Coconut Milk

Tinned coconut milk is available in most grocery stores these days, but it's best prepared fresh. (Plus, if you make your own, you can enjoy the added thrill of playing with power tools in your kitchen!)

Ingredients:

• 1 coconut
  
• water

Directions:

Pierce the eyes in the coconut. (Some people struggle with a skewer for this task, but I go straight for the power drill with a quarter inch drill bit.)
Drain and reserve water from coconut, passing it through a fine sieve to extract any bits of shell.
Bake coconut at 400°F for 15 minutes.
Break coconut open (a solid whack with a hammer works well) and pry flesh away from shell.
Peel brown skin off coconut flesh.
Purée coconut flesh in blender or food processor with reserved coconut water and enough additional water to make liquid up to 1.5 cups.
Allow puréed coconut mixture to stand for 15 minutes.
Press coconut mixture through a fine sieve to extract milk.