For a quick lunch, I’ll often combine a container of organic yogurt with a half-cup of cottage cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a healthy serving of fresh fruit. This dairylicious combo helps fulfill my daily calcium requirement.

You can also:

1. Lighten baked goods by substituting cottage cheese for full-fat cream cheese.

Mountain View, MO-based Morningland Dairy is recalling 68,957 pounds of raw-milk cheese (made with cows’ milk and goats’ milk) because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) and/or Staphylococcus aureus.

The company’s products are sold in the lower 48 states via retail stores, mail order, crop-sharing associations and direct delivery. Cheeses are sold in vacuum-sealed plastic packages based on product weight.

The following cheese varieties are affected:

June is National Dairy Month, a time to remind ourselves that the official Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend:

• 3 servings of dairy per day (adults and children 9 years and older)
• 2 servings of dairy per day (children ages 2 to 8 years)

A serving is defined as:

• 1 cup milk or yogurt
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded cheese
• 1.5 ounces hard cheese
• 1 cup pudding, frozen yogurt or ice cream (made from milk)

Our weekend recipe combines the classic flavors of sweet potato, chicken and pineapple, accented with reduced-fat Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses.

“This is a very easy month for me to celebrate,” says registered dietitian Regan Jones, who works with 91-year-old Cabot Creamery Cooperative in Montpelier, VT. “Cheese, yogurt and milk are three of my favorite foods and are great additions to almost any recipe. Even better, all three come in lighter varieties.

“Dairy products provide nine essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, protein, riboflavin, vitamin B₁₂ and potassium," Jones adds.

All of the ingredients in today’s recipe should be available at a well-stocked natural and organic food store. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato, Pineapple and Cheddar Salad

Makes 6 servings

6 small red or yellow onions
2 medium sweet potatoes (12 ounces)
4 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
12 cups mixed greens (16 ounces)
Nonfat raspberry salad dressing
1 cup cubed fresh pineapple
6 ounces cooked chicken breast, sliced
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
Fresh mint leaves for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Peel onions. Cut them lengthwise into 4 to 6 sections, leaving root intact.
3. Cut sweet potatoes into 1” x 3” fingers.
4. Spread onions, sweet potatoes and garlic on a baking sheet with sides. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with red pepper, tossing to combine. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.
5. Uncover and continue roasting until vegetables are well caramelized on the outside, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes longer.
6. Toss greens with dressing, to taste. Divide among 6 plates, and top with roasted vegetables, pineapple and chicken.
7. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Grate cheddar into ribbons on top of each salad, and garnish with mint. 

Recipe and photo courtesy of Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Feta is one of the most popular pickled cheeses in the world, according to R.K. Robinson and A.Y. Tamine, authors of Feta and Related Cheeses.

A Greek brined cheese, it’s usually made from sheep’s milk, but goat’s milk is sometimes added in European varieties. Many U.S. brands are made from cow’s milk.

Usually associated with Mediterranean cuisine, crumbly feta may be mild or sharp, but it’s always pleasingly salty. Several organic brands are available, including Organic Valley (made from cow’s milk).

Topping a salad with organic feta is one of the best ways to introduce this cheese to your family. Also check out these culinary ideas:

• Add feta to cooked rice or pasta, top a baked potato, incorporate it into an omelet filling, or crumble it over a tomato sandwich, says Susan Westmoreland, food director for Good Housekeeping magazine and coauthor of The Supermarket Diet Cookbook.
• Mix feta with honey and freshly ground black pepper to create a spread for crackers, suggest the editors at Simple & Delicious magazine.
• Add crumbled feta and sun-dried tomatoes when preparing your favorite meat loaf, recommends Giada De Laurentiis, author of Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites and the soon-to-be-released Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California.

Get off to a good start with these recipes from our organic blog:

1. Turkish Stuffed Eggplant
2. Greek-Style Beet Salad
3. Greek Pasta Salad
4. Watermelon Salad with Thai Basil and Feta
5. Feta-Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms
6. Romaine, Pecan and Pear Salad
7. Gazpacho Salad

I picked up a new breakfast idea from the current issue of Health magazine:

1. Toast 2 frozen whole-grain waffles.
2. Top with 1/2 cup ricotta cheese.
3. Slather with 1/2 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries (thawed).

