I drilled some holes in the coconut and poured the water into a cup. The kids were both willing to try it but didn't like it very much. Then I made the kids leave the area while I (carefully) hacked the empty coconut in half. That was annoying--it was a lot of work and made a big mess everywhere. The next step was just as hard--cutting the flesh off the shell with a pairing knife. The kids tried a little bit but decided it wasn't to their liking. So I had a full glass of coconut milk and a full bowl of coconut flesh. What to do with it?
Make Pina Colada, of course! I thankfully had a can of chuck pineapple in the cupboard. I followed the recipe (below, minus the Rum) and it was the BEST pina coloda I've ever had in my life! No kidding! I was worried that it would turn out, because I kept blending and blending but there were still chunks of coconut flesh. So I strained all the little chunks out, and I was left with perfect Pina Colada, It was so smooth and rich, the cream even floated to the top. I'm sure this drink was horribly fattening, but it was worth it. And I might add worth the work. I will be making more of this in the future when I get the chance.
But what to do with all that left over pulp? I didn't want to just throw it away--after all, it still tasted good. I decided to try to make some coconut candy. I basically had no idea what I was doing. I mixed the coconut with corn syrup, flavoring (one orange, plain, and one chocolate), and a little bit of food coloring and stuck it in the oven in hopes it would work. It didn't. It tasted okay. Not sweet enough, but mostly it just fell apart so it was hard and extremely messy to eat. No body wanted it so I just threw it away :(
That Pina colada sounds tasty. When I was growing up, my dad would break open a coconut sometimes and drink the milk. It didn't taste sweet enough to me. In college in Hawaii the natives found coconuts falling off the trees and threw them on the concrete parking lot, breaking them open, drank the milk and shaved the inside with a knife. At least Gabe and Elisa had fun learning about coconuts!
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