How to make Coconut milk

     Coconut is tasty and great for the body. You can find coconut water just about any where these days. Naked has a line of coconut water that's actually pretty popular right now. People are starting to catch on to the health benefits of coconut water. Coconuts are very common in Puerto Rican cuisine. We however, don't drink it out of a juice box though. We knock them down from trees and drink the water fresh out of the coconut.
     Coconut water has numerous health benefits. It's loaded with electrolytes guaranteed to keep you hydrated and it has high amounts of potassium, even more than bananas. The oil can be used for just about anything like dry skin, as a hair conditioner, make-up remover, facial cleanser, for cooking, and has anti-fungal properties. Coconut is loaded with good omega fats and is also high in protein. Make your own coconut milk to ensure you're receiving optimum nutrition. It's easy and inexpensive.

Directions:
1. Crack open the coconut with a machete, and drain the water into a glass.
2. Remove the meat from the shell. Get a knife or spatula to get in between the meat and the shell. If it's too hard, place in oven at 350 degrees for about 5 min. or until the meat starts receding from the shell.
3. Next grate the coconut using a cheese grater into a fine meal. This will take a lot of arm work but will extract the milk better than if you just place the chunks of coconut into a blender. You can however place it in a blender to make it faster.

4. If making with blender: Add the chunks of coconut, the glass of coconut water and 4C of hot water and blend for approx. 20 seconds.
If making milk without the blender: Place grated coconut in a pitcher, 4C of hot water and steep for about 10 min. or until the water is milky.
5. Use a strainer or cheesecloth to strain coconut from the milk. Squeeze out excess milk from the coconut meal. You can set meal aside and use it to bake with. Coconut cookies are delicious.

6. You can repeat steps and steep the coconut for milk up to 3 times.