Nutty, but effective

One of my favorite Africa items is the handy coconut scraper (in photo). It resembles a boot scraper, but instead of cleaning muddy shoes, it scrapes the meat from the inside of a coconut.

My husband, who loves to cook, proudly demonstrated the coconut scraper for my mom and me one night while he whipped up steamed greens and coconut rice. He sat down on the scraper and began sawing away on a coconut using the serrated edge of the tool.

The finished product was delicious, and after watching him quickly make his way through that coconut, I decided I needed to get one of those scrapers in the States. Attention readers: Do any of you use one of these crude-but-effective little wonders?

Coconuts are everywhere in Tanzania. When a friend and I went to Zanzibar, a gorgeous island with the bluest water I have ever seen, we took a spice tour and learned about all the great things that grow there.

The guide was gregarious and silly and enjoyed playing Stump the Tourist on the Spice Tour. My friend Flora was a whiz at figuring out which spices come from which plants. I guessed wrong nearly every time, but I did recognize a breadfruit tree (breadfruit was fed to slaves on the ships to America) and an enormous coffee plant, which was as big as a tree.

I was surprised to learn that nearly every part of the cinnamon and peppermint plants is useful. Even the roots of the peppermint plant are used to make menthol. Just smelling the roots reminded me of the Vicks VapoRub my mom used to smear on my chest when I had a cold.

But back to the coconuts. The coconut trees are dizzyingly tall and slim, and on spice tours, one brave young man usually hustles up a tree (seen at right) to fetch a few coconuts for the tourists. Our climber also loudly and enthusiastically serenaded us while on the way up, his only climbing aid a rope tied around his ankles. After returning to terra firma, he lopped off the tops of the coconuts and it was time to slurp the fresh juice.

Delicious!

For those who want to try coconut rice, here is the way my husband makes it:

Cut a coconut in half and scrape the meat from inside. If you don't have a coconut scraper, a sturdy, short-blade knife with a serrated edge should do the trick. One half of the coconut meat will yield about four generous servings of coconut rice. You can refrigerate the unused coconut meat if you wish.

Place the shredded coconut in a bowl of very hot water. Let it sit for about 15 minutes or until you get a nice milky liquid.

While the coconut is soaking, make the rice according to package directions. Jasmine is fragrant and works well for coconut rice, I think. I like to add a bit of sesame oil to keep the rice from sticking and to give it a bit of Asian flavor. You also can use a rice cooker, which is my favorite way to make rice because it is so simple to use and the rice turns out beautifully. 

Strain the bowl of coconut and pour the milky liquid into the pan with the rice or into a big bowl if you use a rice cooker. Discard the coconut bits. Stir the liquid and the rice together and add a pat of butter and some salt and pepper, to taste. If you like a sweeter rice, add a bit of cinnamon. Tanzanians love sweet foods, so they often add cinnamon to their rice dishes.

Serve with steamed greens or a nice stir fry on top or simply eat the rice as a side dish.