I Is For Ice Cream

I'm taking you on a journey from A to Z through the land of dairy! 

There's no need to pack your bags, just come along!

I is for Ice Cream 

A treat for the kiddos to make...

Ice Cream in a Bag

Ingredients

• ½ cup milk or cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ⅓ cup salt
• Ice
• 1 gallon size zip-lock bag
• 1 sandwich size zip-lock bag
  ** Use heavy duty (freezer) bags to prevent leaks

Procedure

1. Add milk, sugar, and vanilla to the sandwich bag and seal.
2. Fill the large zip-lock bag about ⅔ full of ice.
3. Add approximately ⅓ cup of salt to the ice in the large bag.
4. Place the sealed sandwich bag containing the milk, sugar and vanilla in the large bag containing ice and salt.
5. Close the large bag and shake.

Shaking vigorously for 5-10 minutes will result in a change from the liquid milk to a semi-solid ice cream that is a mixture of all ingredients and delicious to eat!
Source-Minnesota farmers Feed Us

A treat for Dad, for Father's Day... 

Beer-And-Bacon Toffee Sundaes 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup diced bacon (about 4 slices)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup stout beer (I like Founders Breakfast Stout)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pints good-quality vanilla ice cream
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions

Put the bacon in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until very crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, reserving the fat in the pan. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, beer, butter, heavy cream and a pinch each of kosher salt and pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. Scoop the ice cream into bowls and spoon the toffee sauce on top. Garnish with the crispy bacon bits, toasted pecans and sea salt.
Source- Food Network Magazine

 Learn more about dairy at Dairy Makes Sense

I am making a commitment to share as much as I can with you each day this month, about the life of our dairy farm family including what we do, how we share our passion for dairy, and dairy foods we enjoy.

 See you here tomorrow...J is for Jump.

Dad Plus Dairy = A Happy June

I love that Fathers Day falls during June Dairy Month. My Dad is a fourth generation dairy farmer. All of his brothers were dairy farmers too.  This photo is of my Grandma and Grandpa Brown and their five good looking farmer sons. My Dad, Glen,  is on the far right. A few short years after this picture was taken, my Mom and Dad were married and started a farm of their own.

With much pride and pleasure my Dad got up early every morning to milk and care for the cows. Being the youngest in my family, I got Dad all to myself when my brother and sister went off to school and Mom went to her job off the farm. Riding on Grandpa's John Deere "A" tractor, bottle feeding the calves, eating fried egg sandwiches for lunch, it all seemed fun with Dad.  After a day of work on the farm, it was always family dinner at 5:00.  This was family time to reflect on and appreciate our day. Besides a strong work ethic, I appreciate that Dad  instilled the value of family time in me.

Dad suffered a stroke  nine years ago. He can no longer farm. My family is now his connection to farming. Each day when we talk he wants to know what we did on the farm. "How is planting going? How much rain did you get? How does the hay crop look this year?" He still receives every farming magazine available too, reading them cover-to-cover. The saying goes, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." Thank goodness! Love you Dad!