Fruit of the day: Coconut

We were walking through the market the other day when a local girl we often hang out with, saw a coconut and asked what it was. At first, I thought it was strange--there are coconuts all over the place! But then it occurred to me, that most folks around here are probably more used to seeing them whole, or already "dressed" completely. Which made me think--maybe coconut is exotic enough to deserve its own day.

a "whole" coconut from the market

what I used to mean by coconut from the market

Now, I know all about how to use whole coconut in this form. Just smash it open, spend much longer than you anticipated picking all the meat out of the shell, probably followed by grating it up (along with most of your fingers) and then wondering why it doesn't feel or taste like the candy stuff from the bag.

But, see, that's not really a whole coconut at all--in fact when you buy that hard wooden shell, most of the coconut is already gone!  Here is a WHOLE coconut. Fresh off the tree and carried down the Rio Coco river to my kitchen. 

I hear that knowing the source of your produce is all the rage in the US--and we definitely know the source of our coconuts, his name is Onedir. Check out this crazy video of him collecting coconuts for us "city folk" back in Jinotega.

Click here for video

Once you have the coconuts in hand, you're going to have to get that husk off. You can use a machete, a sharp knife, or even burn it off--the age of the coconut is a big factor. The older and dryer the husk, the easier it is to shred and pull apart by hand--but the more difficult to cut. The younger and greener husks chop off in chunks better, but you're going to need a cleaver or machete.

get a sharp knife and dig out a starting place

slice and pull off the fibrous stringy husk--no extra arm workout needed today!

I see the "nut". we're getting close!

 Now that you have dispatched the husk it's time to get into where the good stuff is hiding. Although, I suppose depending on your needs, the husk can be pretty good stuff too. I've heard it is a good medium for growing seedlings, I have seen it used as a floor scrubber, a fire starter, and have even been offered some nice dry shredded husks when on my way to the latrine. (yeah, I was grateful, but still took a "pass" in favor of some nicer stuff I packed in my pocket).

pretend those three dots are a face and poke a hole in the "mouth"--it's the softest

let the coconut water drain out

there's lots of juicy goodness in there!

Now comes the time to open it up. Some people will advise  you toast the nut (this will make it break in a bunch of little pieces, but the meat is supposed to come off easier). You can machete it open in your hand, smash it with a rock, or tap right in the center with a hammer, and if it's fresh, you're likely to get two perfectly split halves. 

I think a thin flexible knife is about the best tool for removing the meat. You can just pry it loose from the wooden shell. If you want it perfectly white, you will need to shave off the thin brown coating on the meat, or you can just eat that. It's fine. If you aren't "processing" the coconut, smashing it into pieces that fit in your mouth is best. That way you can just chew the meat right off of the shell. 

And that's one of the main things about coconut--you just eat it. I spent quite a bit of time trying to make my coconuts "turn out right"--trying to make shredded sweet flakes that, while delicious, have very little to do with what coconut is. In English we call it cocoNUT--I think that's meant to be a hint. It really does taste like a delicious, soft, meaty nut. (Yes, yes, I know it's a technically a drupe not a nut--but I'm talking flavor and function here). Yep, you can make candy, curry, smoothies, and soup from coconut--but I think the best thing is to just eat it. Yum. 

The End

Special Bonus Features

See, the thing is, there is just some other cool stuff you should know about coconuts. 

Such as: 

A coconut tree produces year round, so there are always coconuts in multiple stages of development on a tree. A good tree can produce 10-15 coconuts per month--so they are truly a source of abundance.

There are plenty of other methods of dispatching a coconut. Especially if you've had some serious practice. There are these guys in Managua who will sell you mature coconuts completely cleaned of husk and the wooden shell but the meat and the water inside are perfectly intact. Now, that is some serious machete talent. 

You don't have to be a full time coconut butcher to cultivate some serious machete skills--check out our pal Onedir busting up some coconuts for the guys on the river this week. 

Click here for link.

Coconuts are useful and extremely different at different stages of development. Maybe you've seen "young" or "green" coconut for sale in a fancy-pantsy grocery store. The white part you are seeing is the fibrous husk in its green state. Inside, the wooden shell hasn't yet formed. Young coconuts are all about the coconut water. At this stage the coconut water is sweeter than what comes from a mature coconut. There's often 3 or 4 cups of liquid inside! Between completely green and mature, the young coconuts begin to form the coconut meat--and it is a soft jelly like texture. Less flavorful than mature white coconut meat, but still a nice treat. And on a hot day--nothing could possibily be better. Yum!

Fruit of the day: Pejibaye???

