Crazy About Coconut!

I remember the first time I ate a coconut in Peru. I was in Aguaytia, in the jungle. I traveled with a friend to visit her family for Easter and encountered one of the most difficult weeks of my life! I hardly spoke any Spanish, the air around me was hot and wet all day and all night, and I was counting the hours until I traveled back to Lima. If I had the chance to go again I would do it in a heartbeat, but at the time I just wanted to leave.

The day we sat in Aguaytia was a day we left her family in Boqueron and traveled almost an hour by colectivo, a collective taxi service. She was introducing me to new fruits, new sights and a variety of her friends. We saw a small cart of coconut that a man was selling and we each got one. They were either 30 cents each or 30 cents for both. He sliced off the top with a machete and when he did so, I wondered what else that machete had sliced before my coconut! Kindly he stuck a straw in the hole he created and with a gap tooth grin he handed one to each of us. We walked away, coconut in hand, and searched out any spot of shade. The Plaza de Armas or town square had a variety of benches with a plethora of people sprawled upon them. We found our spots and began to slurp the clear juice from the guts of the coconut. What I really wanted was the fresh white meat, but knowing I couldn’t waste any of the water I kept drinking. Once it came time to actually eat the coconut, we had not real way of breaking off any pieces so my friend took hers and smashed it against the bench causing a slight fracturing of the outer shell allowing us to get to the meat. It was delightful even though I was full from the coconut juice just minutes before.

Coconuts are not a frequent pleasure for my tastebuds. There are so many desserts made with this fruit, but I cannot bring myself to eat them, they are too sweet. Recently as I walked through a market, I saw a bag of freshly shredded coconut flesh. I wondered if I would like it better than the prepackaged, already sweetened white flakes I refused to buy before. So, I bought a half a pound, placed it in a canister and wondered what in the world I would do with it. Until I saw…blondies!

I was getting ready to visit a friend and did not want to go empty handed, but had no brilliant idea. I ran across the recipe where I could “add what I want.” I started looking at my addition selection and realized that I could add the newly bought Brazil nuts and the coconut without destination. At first I thought dried cranberries would go great with these flavors but selfishly realized that my cranberry supply is running low and I cannot get any for months, so that idea was discarded. My chocolate chip supply is running low as well, but I realized I had a large dark chocolate bar which I could cut into chunks in order add in to my blondies. At once, I began to melt, chop and stir in order to create…

Coco Castaña Blondies

1 cup of butter, melted
2 cups of raw sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of toasted, slivered Brazil nuts
1 cup of toasted shredded coconut
1 cup of dark chocolate chunks

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan, then remove from heat. Add sugar and stir to combine. Add eggs and vanilla, stir to combine. Sprinkle flour and salt over the mixture, then stir until well combined. Add in Brazil nuts and coconut; stirring to blend well. Lastly add in chocolate, stirring gently. Pour batter in a 9×13 pan coated with cooking spray and place in a preheated 350F oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until set in the middle. Cool before cutting. Makes 24 bars.

From smittenkitchen.com

Oh coconut, I am growing fonder of you.