WORKING TOGETHER

MAKE YOUR OWN YOGURT!

June is Dairy Month!

Perhaps you could celebrate in your family by making your own yogurt.  This particular blogger claims that she saves around $600 a year on yogurt by making her own!  But even if you aren’t after the significant cost savings, making yogurt at home with your kids can be a really fun way to learn to measure, read a recipe, and (of course) find out more about where milk really comes from.

Homemade Yogurt (makes 4 quarts, which will keep for at least a month in the fridge)

For vanilla yogurt directions, see the bottom of the recipe.

Ingredients

1 gallon of milk 1 cup yogurt starter(you can use a small cup of plain Dannon or Yoplait yogurt, or you can use a cup from your previous batch.)

1. Place four quart glass canning jars, four lids, and four screw-tops in a large pot. Fill with an inch of water; cover with lid and heat to boiling. Boil for ten minutes. Leave the lid on the pot and move it off the heat until you are ready to use the jars.

2. Pour one gallon of milk into a large, heavy bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven. Heat the milk to 185-190 degrees Farenheit(90-90 Celcius).

3. Place the pot in a sink filled with cold water and let the milk cool to 120 degrees fahrenheit(50-55 degrees celsius)

4. Stir one cup of yogurt starter into the cooled milk, using a whisk. Stir well to ensure that the starter is thoroughly incorporated into the milk.

5. Pour the milk into jars, and put the lids and bands on. Place them into a cooler.

6. Heat one gallon of water to 120 degrees F(50-55 degrees C) and pour into cooler.

7. Shut cooler lid and leave in a warm place for three hours. When the three hours are up, place the yogurt in the refrigerator.

To make a delicious vanilla version of this yogurt, add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar to the four quarts of milk when it’s cooling in the sink. Then stir in 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla, depending on your preference, and proceed as usual with the recipe.

BASEBALL IS A LOVE

Don’t forget Illinois Corn Grower members can attend Sunday night CornBelters games for HALF price!  View the CornBelters schedule here.

FLAG DAY ON THE FARM

We’ve been holding a Flag Day photo contest on IL Corn’s FACEBOOK page and the photo above is the winner! With 65 “likes,” RJ Yearton’s 1933 Farmall F-30 wearing a special decal kit to celebrate 200 years of history for Case IH got the most people talking on FACEBOOK.

Coming in second was Jenny Jackson and her hubby on their wedding day. What a sweet way to celebrate flag day on the farm!

How will you celebrate flag day today?  Start out by “liking” IL Corn on FACEBOOK so you can participate in fun contests like these!

THE 2013 NORMAL CORNBELTERS SEASON IS IN FULL STRIDE!

The 2013 Normal CornBelters season has officially begun!  Despite dealing with “Mother Nature” at times, we have played all 22 regular-season games scheduled to date, boast a 15-7 record and are averaging just under 2,300 fans per-game at The Corn Crib.  Through the first month of our season, a few things are very apparent…

For starters, I think it is safe to say our 29-67 record from last season is a distant memory!  Although we do have a lot of baseball yet to be played this season, we currently sit atop the Frontier League West Division by a half-game over the Gateway Grizzlies.  Even more impressive, we are 10-3 at home!  Outfielder Romulo Ruiz leads the league with 20 RBI, and shortstop Pat McKenna is tied for the league-lead in home runs with five.  Led by McKenna’s .341 batting average, our team average is .247 (eighth in the Frontier League).  Led by right-handed relief pitcher Alan Oaks’ 0.58 ERA, our team ERA is 3.05 (third in the Frontier League).  It is clear our new coaching staff, along with a talented cast of players, have turned things around on the field!

Besides the team’s fantastic start, it is also evident we have some of the best fans in the Frontier League!  Although the wet weather has forced us to postpone a game (Saturday, May 25), and suspend a game (Saturday, June 1), we have sold over 27,000 tickets for our 12 openings this season (seventh in the Frontier League).  Thanks to the backing of our package ticket holders, we have already far exceeded our full season ticket goal, will soon surpass our mini-plan package goal and expect to achieve our group outing goal before the season comes to an end.  Based on the incredible support we have received so far, it is obvious The Corn Crib is the place to be in Bloomington-Normal this summer!

Our current home stand continues tonight at 7 p.m., as we take on the Washington Wild Things in the second game of a three-game series at The Corn Crib.  It is “Dog Night / Meijer Wednesday / Web Wednesday.”  Gates open at 6 p.m., parking is just $2 per-car and tickets start at only $5 each!  If you cannot make it out to the ballpark tonight, please check out our entire remaining schedule at: 
http://www.normalbaseball.com/schedule/
.

To purchase tickets, simply visit the Mid-Illini Credit Union Box Office at The Corn Crib, or call (309) 454-2255 (BALL), during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. / Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.).  You can also purchase tickets on-line anytime at: 
https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?SponsorID=4098#.UbjDC_lQFid
.

Kyle Kreger
General Manager
Normal CornBelters Professional Baseball Team

IMPOSSIBLE…. OR IS IT?

Some planting seasons couldn’t go any smoother and then we have the years that really test us.  Yet, it always gets done!

JUNE IS DAIRY MONTH: MEET A DAIRY FARMER!

Are you interested in meeting a dairy farmer?  You can definitely get a better look at dairy farming during Wagner Farms Annual Dairy Breakfast this Saturday!

Step back in time to farm life from decades past.

• Milk a cow
• Feed a chicken
• Attend a barn dance
• Tour a restored farmhouse
• Take a hayride in a horse-drawn wagon
• Watch corn being planted
• Learn about where the food we eat comes from

The Glenview Park District’s 18.6 acre Wagner Farm is one of the last working dairy farms in Cook County and is open to the public for recreation and learning. The farm provides a unique opportunity for families to learn about our farming heritage and experience first hand “the way things used to be.”

In addition to the cows in the pasture, Wagner Farm has chickens, draft horses, and pigs as well as a restored farmhouse and barn and the award-winning Wagner Farm Heritage Center. The Heritage Center contains interactive exhibits where you can learn about farming from the early 20th century through the present, “shop through history” at our 1930′s Grocery Store or purchase a souvenir of your visit from our Museum Store.

If your kids think that milk comes in a carton, corn comes in a can and chicken comes in a cellophane wrapped package, it’s time for a visit to Wagner Farm.

8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location:
1510 Wagner Road
Glenview, IL  60025
Activities:
Breakfast served of pancakes, eggs, sausage, juice, milk and coffee.  Adults $10, youth 3-10 $5.00  under 3 free.  Food by Egg harbor Café.
Try your hand at milking a cow.  Lots of crafts. Games for the kids.
For More Information:

http://glenviewparks.org/index.php/facilities-parks/wagner-farm/events