NOT from a can...

I would consider myself a fairly "on the ball" type of person and I very much value common sense...but sometimes, the reality of things catch me off guard. There are things -- maybe conveniences is a better word -- that I am so accustomed to and when I faced with them in another light, it feels foolishly foreign. Case in point...

Food products that I usually buy in a can in the States don't originally come in a can.

Yes, I am aware this statement may sound a bit ridiculous and may also elicit the "duh" response in a few readers. I had this first "crazy realization" last Christmas as I made pumpkin pie and couldn't just run to the grocery store and buy a can of pumpkin. You can read about that here.

This time my revelation came in the form of a coconut...or rather the milk from coconut to be exact. I know that there is water inside the coconut. I know the "meat" inside the coconut is dried and shredded. But I have never thought about the milk that I have always so conveniently bought in the form of a can. On Saturday, though, I learned the non-can process:


Step one: Shave coconut meat and put in a bowl
Step two: Put a little water in the bowl, squeeze the coconut shavings and place said shavings in another bowl.
Step three: Strain out left over shavings.
Step four: Repeat process until you have successfully gotten all the milk out of the shavings.
Step five (optional): Smile and try not to get frustrated as Heather documents this process with her camera rather than actually helping. Heather appreciates the smiles ;-)


This is Phansy (pronounced Pan-see). She was in the Harvester class at the beginning of 2011 and is an amazing cook. All of this coconut milk process was to make a delicious curry that we ate on Sunday. Making the curry took much longer and was so much more involved than I ever imagined. I was so blessed by Ma Phansy and all her help to make our meal possible!