The result is a cheesecake-like dish that takes only 5 minutes of prep time.

To keep things organic, I buy:

• Nature’s Path Flax Plus Frozen Waffles
• Organic Valley Ricotta Cheese
• Wild Harvest Frozen Strawberries

I’ve substituted fresh fruit (apples, pears, orange segments), but I really do enjoy the texture of the frozen berries, which drizzle juice over the ricotta cheese. It’s a healthful, filling breakfast “sundae” that’s rich in nutrients and flavor.

The film profiles Sister Noella Marcellino, a Benedictine nun who years ago began to study the microbes that ripened the cheese made at her Connecticut abbey. She then traveled to remote villages in France to learn about artisan cheese-making, becoming a champion of the biodiversity of the organisms that flavor cheese.

The DVD is divided into chapters on how to make cheese, how cheeses ripen, keeping the craft of artisan cheese-making alive and research in French laboratories, among other topics. Along the way, Sister Noella is both humorous and studious, which guarantees an interesting 60-minute “homage to fromage.”

While I’m on the subject, check out Organic Authority Publisher Laura Klein’s recipe for Homemade Organic Ricotta Cheese Served with Black Truffle Oil. You’ll also enjoy our recipes for:

• Fresh Herbed Goat Cheese
• Roasted Organic Golden and Red Beet Salad with Fresh Herb Goat Cheese
• Turkish Stuffed Eggplant
• Gorgonzola Bruschetta
• Marjoram-Scented Pears with Gorgonzola
• Organic Crudités with Spinach Feta Cheese Dip
• Greek Pasta Salad
• Brussels Sprouts Pasta
• Brussels Sprouts Baked with Cheese
• Potato, Leek and Blue Cheese Bake with a Nutty Topping
• Savory Italian-Style Cheese Ball with Asiago and Fontina

It’s sometimes difficult to find organic goat cheese at your local natural and organic food store. When researching last Wednesday’s blog entry on the nutritional aspects of goat cheese, I came across a great organic food find: Coonridge Organic Goat Cheese in Pie Town, New Mexico.

The dairy has been making organic goat cheese since 1981, and you can order a phenomenal selection of flavored goat cheeses through its online store: Curry, Herbs and Garlic, Roasted Garlic, Basil Pesto, Black Peppercorns and Herbs, Flame-Roasted Green Chile, Habeñero, Herbs de Provence, Dried Tomatoes with Basil and Garlic, Scarborough Fair (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme—plus garlic), Italian Herbs, Southwestern Blend, Chipotle, Dillweed Onion and Extra-Hot Flame-Roasted Green Chile. Cheese may be ordered in several quantities, from a single jar to a full case (12 jars).

The Coonridge website also offers a bunch of mouth-watering organic goat cheese recipes—from Baked Apricots with Goat Cheese & Pistachios and Baked Goat Cheese with Arugula Salad to the ever-so-simple Coonridge Baked Potatoes and Coonridge Corn Casserole.

Nancy Nathanya Coonridge, the dairy’s proprietress, believes goat cheese does not have to be strong and “goaty,” and she prides herself on making a mild cheese that pleases the American palate. Tune in tomorrow for my exclusive interview with her about why it’s important to go organic.

“The most popular types of goat cheese in the United States are moderate in fat content,” says Karen Collins, MS, a registered dietitian in private practice and nutrition advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research. “Soft goat cheese—with a texture like cream cheese, but a more pronounced, pleasantly tart flavor—is lower in fat than most cheese, with 6 grams of fat and 80 calories per ounce. It is comparable in fat content to reduced-fat (light) cream cheese. You may find some low-fat versions of goat cheese that go further, with only 45 calories and 3 grams of fat per ounce.”

A little goat cheese goes a long way, Collins notes, because its flavor is stronger than many cheeses.

“Because of its unique flavor, only a small amount is needed to add sparkle to a salad, roasted vegetables or pasta-and-vegetable entrée,” she says. “Semi-soft goat cheese is a bit more concentrated, with a fat content more like other cheese: about 100 calories and 8 or 9 grams of fat per ounce. If you go for the ‘triple cream’ goat cheese, realize it has a whopping 150 calories and 15 grams of fat per ounce.”