogurt from local dairies

- Relax with five-minute chair massages from a licensed massage therapist

- Pose for their own celebrity-inspired Milk Mustache photos to keep as souvenirs

- Enter for a chance to win a healthy meal prepared by a personal chef and a year’s supply of milk

Why: From March to August, the national “got milk?” Milk Mustache Mobile’s Drink Well. Live Well. Tour is traveling coast-to-coast to reintroduce Americans to milk—a nutrient powerhouse.

When & Where:

· Oklahoma City Zoo on April 29 for the Kick-off event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

· Outside the OKC-Red Hawks Baseball game on April 30 from 5-7 p.m.

· Norman Homeland on May 1 from 5-7 p.m.

This is the 12th annual “got milk?” Tour that is conducted in an effort to educate Americans on the health and wellness benefits of drinking three glasses of milk each day. While food scientists have worked to duplicate milk’s benefits in manufactured new age beverages, none are as wholesome, nutritious and delicious as milk. Milk is nature’s wellness drink and local milk processors are generous enough to sample their low fat and fat free milk to consumers nationwide.

Since drinking the recommended three glasses of low fat or fat free milk each day gives you the powerful payback of nine essential nutrients and at only 25 cents per 8-ounce glass, milk is a bargain.

This is the message that local milk processors are striving to get across to Americans with this year’s Milk Mustache Mobile – Drink Well. Live Well. –