LIFE IS cocoNUTS!

In the name of Allah, the Most Benificent, the Most Merciful
                                        

A while back, I told my young son how difficult life was when I was a little kid
living without modern appliances. I told him we didn't even have blenders or washing machine because we were poor. He was obviously curious and asked me questions:

_You didn't have computers?
_No.
_You didn't have playstation?
_No.
_Were there dinosaurs!?
 _Errr...





- MY COCONUT TREE

It has become like a family tradition for us to have "nasi lemak" for breakfast every Sunday morning. So last Sunday morning, I started to prepare to cook the dish. Nasi lemak is my family favourite dish especially to my daughter. She could eat it everyday.

Suddenly I just realized that I forgot to to buy the essential ingredient i.e the coconut milk! You must have coconut milk which is used to cook with the rice. Since we lived quite far away from the nearest grocery shop and I needed the milk at that instant, I had to think quick.

Then I remembered I actually have a coconut tree with real coconuts on it! The problem was I had never pluck a coconut, take out the flesh and blend the flesh to get the milk.  Was it possible? All these years I just bought coconut milk from the market. I knew it was a big task and I couldn't do this alone.

 

So I summoned my troops, my beloved children. My eldest spent a good 20 minutes to crack open two coconuts. My other children helped to scrape the flesh and my daughter blend it until it became white coconut milk. Yes... SUCCESS!  At last I could cook the rice.

And.. VOILA!.. this is our delicious, scrumptious nasi lemak. It had to be perfect (especially the fresh coconut milk) because my husband wanted to give it to my mother-in-law who is an expert in nasi lemak cooking.

This blog is not about how to cook nasi lemak. It is about how my family came together to prepare it (almost) the traditional way. We worked together and ate together. It was hard work but believe me it was well worth it. The children learned something. They learned how to work together as a team, as a family.

But one of my children said,"Mom, next time don't forget to buy the coconut milk..."