Coconut

Makes 4 servings 1.    Cut okra along the cross-section, wiping knife between cuts. 2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a skillet over moderately high flame. Add okra and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove okra from pan and allow it to cool. 3.    In the work bowl of a food processor, combine coconut, green chili peppers, yogurt, and 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, and process until pureed. 4.    Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in skillet over moderately high flame and add remaining teaspoon of mustard seeds.

2 cups sugar ? cup water ? cup lime juice Zest of 2 limes Cream of coconut, to drizzle     1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, lime juice and lime zest. Heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to use. 2. To use with shaved ice, drizzle a bit of the syrup over a cone or bowl of ice, then drizzle cream of coconut over the top. Alternatively, to make granita, stir another 1 ?

If it hasn't already happened to you, get ready. Even five minutes of casual news watching will alert you: This is the worst cold and flu season in recent memory. The sneezing that punctuates an unusually thick fatigue was my first clue that I was among the ill. Actually, my already-infected husband, sick a full week before I was, foretold the cold. Before I succumbed to the worst of it, something had to be done. I needed to make a lot of chicken soup for some serious symptom relief.

Andes Candy Thins. Toasted coconut, orange mint, buttermint and frost mint. $1.75 per 4.67-ounce box. Also available in 3- and 10-ounce bags. Bonnie: I'll admit to having eaten an Andes mint I've been offered at some restaurants. That could be, in part, because until given the chance to study them to review their four new flavors, I never really knew what they were made of. Andes Thins are not pure chocolate like Hershey's Kisses, but a chocolate- flavored compound containing the very saturated palm kernel oil, sugar, milk, cocoa and artificial colors and flavors.

PICKING COCONUTS REALLY IS MONKEY BUSINESS Kai-Song took just 34 seconds to grab eight coconuts and win a coconut- picking contest in southern Thailand. Forty monkeys, specially trained to pick coconuts, took part in the competition in Surathani province, about 370 miles south of Bangkok. In the final round over the weekend, Kai-Song was initially neck-and-neck with his main challenger Hai-Kai, who took 40 seconds to shinny up the coconut tree and twist and break the stems of eight nuts and let them drop to the ground.

A JUICY ITEM If you had a bit too much Christmas Eve holiday cheer, Cherie Calbom suggests getting out your juicer to whip up a "Hangover Helper" - a 2-inch slice of ginger and one-quarter of a lemon with rind. Simmer in a pint of water with a dash of nutmeg, a stick of cinnamon and four or five cloves. A CHOICE ITEM If you're looking for something serious to chew on, the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., has a monthly Breakfast Club you might want to check out. In addition to a price-fixed breakfast, you get to hear and speak to the likes of Pennsylvania House Speaker Robert W. O'Donnell.

Food: Vegan Vietnamese, starring banh mi hoagies ($4-$5) and rice noodles ($5), both starring deliciously fake (soy protein) chicken, ham and beef, dressed in cilantro, homemade pickles, coconut and/or jalapeños. Find it: For now, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 33rd and Chestnut; Saturday-Sunday at Clark Park, 43rd and Baltimore. Look for: A hand-painted hotdog cart with a red umbrella and kung fu trimmings. Eat on: The grass, or standing by a tall table balanced on milk crates.

IF YOU DRINK cow's milk, it's likely that at one point or another you had to be talked into it. "Getting kids to drink milk" is a well-recognized meme (try Googling the phrase) in song, story and parenting guides, because the beverage is not, apparently, something we take to automatically. But with enough "wholesome" spin (in 2007 the Federal Trade Commission forced the National Dairy Council to retract unfounded health claims) and government-funded campaigns (remember the U.S. Department of Agriculture's team-up with Domino's to sell more cheese per pizza?

Vince Curran cradled a coconut as he chatted with a press corps of one outside West Catholic's visiting locker room at 9:45 last evening. As you can see, everything is still normal - meaning, nothing is normal - on the Catholic League basketball front. A coconut? Sure. Vince Curran was using the fruit, which he lifted from his mother's kitchen stash, to keep another loss away from St. Joseph's Prep. The Hawklets' 6-7 senior forward cracked open the coconut in a pregame ceremony, then announced to his teammates after a 64-59 victory, "No more voodoo curse.

