The Good Beer Seal of approval. Photo: goodbeerseal.com.

Earlier today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially proclaimed July to be "Good Beer Month." The declaration came at the request of a local collective known as "the Good Beer Seal."

Founded earlier this year by bar owners Garry Gillis (Burp Castle and Standings), Ray Deter (d.b.a.) and Jimmy Carbone (Jimmy's No. 43), the group strives to "recognize establishments that pride themselves on serving quality, craft beers." With only 15 recognized bars in a city of more than 8 million people, the Seal has yet to become the definitive icon for the city's best spots for suds, but Carbone admits things are still getting off the ground. "We really didn't expect the mayor to make the proclamation," he humbly admits.

For a nascent organization, receiving a mayoral decree after simply writing him a "nice letter" is quite a feat. Carbone believes GBS's support of programs for sustainable food and insistence that members have an "active community presence" was an important factor. "A lot of bars don't make such a good community impact," he told us.

Quick: who designated July as National Ice Cream Month?

If you thought some ice cream council or dairy association or Ben or Jerry, you're wrong. It was actually President Ronald Reagan, who did it in 1984.

So, to celebrate, after the jump are a bunch of ice cream-related links: recipes, the history of ice cream, and more.

Stoli has a new vodka that, while it was actually launched a few weeks ago, is still trickling into stores just in time for the Fourth of July. Stoli Blueberi is, as you may have guessed, a blueberry flavored vodka. The company is running a contest through July 15th to come up with the ultimate recipes for it, but there are several online already. And what better way to celebrate the 4th than with a festive blue drink? Here are two of their suggestions, but add a couple of raspberries as garnish to turn the drink into a patriotic one:

Stoli Blue & Tonic (pictured)
1 part Stoli Blueberi
3 parts tonic

Serve on the rocks
Garnish with lemon, blueberries and raspberries.

Stoli Blue Daiquiri
1 part Stoli Blueberi
1/2 part banana rum
1/2 of large banana
2 parts sweet 'n' sour mix
6 oz. vanilla ice cream
Blend and pour over 3/4 part blue curacao

Garnish with blueberries (and raspberries, for the 4th!)

Don't spend all your time thinking about what you're going to barbecue for the 4th of July – what about dessert? After all, you're going to want more than just a beer to wash down all those hot dogs and potato chips when you are out with friends and family, waiting for the fireworks display to begin.

Anything with Jello – as one of the few foods that actually comes in the color blue, Jello is the perfect choice for making red, white and blue desserts, not to mention that it's always a kid favorite. Try a patriotic Jello pie, red white and blue terrine or an All-american trifle.

Shortcake – there is something classic about shortcake after a barbecue. You can use almost any fruit, but opt for strawberries, blueberries or raspberries on the 4th. For the cake, make a traditional biscuit base or just use a slice of pound cake. Try this recipe or this one.

Chocolate chip cookies – maybe the expression should have been "as American as chocolate chip cookies," because not only were these invented in the US, but they're a favorite with everyone. And you can't go wrong with the famous Tollhouse recipe, which started it all.

All you Kashi fans will be glad to know that Kashi is planning to launch a line of frozen entrees soon. According to a recent press release, the meals will be mostly chicken-based, with a few shrimp- and bean-based entrees as well. As you might expect, there'll be plenty of grains, and multi-grain pastas. The frozen dinners are supposed to hit shelves sometime next month. Now, now, contain your enthusiasm. You can wait a few weeks. There's still no word on whether the new entrees will have the same mug-shot covered boxes and colon-scrubbing properties as the other Kashi products.

[Via Food Business Review Online]