Jonathan is fresh back from another trip up the Rio Coco, and he returned with some fantastic gifts--including a weird fruit. The folks up there called it "supa" (pronounce it "soup-uh") We aren't really sure if that's a Miskito or Spanish name. Jonathan said that they grew on some type of palm tree. My  best guess is that they are some wild version of the peach palm fruit. science-y stuff here

The fruits are small and hard with a very slick, thin skin.  Jonathan shared that the experts did not eat the skin, so neither did I. They have one central pit, and a very dry, mealy, fibrous, almost woody flesh. The taste is incredibly mild--almost non existent. It has more aftertaste than actual taste. Not objectionable in any way--but also not sweet or familiar to any flavor I can recognize. A tiny bit like the nutty flavor of dry field corn perhaps? Jonathan said that he was served these fruit hot--he assumed they had been boiled, but that the flavor was relatively unchanged. He was surprised at how much he enjoyed them (but that could also just be a function of eating rice and beans for a week--or the delicious sauce of receiving the generous gift of people who have very little).

So an exciting new fruit! Supa. I am so amazed at how full the world is of "new" and interesting things waiting to be "discovered".

September-ish Update

Hello all:

I can't believe it is October - for that matter it is almost mid-October and I am just getting this out. I thought things were to slow down when groups left? It seems as though we have been as busy as ever and that makes time fly by even faster. 

September allowed Sheila and I the opportunity to return to the Rio Coco. It is always such a mixed bag of blessings and we are always surprised at how they appear. We are never surprised by their source. We delivered school supplies, eyeglasses and medicine. 

Armed with the knowledge of how to use OTC medicines, I was sent as the distributor. Our doctor gave me instructions and so, wielding a thermometer, otoscope, and stethoscope I packed for the Rio Coco to distribute acetaminophen, parasite pills and a mild antibiotic. At one point when I was in San Andres, the central city for the region and the only health center for many, many miles, a young man came to the clinic. This is where we were setting up for vision screening and eye glass fitting. We had been told that there were currently no doctors at the health center so the whole facility was at our disposal. This man had sliced the top of his foot open with a machete. He needed stitches. I had some in my emergency medical kit. Here we were in the village for just a few hours and I was being called "doctor" and expected to sew an open wound shut. (It is at this point where Sheila reminded me that I am in fact accident prone and had seen the procedure completed personally on dozens of occasions.) I got the man to a bench and got his foot elevated I went for the emergency medical bag. As a I rounded the corner I saw a man standing at the door of the health center personnel living quarters. 

"Are you the doctor?" I asked. "Yes," he said, "but the clinic is closed and we are on vacation, unless there is an emergency." "Oh, there's an emergency," I assured him and took him to the patient. I ended up playing nurse instead of doctor, and got another good opportunity to witness stitching. Yeah, I could do that if I had to. I hope I don't have to! I wonder if the young man knows how lucky he was.    

I took fewer pictures this time, but I think it was because I was so much busier. I'd much rather be the photographer than the doctor.

Sheila and I are planning a short trip home that will begin in mid-November and end in mid -December. We have become so accustomed to the lifestyle here that trips home seem very expensive, starting with airfare. We will use the time to visit family, as many friends as possible and tend to some contract work with a school form the Mount Pleasant, TX area.

Residency is progressing well and we expect to have all paperwork in the local attorney's hands with in a week. Once we have those papers finalized we will start making the contacts with the Ministry of Family to learn more about the adoption process. Please keep these things in your prayers as you continue to pray for all aspects of our work here.

Ikaia the cat is getting bigger and continues to be successful at her primary function. As she grows she has begins to do what cats do naturally so, after some research and talking to a local vet, we decided to give her a birth control shot that will last until early next year. Yes, now I am a veterinarian. With Sheila as my assistant, we administered the recommended dosage of depo-prevera to our pet. Remember that in the animal world  I am 100% dog lover. Have you ever seen a mad kitten? She has been giving us the cold shoulder. "This is going to hurt you more than it is going to hurt me," I told her. I guess I was right. This morning when I picked her up to give her the once-over she just looked up at me, hissed, and hid behind the couch.

Finally, we are in the final stages of production on the 2014 calendar. The theme is "Children of the Rio Coco." It may be the first tri-lingual calender ever produced. Each page chooses a photo topic and includes a brief description. Additionally, there is a box with an associated phrase. The phrase is in English, Spanish and Miskito. We hope you will find this calendar not only visually pleasing, but hinging on educational. I know in a world where paper calendars are obsolete this may seem like a waste. We have chosen this as a way to share what we do. Besides, are you going to hang your electronic device on the wall? We are asking for donations of $18-20 to cover the cost of production. Any profits made will go directly to the work of Sigh For Sore Eyes. Did I mention they make excellent gifts? We need to complete the order process by 24 OCT 2013 to get them in your hands around Thanksgiving while we are stateside. 

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Checks can be sent to:

SFSE

PO Box 903

Georgetown, TX 78627

To order, please send your physical address and the number you wish to order to me at:

bikercoach@gmail.com. 

I cannot say often enough how grateful we are for your support, whether it is spiritual in the form of prayer, financial, or both. Thank you.

Grace, peace and Mercy...but mostly Mercy,

"Coach" Jonathan L. Holland,

Executive Director, Sight For Sore Eyes Foundation, Inc.

Deputy Director, Mision Para Cristo, Jinotega, Nicaragua