Quenched my thirst at the farmer's market this weekend with fresh coconut water -- an acquired taste, but good.
When I had the very last drop, I was about to toss the shell when I realized it was full of coconut meat so I stopped myself and took it home. I had to do something with it.
Realized that the hardest part of this ingredient is opening the shell --and that had already been done for me at the market to accommodate the straw.
Now all I need to do was get the meat off the shell.
This proved to be pretty easy as the meat from a young coconut is soft and scrapes off fairly easily with a spoon.
I rinsed off any brown shell residue and tossed all the rubbery meat into the Cuisinart with:
1 cup of non-fat greek yogurt, 1/2 capful vanilla extract, a tiny amount (maybe a drop or two) of almond extract and 2 tablespoons agave nectar.
Even though the young coconut is softer than the dry grated stuff you may know from the grocery store, it will not get creamy when you blend it and still lends a slightly grainy texture to the yogurt.
I poured it into small ramekins and they set nicely in the fridge after about an hour without needing any gelatin.
Served with fresh berries, it makes a very subtle and refreshing panna cotta style dessert.
I would use the coconut meat again, but next time combine it with some of the coconut water which would probably enhance the coconut flavor.
I had grown sort of fond of the shell by now, so in one last crazy move ( for today) I transplanted some sage into it to keep handy in the kitchen -- it makes a dandy planter!
Accidental green use of the coconut but had fun with it as it evolved.