Pages

Sunday, November 6, 2011

One Day I Bought a Coconut

I remember a few times growing up when Dad & Mom bought a coconut. Dad would punch holes in it and drain out the coconut milk (or water) and divide it for my sister and I, then break open the coconut. I remember loving the whole thing – the coconut water straight from the coconut and eating the coconut meat itself.

I discovered Zico Coconut Water in the grocery store here recently and the taste is fairly close to what I remember, I suspected the difference had to do with it being bottled rather that straight from the coconut.

Last weekend while I was grocery shopping I picked up a coconut. It was an impulse buy, of course, and I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to crack the thing open. It sat in a  bowl on the kitchen table for a week. If nothing else, it looked all decorative sitting there with a lemon and  two limes.

Today I decided to give it a go. I whacked away at it a bit, then had the bright idea to use the point of a knife to poke a hole through the end (if you’ve never dealt with a whole coconut before, there are three depressions in one end). Poking the point of a knife in the – i don’t know what you call them so  I’ll stick with – depressions was actually easier, and then I was able to drain out the coconut water. I’d heard it sloshing around in there but there was more than I expected.

IMG_2234

I tasted the coconut water, wondering if I should refrigerate it, but then I just ended up drinking it down.

Then, since  I’d been  making a mess in the kitchen with bits of coconut shell flying everywhere, I took the coconut, my knife and a tea towel out to the deck and proceeded to whack away at it until I had exposed an area that I could cut through.

IMG_2235

At that point, the coconut shell was cracked and I was able to whack at it with the back of my knife and crack it in  two.

IMG_2236

I really like coconut. Which is a good thing because I have a whole one to eat all by myself.

That was the fun part of my day. The rest of the day was spent doing some cleaning and stacking wood in the garage. First I had to move the leftovers of last year’s wood, which was actually the worst part because it stirred up all kinds of dust in the garage which left me sneezing and sniffling. That’s when I took a break and broke open my coconut.

After standing at the counter munching on coconut for a while, I went back out to start on the wood pile (Dear Bag  Lady, the ritual banging of the wood was observed and I thought of you).

IMG_2237

The stack of wood along the back wall of the garage grew at a satisfying rate, yet it was hard to see any visible difference in the pile sitting in the drive. I feel like I am going to be stacking wood forever.

Yesterday I put away all my garden planters, ornaments, tomato cages, etc. It was a productive weekend. I also remember to cut some catnip to dry for the cats. Frank approves.

IMG_2214

Actually, both cats approve, but Frank is the one who got all flirty with the bowl. They both helped themselves quite happily.

Still dairy and gluten free, 6 days now. Last night I made chocolate from coconut oil and cocoa. I still miss cheese. How long do I have to stick with this, I wonder, to know if it’s making a difference? I can’t say I feel any different so far.

9 comments:

MizFit said...

Ive never bought a coconut before and this so seems like a fun afterschool activity for me and the girl!!

(stick with the foodstuffs. usually took me a couple of weeks to feel changes)

xo

solarity said...

My allergist would say two to three weeks, so two weeks ought to at least give a hint.

I've never opened a coconut.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Amy said...

I always WANT to buy a coconut, but then feel intimidated by the process. Also, inquiring minds want to know - did you put the lime in the coconut and drink it all down? :)

JavaChick said...

Okay...sticking with the dairy/gluten free eats for at least another week.

Amy - Lol! But no, I did not. :)

Crabby McSlacker said...

How brave of you to tackle the big hairy brown thing and get the water and meat out of it. I sort of forgot coconut water came from, duh, coconuts.

And darn it Amy, now I've got that song in my head and can't get rid of it!

LeslieGoldman said...

We used to do the same thing with my dad! It was a special treat. We'd go to the basement, he'd grab a hammer and nails from his workbench, and we'd sip the delicious coconut juice from a glass. It seriously felt SO exotic and fancy :-)

JavaChick said...

Crabby - I did feel brave!

Leslie - Love hearing that you had similar coconut adventures growing up. It was always a real treat!

the Bag Lady said...

I, too, remember my dad opening coconuts. Sadly, I'm not all that crazy about coconut - for some reason, it makes my tummy hurt.

Good for you for tackling all that firewood!

JavaChick said...

Bag Lady - I love coconut, but if it made my tummy hurt I probably wouldn't be a fan either.