Celebrate National Cookie Month with Milk!

By Michelle Plummer

In the midst of all the Fall Festival goodies of pumpkins, caramel apples and kettle corn we can’t nor should we forget the glorious COOKIE!  The reason for National Cookie Month is to help you learn, enjoy and enhance your cookie knowledge… and you thought a cookie is a cookie.

Since it is National Cookie Month, I decided to take a small office poll of coworkers’ favorite cookie…well no one agreed one the same cookie.  I guess we will just enjoy a variety of cookies from date cookies to peanut butter with the closes agreeing point being chocolate chips for this month!

Chocolate chips is the number one addition to in cookies- Americans love the Toll House or Chocolate Chip cookie- soft, crunchy, warm or frozen- we have an obsession! The next cookie contender is the Oreo!

Travel down a grocery aisle, walk through the mall or on a chilly day take a deep whiff of the neighborhood and someone is bound to be shopping, baking or buying cookies!  Those golden little cakes are just right for fingers to grasp, the perfect diameter for dunking in a glass!  Yes, a glass of ice cold milk! It is really hard to enjoy a cookie (your favorite) and not grab for a glass and reach in the fridge!  Whether you are a dunker or a dipper; a sipper or a guzzler, milk is the perfect companion for cookies.  Go ahead… get your favorite cookie, grab a glass of milk and enjoy a great snack while you are providing your body with a powerhouse of nutrition.  Cookie month is 31 days long… that would be 31 reasons to enjoy an extra glass of milk daily!

Bonfires and Cocoa

By Michelle Plummer

There is something magical about a bonfire, from the crackling wood to the flames of color jumping about while the red embers quietly smolder below providing warmth and comfort on a chilly autumn night.  As you look in to the fire and recall memories of camp outs with scouts, family and friends there is one thing these memories have in common… hot cocoa!

Hot cocoa is one of my favorite foods and really what is not to love?  Warm milk, chocolate and whipped cream… ooohhhh, well not all of my hot chocolate memories are like this. There was the camp out that we burnt the milk and used water, chocolate and sugar and topped it off with whipped cream—-horrible! Or the time I ran out of milk and mixed milk and water (who would notice) and added whipped cream as a thickener to the cocoa and sugar and well never mind…one more disaster!  And my personal favorite of trying to melt chocolate bars over the fire into a cup of warm milk…why you ask?  Because it took much too long to melt the chocolate in the milk together, the chocolate burnt into the fire and I was left with warm milk and whipped cream…not bad, but not what I had envisioned around the campfire!

However, many years later and lots of practice I have developed delicious hot cocoa that is perfect for any group, any fire and even perfect near the indoor fire pit (fireplace)!

Homemade Hot Cocoa  (serves 10)

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
1/2 gallon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee

1 cup half and half

Garnishes:
Whipped cream, cinnamon sticks, chocolate shavings, peppermint sticks, marshmallows

In large saucepan combine sugar, cocoa powder, salt and coffee together.  Add water and stir until blended.  Whisk milk in gradually; add chocolate that has been chopped.  Heat until very warm; add vanilla and half & half.  Place on stove to heat again until warm.  Place in thermos for the bonfire or place in crockpot on low for a crowd or simply ladle into large mugs, garnish as desired and go to your best memory of past bonfires or build a new memory with a delicious cup of cocoa.

Quickie Cocoa

Open an envelope of cocoa mix, add warm milk and stir in your favorite mug.  All the benefits of cocoa plus the milk nutrition and it done in just a minute and you will not miss one crackle or spark!

Let’s Celebrate World School Milk Day!

In the UK, Members of Parliament served as honorary milk monitors for the day.

By Mary Nicholson

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 26.  It’s the 13^th annual World School Milk Day!!  Beggining in 2000 with assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, celebrations are held in countries across the globe to help bring attention to the goodness of milk and its role in good nutrition for students.

National S’mores Day!

By Diane Ruyack

What is oooey, gooey and is made usually out of doors?  What delicious white beverage goes with this decadent treat?  We all want some more s’mores and milk around the fire. August 10 is always National S’More Day! This holiday is for honoring and enjoying the fun, delicious and messy fireside snack called s’mores. A s’more is a traditional campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a slab of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.

Indiana’s 5th annual Brunch on the Farm, Saturday, June 23

Free breakfast and a behind-the-scenes look at modern dairy farming are on the menu at the American Dairy Association of Indiana’s 5^th annual Brunch on the Farm, Saturday, June 23.

The event, in celebration of National Dairy Month, takes place from 9 am to 12 noon on the Willemsen Dairy Farm, 6615 W 500 N, Frankton.

Throughout the morning, representatives of the American Dairy Association and radio promotional partner WFMS will join members of the Willemsen Family for festivities – meeting and greeting guests, serving up brunch, handing out a variety of prizes, and leading farm tours for an up-close look at how delicious, nutritious dairy products are produced.

Some of the  brunch menu includes sausage egg and cheese biscuits, string cheese, yogurt, and, of course, ice cold milk.

Guests are asked to bring non-perishable food items for contribution to the Frankton Community Food Pantry.

For additional information about this June Dairy Month event, including directions to the Willemsen Dairy Farm, visit www.WinnersDrinkMilk.com,

Celebrate June Dairy Month!

By Kimmi Devaney

June is Dairy Month! As you sit down to dinner tonight, raise a glass of milk to the hard working dairy farmers dedicated to providing you with nutritious dairy foods every day of the year. Dairy foods—such as milk, cheese and yogurt—provide nine essential nutrients that healthy bodies need every day, including calcium, vitamin D and protein.

Meet the 2012 Rookie Milkman

By Duane Hill

Never in my life when I was a little boy milking cows would I have thought about the privilege of handing milk to the winning race team at the Indianapolis 500.  Hard work and desire have always paid off in my life in some surprising ways.

The Indy 500 Milkmen Experience

By Dave Forgey

Last year I was able to be the “Rookie Milkman” following the direction of Richard Thomas who was the official “Milkman”. This year I’ll have that honor and will be sharing the experience with Duane Hill as the “Rookie Milkman” during the 97^th running of the Indy 500.

Running the Mini Marathon? Don’t Forget to Refuel with Chocolate Milk!

By Kimmi Devaney

The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon is right around the corner on Saturday May 5^th! I recently finished the last of the training series runs for the big race—a 15k—and am more excited than ever for the 13.1.

Happy 100th Birthday Girl Scouts!

By: Girl Scouts of Central Indiana

It’s Girl Scouts’ 100^th anniversary – time to party ‘til the cows come home!

Girl Scouts celebrate 100 years today, March 12, 2012. In 1912, Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low gathered 18 girls together in Savannah, Georgia, to begin a tradition that would eventually be replicated in millions of communities around the world. Juliette believed that girls should receive the same opportunities as boys to develop physically, mentally, and spiritually—and she and those who would follow in her footsteps have worked hard to ensure that what she started would flourish in the years ahead.