New Foods and Power Tools, or: Loving a Rancid Coconut

By Mark Bishop, HSC Deputy Director
 

One of the greatest things about having a kid is experiencing things for the first time again through their eyes. That is one of the reasons that I love taking Henry to the market and trying new foods -- green cauliflower, purple potatoes, figs (he loved dried figs the other day!) and more foods on a list that I hope continues to grow. So last week when we saw a coconut in the market, we grabbed it. 

The plan was to combine Henry's love for food with his love for power tools.
 

Opening the coconut was so exciting for Henry and his friend Nell. And it was so much fun for the parents to watch and experience opening a coconut for the very first time. Watching kids clapping and jumping up and down while waiting for the coconut water to come out makes me laugh every time!

Now if you watch the video, besides the cute kids hammering and drilling away on a coconut, you'll see the faces of kids and adults trying a tropical fruit that is completely rancid. (The first taste happens at 1:21). That didn't diminish the experience a bit. The kids still tried something new (and in my opinion it honestly made for better video.)

 

The next morning I decided to make a coconut craft. How about a coconut bowl for Henry to eat his cereal from every day? He now wants an entire set of coconut bowls, one for him, one for mommy and one for daddy. (And by the way: it turns out Henry is not the only one who loves and values coconut bowls!) And this time it was the confluence of food, crafts AND power tools. A three year old boy's dream!

 

 Maybe next time the coconut won't taste like gasoline. :)

Comments

[leena!]

How fun! And what a good lesson in produce--how it can go bad and taste like gasoline. Good on you for trying it, though!