I have this blurry memory from my youth of my younger brother begging my mom for a coconut for his birthday. I guess a coconut seemed so exotic and foreign that he was dying to crack one open. So my mom obliged. And after a bit of hammering and cracking, we got the coconut open. And after trying a bit, he decided he didn't like at after all.

Well we have come full circle over here in the Rose home as my own child was asking me to buy a coconut. We had a discussion last week about eating the "colors of the rainbow." So we started naming fruits and vegetables that fit into each color: Red: tomatoes, strawberries, apples; Orange: carrots, sweet potatoes, Yellow: Squash, Bananas, etc. But when we got to white all they could come up with was cauliflower. So I said "how about coconut?" They looked at me like I was speaking Japanese. So I explained to them all about coconuts and how you crack it open and eat the white meat inside. They were mesmerized.

And the next day we left the grocery store with a coconut in tow. They were ecstatic. We drilled a hole and emptied the juice into a cup. I gave each of them a spoonful. It was not a winner.

And after several attempts at cracking it open, we finally succeeded after a couple of hard whacks on the sidewalk. I opened it up and did my best to separate the meat from the shell. But by then the coconut experiment had kind of lost its luster. The boys wanted to try the coconut right away, not endure a 30 minute ordeal.

But once I got it all off I cut each of them a small piece (despite their protests that they wanted a HUGE piece). Well as it turns out, my kids don't like coconut either, and wouldn't even finish the small piece I had given them.

So here I was with a ton of fresh coconut that is only good for 7 days (unless I freeze or dry it) and a husband who doesn't eat coconut. So today I took a chance and made macaroons using the coconut. They turned out delicious and were super easy. The kids loved them. Even my coconut-hating husband loved them.

So after telling Greg how proud I was to have made these macaroons with fresh coconut (that only cost me $1 mind you) he said "so good that it was worth all that work?"

"No" I said. Next time I'll just buy the bag of coconut.

Here is the recipe for anyone who is feeling ambitious with their coconut endeavors or for anyone who is smart and just buys it shredded. (via allrecipes.com)

Coconut Macaroons III
Ingredients

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, coconut and salt. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla using your hands until well blended. Use an ice cream scoop to drop dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about golf ball size.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until coconut is toasted.