HALF-YEARLY WRAP-UP
You put the lime in the coconut, you take ‘em both together.
Put the lime in the coconut then you feel better. ~Harry Nilsson (1941 – 1994)
HALF WAY THERE
Where has the year gone? We’re half-way through 2010 and Stop Blogging And Cook. I promised you ways to bring joy to a kitchen near you and, at the half-way point, how have we done? To recap:
- We’ve discovered Cooking in a Salt Crust, an exciting way to cook meats, poultry, fish and potatoes.
- We’ve boarded the Meatless Monday bandwagon, preparing Summer Squash Boats, Pesto, and twenty pasta variations from ginger to peanut sauce, and some serious stir-fry, like Pad Thai and Veggie Pasta Delight.
- We’ve done eggs in many varieties for breakfast, lunch and dinner: Omelet Anthony, Quiche in Polenta Shell, Fried Egg in Olive Oil, Eggs Benedict and Benedict Arnold.
- We’ve discovered whole grains: Quinoa – hot and cold as a side dish as a salad and Rice – as a sweet salad, a sweet & savory side dish, and combined with spinach & pine nuts.
- Main dishes: Pork Roast in Salt Crust, Sweet Chicken , Shrimp and Leftovers as well as Sauces for meats, eggs, fish and vegetables: White Cream, Tartar, Cheese and Hollandaise.
- One-pot meals:Â Stuffed Cabbage, Coq au Vin and a Quick Coq variation.
- Fish: cooked in a Salt Crust, in Barbecue Sauce, and formed into Fish Cakes, good hot or cold.
- Special Breakfasts: Chocolate Pancakes using nothing refined; good and good for you.
- I hope you’ve been encouraged to make up salad variations as you go, like Caesar and Boston/Feta/Pine Nut.
- Lunch classics and surprising snacks:Â Sandwiches, Leek & Potato and Pea Soup; Popcorn, Smoothies & Creamsicles, Guacamole and Glazed Nuts.
- Fruits from the garden, the green market or the grocery, hot or cold for dessert or on top of pancakes or French toast – Hot Apples in Wine, Cherries Jubilee, Savory Strawberries and Blueberry Frozen Yogurt – proving the theory that it’s never a good day without some sort of fresh fruit.
- Vegetable bounty, exploring favorites like Asparagus, Fried Okra and Steamed Artichokes as well as newcomers Sugar Snap/Sweet/Snow Peas, Chiogga Beet, Krisped Kale, and Marinated Vegetables that can use almost anything from the vegetable garden, cooked or raw.
- Beverages that are real and real good: Sparkling Seltzers, Summer Punch, and a Frozen Daiquiri.
- A palate-cleansing Lemon Mousse is also a refreshing dessert, and the gift-worthy Brandied Fruit – though it’s not done until December – round out the quarter’s fare.
- And we’ve learned how much fun can be picnics & cook-outs, providing easy dishes for entertaining.
CRACK OPEN A COCONUT
Because you’ve been so good at keeping up, today is a special treat that is simplicity itself, as long as you have a hammer handy. Summer is a time for eating fun, fresh foods that may not be available in other seasons. One thing I learned long ago – was it from Harry Nilssen or my trip to Jamaica? – was to put the lime in the coconut. Work on a tile floor, or maybe the patio. Take a fresh coconut and, with a hammer, tap it on it’s equator, rotating it around until it splits open, catching the milk inside in a bowl. Then, with an old rounded-blade knife that you don’t mind ruining, slide the blade in between the shell and the flesh and pop it apart. And, yes, you eat the thin brown skin that is attached to the white, white coconut meat.
Inside is a delectable food – is is fruit? is it a nut? – that is the embodiment of fresh that is miles from the dried version most people use today, and sweet only in the way a coconut can be.  At once moist and crunchy. Now squeeze fresh lime juice onto a square of coconut and pop it into your mouth before the lime can drip down the front of your shirt. Mmmmmmm. It tastes like a tropical breeze, a dessert fit to cap off any meal, or just to enjoy as a summertime snack. Makes a good addition to the lunch box. Pack a wedge of lime in with a few squares of coconut and watch your friend’s eyes grow big and round, observing such obvious renegade lunch behavior. The Jamaicans sprinkle a little sugar cane on it – I suggest sucanant – but, trust me, it isn’t needed at all. Lime in coconut is pure delight.
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