I love yogurt with my granola and fruit in the morning, particularly homemade yogurt made with milk from cows that I pass on the beach every morning and evening. Living in Nicaragua has it’s downsides (a shortage of farmer’s markets selling things like organic veggies), but it also has its perks! We are surrounded by neighbors with herds of grass-fed cattle. The cow herders take their charges on daily walks to grazing pastures and our closest neighbor’s cows happen to make their commute along the beach at sunrise and sunset. It’s hard to imagine a happier cow than one that gets to slosh through the warm shorebreak on it’s way to grass grazing. 

Before I was pregnant we were using the milk raw, but since I want to take extra precautions to avoid any sickness these days, I’ve been a little more careful. Our neighbor delivers the milk in a lid-less bucket on his way to work (he also works in the kitchen at Coco Loco) several hours after milking the cow. So to be on the safe side, I first heat the milk to 185F, then let it cool to 110, pour it into a thermos, add the yogurt culture and then let nature work it’s magic. 12 hours later we have yummy probiotic-rich yogurt from happy salty grass-munching neighbor cows.