THE COCONUT TREE and What We get From It

THE COCONUT TREE

[The following information was culled from the source listed at the end of this article.]

The coconut tree is considered one of the most (if not the most) useful trees in the world, which is why it is often called “the tree of life.” The different parts (and uses) of the coconut tree are:

The FRUIT (sometimes called NUT), which is made up of:

            Husk – the outer layer of the nut, which is made into coir fiber that can be used to make rope, mats and brushes, fuel, organic fertilizer, and coir dust made into plastic boards, hollow blocks, insulators, and wall board.

            Shell – the hard second layer covering the meat, which can be burned to make fuel, or fashioned into containers (like cups, trays, serving dishes, pots) and toys, bags/purses, and ornaments (like jewelry, baskets, frames, lamps, coin banks, etc.).

            Meat and Water or Juice – see below a list of the numerous food products derived from them.

COCONUT OIL & VIRGIN COCONUT OIL (VCO)

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT COCONUT OIL AND VIRGIN COCONUT OIL (VCO)

[Note: The following information was culled from the three sources listed at the end of this article.]

COCONUT OIL

Coconut oil is oil extracted from the meat of a mature coconut (niyog); the young coconut (buko) does not have any oil.

There are two very different types of coconut oil in the market:

THE AMAZING COCONUT & ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT

THE COCONUT TREE

The coconut tree is considered one of the most (if not the most) useful trees in the world, which is why it is often called “the tree of life.” The different parts (and uses) of the coconut tree are:

The NUT, which is made up of:

            Husk – the outer layer of the nut, which is made into coir fiber that can be used to make rope, mats and brushes, fuel, organic fertilizer, and coir dust made into plastic boards, hollow blocks, insulators, and wall board.

            Shell – the hard second layer covering the meat, which can be burned to make fuel, or fashioned into containers (like cups, trays, serving dishes, pots) and toys, bags/purses, and ornaments (like jewelry, baskets, frames, lamps, coin banks, etc.).

            Meat and Water or Juice – see below for a listing of the numerous food products derived from them.

The Coconut House, Quezon City, Philippines

February 25, 2012 -- It was a happy coincidence that brought me to the Coconut House. I was chatting with a couple of dear friends over breakfast at the Saturday Salcedo Market (Makati--will blog on this shortly) about this book that I recently picked up on the facts about virgin coconut oil (VCO) and its numerous amazing uses including as an effective and natural (i.e., drug- & chemical-free) weapon against a vast number of illnesses. The next thing I knew, we were in their car, on our way to the Coconut House. As it turned out, the owner of the place, Jun Castillo, was their close friend. 
     What a revelation! The Coconut House has gone beyond just fresh buko juice or dishes cooked in gata (coconut milk) -- all their dishes use one or several components of the buko (young coconut) or niyog (mature coconut) in a truly ingenious and interesting way. They don't use additives or artificial flavorings, and all their ingredients are organic and locally sourced. So far, all the dishes I have tried were delicious, without exception!
    I can't get over the fact that this restaurant was not far from where I usually stay while in Manila, and I had never heard of it. This amazing restaurant truly deserves to be promoted and widely publicized!

The restaurant is located inside the Quezon Memorial Circle, near the Commonwealth Avenue entrance. 

Telephone: 392-4115; 

Email: coconuthouseph@gmail.com; 

Facebook: coconut house@live.com; 

Blog: coconuthousepinoy.blogspot.com.

Blogging from Manila

I've been in Manila since mid-January, and have gone on several food trips in and out of Manila, including visits to several restaurants in the Metro Manila area, tasting the food, taking notes, and photographing the restaurants and their dishes. I'm way way behind updating this blog with these food trips, and for this I apologize. I have to content myself with a DSL connection at my Mom's place, and uploading photos from my files to the blog site is so maddeningly slow. But I have to persevere, as otherwise this blog site will never get updated until I return to the U.S.

Pumpkin-Ricotta Pie

Another great recipe from Food Network. We always have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but I wanted to make it more interesting than the traditional pumpkin pie that I usually make. This recipe intrigued me because it’s half pure pumpkin and half ricotta cheese. It came out moist and delicious. The cream cheese crust is made from scratch—don’t worry, it’s not that complicated to make, as you will see if you try this recipe. 

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I made this easy-to-make but delicious dessert for our Thanksgiving dinner. It's adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe, and it's a welcome change from the standard pecan pie, which always tends to be cloyingly sweet. The addition of chocolate tempered the sweetness perfectly. The original recipe called for a caramel sauce for garnish, but I did away with it because it would have made the pie too sweet. Finally, I always try to make my crust from scratch because it's not really that difficult to make, but I have to admit that for this pie I used a pre-made crust, which I found in my daughter's freezer -- it wasn't too bad.