365gratitude2010: Nov 5th

Coconut.

A magnificent fruit!

I have recently begun a love affair. It began when a thread discussing cooking oils took on a life of its own on the Apples and Ovaries wall. I had never considered coconut oil as a cooking oil - I needed to learn more. And my findings were exciting. I started looking for it in the health food shop and at $8.00 for 300g, it was a sometimes oil for cooking.

We were blessed recently in coming across a co-op of gorgeous, certified organic oil. And at $12 per litre (including delivery and the delightful company of Seely from Cultures Alive!), I'm almost weeping at the increased uses this price avails our family.

I happened across the second wondrous use of this sumptuous fruit at yoga. Coconut water. Cool, refreshing, sweet, but not sickly. An acquired taste for certain - but I enjoy it immensely. And finding that incredible score of 9 fresh green coconuts in a box at CostCo, made my newest obsession all the more accessible. I told you I bought two boxes, yes? Well today I opened the first one. Mental note to self: try the drill next time. An apple corer works, yes, eventually - but there has to be a better way. The water I emptied was so much more than I expected! I filled a glass for use towards our coconut kefir and drank the remaining (just 'cos I could).

I opened up the outside husk (I make that sound effortless - I assure you it wasn't) to access the flesh. It felt quite jelly-like from the small amount that was falling through the water hole. I was so curious! Turns out, the younger the coconut, the more water is present and the flesh is indeed a jelly-like consistency, with not much on the husk at all. Very exciting! I scraped it all out and planned to dry it out in the oven, then desiccate it in the thermie - using as much of the fruit as I could. I ended up cooking it. Better luck next time (I believe a dehydrator is on the shopping list)!

So this evening, we joined friends in blessing their new home and caught up with the lovely Seely, who had a 20L bucket of coconut oil with her. The spooning of oil into our own jars was a beautiful ritual - it felt very communal, it was wonderful. As were our hands at the end of the evening, as the spillages were just too delicious to wash off!