If it hasn't already happened to you, get ready. Even five minutes of casual news watching will alert you: This is the worst cold and flu season in recent memory. The sneezing that punctuates an unusually thick fatigue was my first clue that I was among the ill. Actually, my already-infected husband, sick a full week before I was, foretold the cold. Before I succumbed to the worst of it, something had to be done. I needed to make a lot of chicken soup for some serious symptom relief.

IF YOU DRINK cow's milk, it's likely that at one point or another you had to be talked into it. "Getting kids to drink milk" is a well-recognized meme (try Googling the phrase) in song, story and parenting guides, because the beverage is not, apparently, something we take to automatically. But with enough "wholesome" spin (in 2007 the Federal Trade Commission forced the National Dairy Council to retract unfounded health claims) and government-funded campaigns (remember the U.S. Department of Agriculture's team-up with Domino's to sell more cheese per pizza?

2 cups sugar ? cup water ? cup lime juice Zest of 2 limes Cream of coconut, to drizzle     1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, lime juice and lime zest. Heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to use. 2. To use with shaved ice, drizzle a bit of the syrup over a cone or bowl of ice, then drizzle cream of coconut over the top. Alternatively, to make granita, stir another 1 ?

1 can regular coconut milk (13.5 oz.) 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons agave syrup 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon sea salt 1. Whisk ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Let chill in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight. 2. Add to ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions. When done, transfer to container and let freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. From Ross Olchvary, Sprig & Vine Per serving: 334 calories, 2 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams sugar, 23 grams fat, no cholesterol, 98 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fibers

Food: Vegan Vietnamese, starring banh mi hoagies ($4-$5) and rice noodles ($5), both starring deliciously fake (soy protein) chicken, ham and beef, dressed in cilantro, homemade pickles, coconut and/or jalapeños. Find it: For now, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 33rd and Chestnut; Saturday-Sunday at Clark Park, 43rd and Baltimore. Look for: A hand-painted hotdog cart with a red umbrella and kung fu trimmings. Eat on: The grass, or standing by a tall table balanced on milk crates.

DON'T FEEL too guilty as you crack open that coconut-cream Easter egg, though you might want to save half for later. After nearly two decades of being considered "forbidden" in a healthy diet, coconut and products made with it are being viewed in a new light by some scientists, health nuts and chefs. Coconut - be it oil, meat, water or milk - has gone from being a cholesterol criminal to an antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal "super food. " Monica Glass, dessert chef at 10 Arts Bistro & Lounge by Eric Ripert in the Ritz-Carlton, said she inadvertently stumbled upon coconut oil as a potential cooking fat when Googling cholesterol-friendly recipes about two years ago. "Coconut oil was showing up in a lot of gluten-free recipes," the West Chester native said.

COCONUT OIL CARROT CAKE 2 cups sugar 1 cup extra-virgin coconut oil, melted 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup coconut flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon mace 1/2 teaspoon ginger 4 cups finely grated carrots 2 cups finely grated apples, preferably Granny...

Makes 4 servings 1.    Cut okra along the cross-section, wiping knife between cuts. 2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a skillet over moderately high flame. Add okra and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove okra from pan and allow it to cool. 3.    In the work bowl of a food processor, combine coconut, green chili peppers, yogurt, and 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, and process until pureed. 4.    Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in skillet over moderately high flame and add remaining teaspoon of mustard seeds.

1. Poke a hole with a sharp knife in the coconut's "nose," the indented tip between the two eyes, and drain the water from inside. Drink or discard. 2. Smack the coconut on concrete to break into pieces. Using a paring knife, carefully pry the meat in chunks away from the hard, hairy outer shell (the white flesh will still have a papery brown edge). 3. These chunks can either be grated by hand on a box grater, or sliced into smaller pieces and blended to a puree in a blender.

When Nicola Shirley agreed to shut down Jamaican Jerk Hut for five days so her restaurant could be used as a set for In Her Shoes, she was looking forward to a few unhurried days and, perhaps, a short vacation. But location shooting and cooking for moviemakers, she discovered, wasn't exactly a vacation. She understood she would have to cook a buffet for 50 in the wedding scene of the movie that opened last weekend, starring Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette as estranged sisters; she didn't realize she would have to do it four times to make sure the filmmakers got the shot right.