A perfect treat... young coconut

I developed this food fetish in Vegas while visiting my mother-in-law. She cultivated in me an appreciation for young coconuts. Apparently those brown coconuts you find in grocery stores are OLD coconuts. Have you ever tried to eat one of those? If you manage to get into them, there is a paltry drip of "milk" surrounded by tough meat you have to practically chisel out! I love coconut, but the effort of getting into one is hardly worth it. Then Christine introduced me to YOUNG coconuts. They are easily found in asian markets, but also accessible in regular grocery stores. These young fruits are packed to the brim with sweet milk. Even better, the thin, slippery meat slips out easily with a spoon to make a stress-free snack. There is a trick to getting into it, but once you get the knack it's no big deal. (I am not comfortable with my mother-in-law's "hack with a cleaver" approach; it's much cleaner and faster than mine, but I feel better about stabbing the shaved-down nut until I find the weak spot, then plunging in the point of the knife and sliding it around until there is a perfect whole in the top, just the right size for a spoon and a straw. Paige is a huge fan, too.