Week 38: Chocolate Chip Treasure Cookies

This week I chose to make chocolate chip treasure cookies.  It was an easy choice as the cookies have coconut in them, and I LOVE all things coconut.  I have been on a coconut kick for the last 6 months, and I feel like I can't get enough of it.  I have incorporated more raw recipes into my diet, and a lot of them include young coconut meat, shredded coconut, coconut milk, or coconut butter.  In addition, I have started drinking coconut water and I really enjoy it.  I almost had a heart attack at Kroger last week as they now carry my coconut water in the "Nature's Market" section of their store.  Previously, I had to go to all the way to Whole Foods to get it, and the closest Whole Foods is 50 minutes from my house! Also, I got hooked on a new show "Roseanne's Nuts."  It stars Roseanne Barr and takes place on her macadamia farm on the big island of Hawaii.  The episode I caught was about her cooking Passover supper with the fresh food she grew on her farm.  All the beautiful cinematography of Hawaii got me to thinking about coconut again, so I decided to incorporate coconut into my cookie recipe for the week.  If you are interested here is a link to some additional information about the show:  www.mylifetime.com/shows/roseannes-nuts  The  resulting cookies are like a chocolate chip cookie, but very chewy as the recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk and lots of coconut.  They are in a word DELICIOUS and I am nutty for them...pun intended. ☺
Here is a link to the recipe that I used: http://www.eaglebrand.com/recipes/details/?RecipeId=3936&categoryIndex=6



Victoria scoring a mature coconut

As I mentioned above I have been "nutty for coconuts" for a while now.  I don't have a ton of experience with fresh coconut as prior to this year I have only opened one coconut in my life.  I was a kid and living at home with my parents and sister Amy.  My Dad brought one home and he opened it.  I remember being really excited to taste the coconut milk and eat the fresh coconut.  Unfortunately I was disappointed, as fresh coconut isn't sweet at all, and tastes kind of like a raw carrot. I wasn't ever motivated to eat  fresh coconut again after that until I got interested in raw foods. I am trying to incorporate some raw recipes into my family's diet so I started with the easiest recipes first...desserts.  My family is usually open to trying new things when it comes to dessert, so I have made some raw desserts and they liked them.  A lot of the recipes that I have experimented with thus far have called for coconut in one form or another.  It wasn't until earlier this year that I opened my first young coconut.  Actually Dan opened it...he is an engineer after all. ☺  I used the coconut milk and the coconut meat and made delicious raw ice cream (chocolate and vanilla).  Also, I incorporate shredded coconut into the raw chocolate candy that I make...YUM.  I now have a real appreciation for coconut...good coconut...not the artificially sweet kind like in an Almond Joy.  Don't get me wrong I love love love me an Almond Joy, but my raw chocolate candy tastes better and is way better for you. If you haven't ever experimented with fresh coconut (young or mature) you should try it.  It is pretty interesting and the kids thought is was fun.  Before you purchase a fresh coconut call me first.  I'll give you a tutorial so you won't make the same mistakes I did. ☺


My Hawaiian goal... minus the coconut.

 I can't eat coconut and not think about  2 things...my Mom and Hawaii.  My Mom loved coconut. For her birthday, we'd usually buy or make some sort of cake with coconut in it.  Additionally, Dan and I were fortunate enough to travel to Hawaii on our honeymoon.  We visited the islands of Oahu, Maui, and Kauai.  We planned the trip with a travel agent, and my parents surprised us by paying the balance on the trip as our wedding gift.  Dan and I had a fabulous time. The Hawaiian islands are truly like paradise right here on Earth, and I think everyone should visit at least once.  Dan and I planned to visit the U.S.S. Arizona and Pearl Harbor, but there was a government shut down so all national parks and sites were closed. Instead we spent our time on Oahu at the Polynesian Cultural Center and in Honolulu. On Maui we drove the road to Hana, spent time in Lahaina, and visited the oldest lighthouse in the Pacific.  Maui is truly a party island and we had the most fun there.  Our last island was Kauai.  We attended a luau, saw dozens of waterfalls, visited the Fern Grotto, drove to Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific), visited Kileau Point, and took a tour on a glass bottom boat.  We also toured Fort Elizabeth, visited Captain Cook's Landing, and saw where the movies "Jurassic Park" and "Outbreak" were filmed.  Kauai was the most beautiful island we visited and the most secluded. We had a wonderful time and would absolutely love to go back someday.   Before we left  for our honeymoon, I announced that my goal was to "... lay on the beach, with a lei around my neck, and drink a fruity beverage out of a coconut."  (See picture above on the right) Well my fruity drinks were served in a cup, BUT we managed to have a great time anyway.☺

I cannot write about Hawaii and not think about my sister Amy.  She LOVES Hawaii and would move there today if she could.  Dan and I sent her and her husband Jeff there for their honeymoon, and in doing so we created a monster. To this day I don't think I've spent any significant amount of time with Amy where Hawaii didn't come up in conversation. Those of you that know my sister can attest to this as I am sure she has talked your ear off about one of her trips there.☺ I don't think I've ever known anyone who wanted to live someplace else so badly.  For her sake, I wish she could move there because I know just how happy it would make her. Better yet, I wish we had enough money collectively as a family, to buy a condo and just visit a lot. As for me, I do love the Hawaiian islands but I could not live there.  When Dan and I went on our honeymoon it was winter there, and it was ridiculously humid and hot.  I don't think I could live someplace where it was hot all year round.  I'd really miss the change of seasons. I love love love the fall, and it is my favorite time of year.  I adore the leaves changing color and the crisp feel of autumn in the air.  I am a Midwestern girl through and through, and I don't think I'd be happy living somewhere other than here.

Speaking of somewhere other than here, I read a book titled "Women, Food, and God" by Geneen Roth.  In the book there was some discussion about "hell" and its definition. Stephen Levine, a Buddhist teacher, wrote that "...hell is wanting to be somewhere different than where you truly are..." Given that definition I think I have spent a significant amount of time in hell already.  Especially with regards to my Mom.  I constantly pine for the days when she was well...when she was here. Life just seemed simpler then.  It was and still  is a struggle to see "my people" as much as I'd like because of the distance between us, but we get together every week and we talk and text all the time.  I used to talk to my Mom everyday, sometimes multiple times a day...just because. I miss that. I miss her. I miss a lot of things.  Most of all I miss the feeling of completeness that I had.  Now, I feel as if a huge chunk of me is missing, and I am left with a gaping wound. Yes it can scab over, but I'll always be scarred...and scars never completely go away.

Given Stephen Levine's definition of hell, I fear that I've become a permanent resident. I cannot imagine the "wanting her back" feeling will ever go away. So I am resigned to living in hell in the hopes that someday I'll just get used to it.  I can't change it no matter how hard I try, and I can't go back to the time that I long for.  The only option I have is to move forward.  In keeping with the concept of moving forward, I am reminded of a quote by one of my favorite Disney characters ever..."Dory" from "Finding Nemo."  In a scene with "Marlin" the clown fish who is searching for his son "Nemo" she tells him "... when life gets ya down ya know what ya gotta do? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming..." So that's what I'll do, I will just keep swimming and moving forward, because I know in my heart that's what my sweet Carmie would want.  Aloha ♥



Swimming in a waterfall on Maui.



Dan and I at a luau on Kauai.