Coconut Icee!!

I love coconut!

So much so that everytime I come out to the Creekstone to work in the Test Kitchen I stop by the local market and pick up coconut gelato. Today at Starbucks, ordered a (In true veteran barista style) a "Tall Whole Milk Coconut Misto". The Barista behind the counter replied, "That sounds really good!". I of course agreed.  Yes, the coconut syrup is not natural, but I had a babysitter for a couple hours and opted to indulge my coconut desire by way of Starbucks.



The whole milk is my choice because I order the "Tall" or smallest beverage and enjoy body of a frothy whole milk. If you are going to "indulge" in a SB on occassion PLEASE skip the "skinny" bull. Do you need 20 ounces of milk and 1 ounce of syrup to get your coffee/sweet fix? Probably not, and actually the beautiful texture of the foam that is part of the steamed milk experience is lost after a short time anyway so more than the small size is wasteful in the sense of enjoying and respecting food as an art and joyous relationship. Side bar, okay, back to the story....

Fast forward to this afternoon as I made last minute preparations for the trip, I was craving protein and that often translates into hot wings. With Nutrition and Fitness education and credentials I can rationalize almost any meal I choose. In this case? The red peppers used to make a typical "buffalo" sauce contains moderate capsaicin which indicates its HOT factor. Capsaicin is heart healthy and has analgesic properties. As body building or anaerobic activity being my primary exercise, protein- especially Heme iron (or blood containing) protein for iron stores and muscle restoration. Heme iron is better absorbed and only found in "meat" whereas non-heme iron is found in vegetable protein and not as efficiently asborbed, making it less bioavailable. The deep frying? Okay, well, fat is a necessary nutrient that our brain requires, okay no I'm not an advocate for fried food on a regular basis but when I weight train hard I always crave wings. It's my thing :)

 The small Italian place in town makes some that I love and bonus, they have a drive thru pick up! I knew I would splurge on the wings and ever the advocate for balance I wanted my coconut treat without the cost or extra trip to the market. Coconuts contain medium chain fatty acids which are not common in foods.

In the pantry I had grated coconut and shelf stable coconut milk.... IDEA! In my process to develop fresh concessions for the Eagleville Country Horse Show next month a "Coconut, Coconut" ice pop came up. Tonight the first round of testing for the outdoor summer fest treat was made!
In a blender (the food processor was not available) I mixed the grated coconut, stevia sweetened coconut milk and some half&half for body. Poured into an old fashioned ice cube tray and placed in the freezer with coconut gelato dreams! Before ever trying it I assumed it would not have enough 'fatty' body that a good gelato or homemade ice cream brings to mind. However, this was a trial run so it's okay to test one, eat and try again :)

The result? An hour later I have perfectly snow white coconut cubes! The flavor is perfectly light and natural coconut without the fake chemical taste. And I was right, needs fat for more body (I think). So will do some research but I think I will try a couple things: Honey, Avocado, Coconut oil... and might come up with some other ideas. Until then, will suffer through this first batch I guess... Oh, the miseries of the Test Kitchen :)

Ciao! Ciao!