Today's column features milks sold here in suburban St. Louis, all from small-farm dairies. With increasing interest in local, organic and especially grass-fed dairy products, watch the dairy section in your own markets for special treats like these from your own area. First published in 2008, republished online in 2012, with recipe and photo updates. Enjoy! When I was a kid, the neighbors kept a cow. Her milk, still warm and thick from the udder, was, ewww, undrinkable. But since discovering new milks in our local stores, milk has become the ‘house drink’, in wine glasses no less. Straubs carries bottles from Heartland Creamery , a cow and goat farm in northeast Missouri. Many local stores carry Oberweis milk and home delivery, a convenience for 80 years, is available too. My favorite milk is found at Dierbergs. Kalona Supernatural (formerly Farmers’ All Natural Creamery) milk comes from grass-fed cows on Amish and Mennonite organic farms in central Iowa. The milk...

The Recipe: A long-time favorite pie in the South and the Midwest, especially among men. Not too sweet, not too sharp, a classic! The Conversation: What holiday do we celebrate on March 14? Hint, it's Pi Day! Good morning, class. What holiday do we celebrate on March 14th? [Puzzled looks. Furled brows.] A hint? What might hungry mathematicians eat on the 3rd month’s 14th day? [Suddenly a confident hand shoots up.] Very good! Yes, class, today we celebrate Pi Day to honor pi, the revered mathematical constant of 3.14 and a trillion more digits. On Pi Day, we make pie, today a classic recipe from America’s south and heartland, a lemon meringue pie that is citrus-sweet and meringue-light. It earns high marks for deliciousness and is perfect for early spring when we yearn for summer like a classroom longs for recess. It’s today’s homework, an A+ pie. ALANNA's TIPS If you’re making your own crust, add lemon zest to the pastry too. Visit KitchenParade.com fo...