Coconut Milk

Being from an incredibly lactose intolerant family, all my life I have been acutely aware of my dairy intake. When I became a mother, I breastfed for as long as was practical, but weaning time was inevitable and so began my affair with homemade coconut milk. Coconut milk is a great option for infants with its high fat content much like breast milk. As my children grew, I found it an easy and cheap alternative to add to cereals, porridge, muffins, cakes etc.
I usually buy dried coconuts for Bds$1.00 each. I get them from the same guy we purchase our coconut water from every Sunday. Five dollars later, I have more than enough milk for the week!

Super easy to make and very versatile in use, here's how you can make your very own batch of coconut milk. People resort to all kinds of options when opening up a coconut, and here's my method. Simply place the coconut on the ground and take a hammer to it. It will break into fragments. I then use a butter knife (dull blade) to pry the meat away from the shell....it really is easier than it may sound to you right now :). The meat is cut into small pieces and placed in a blender with a cup of tap water. Blend until the coconut is fine. It should look like this.

Place a cheesecloth in a strainer to separate milk from coconut meat. My one coconut plus a cup of water produced four cups of coconut milk.

 I store in glass jars and refrigerate. This batch was made specially for a dinner of Coconut-Curried Chick peas with basmati rice.

Feel free to add vanilla or any spices to suit your taste.

Before I go check out these interesting coconut facts.

• The word cocos is Spanish fro grinning face which the holes on the nut resemble.
• The coconut is used in many orisha rituals and is an integral part of Yoruba culture
• In Sanskrit, the coconut palm is known as kalpa vriksha - 'tree which gives all that is necessary for living' because nearly all parts can be used, the water, milk, flesh, sugar and oil, even the husks and leaves are used.
• Coconut water is great for use as an electrolyte to re-hydrate after strenuous exercise

The health benefits of the coconut are also now being widely touted. FYI......

• Coconuts are highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5 and B6 and minerals including iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous.
• Coconuts contain significant amounts of fat, but unlike other nuts, they provide fat that is mostly in the form of medium chain saturated fatty acids (MCFAs) in particular, one called lauric acid. Lauric acid is converted in the body into a highly beneficial compound called monolaurin, an antiviral and antibacterial that destroys a wide variety of disease causing organisms. It is therefore now thought that consumption of coconut milk may help protect the body from infections and viruses.

Please note however that nutritionists recommend limiting your intake to 3 times weekly due to its high fat content.

BTW, it's great to be back. Being a student again took a bit of readjustment but I have it covered now (I hope) :), and look forward to sharing my life on this rock with you wherever you are. Be good, be warm, be happy.