Why make your own yogurt when it's so easy to buy yogurt at the market? How about flavor? Texture? Sublime ingredients? And the fact that it's also pretty easy to make it at home?

Farmer Jack Ford taught me how to make yogurt recently from goat milk. And our mutual friend Michelle Lerach shared with me her recipe for her stunning vegan coconut yogurt. Compared with the grocery store varieties the coconut flavor in Michelle's yogurt explodes in the palate.

Obviously, there are endless ways to enjoy yogurt other than as a snack. But you'll enjoy Herb & Wood Executive Chef Shane McIntyre's recipe for Charred Carrots With Aleppo Yogurt, Dukkah and Carrot Top Pesto. The creamy yogurt with a hint of heat delicately envelopes sweet carrots and garlicky pesto.

All these recipes are in my latest story for the San Diego Union-Tribune's food section.