Seasonal cooking: March, Pacific NW

Milk has been an important part of the human diet for thousands of years. Today we have a lot of alternatives to animal milk: soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, and other nut milks. While all these products gain popularity, milk undoubtedly has nutritional benefits none of the nut milks have: it’s high in protein, calcium, potassium, vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, K), magnesium, and other elements that are essential to a healthy diet, not to mention that nothing can replace the creamy taste and texture that animal milk adds to your meals.

Another advantage of adding milk to your diet is that it’s available year round and it can be an excellent source of nutrients during the winter time when we have fewer choices of fruits and vegetables.

The ways to enjoy milk in different dishes are endless. Here are a couple of examples for you:

Homemade mozzarella

Mozzarella is one of those wonderful versatile products that you can eat “as is” or use in many different ways: salads, pastas, lasagna, pizza, etc. Homemade mozzarella is particularly tasty and easy to make. You can find the full recipe here:

Granola boiled in milk with seasonal fruits

This wonderful dish tastes like something in between traditional oatmeal and your regular granola. It can be prepared in advance and served as a breakfast on busy mornings. It’s much creamier than regular granola, and since you can use a variety of granola types to make it, the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

1 cup of granola

3 cups of milk

Seasonal fruits

3 tsp of chia seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Boil granola in milk for 10 min, stirring constantly.

2. Remove from the heat and let it cool for half an hour.

3. Add fruits. Mix.

4. Put the mixture in mason jars and refrigerate overnight.

Tweaks and variations

1. To make the dish richer, replace half the amount of milk with heavy cream.

2. Add 3 tsp of chia seeds. It will add the consistency of pudding to the dish.