Sprouted Coconut :)

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is a common sight on most tropical islands, and is one of the most valuable plants for humans due to the multitude of uses it provides, which legitimizes its title as the "Tree of Life."  

Sprouted coconut 

In fact, across the Polynesian archipelago of the South Pacific, every part of the coconut palm is utilized for a specific purpose, from food to shelter to tools.  The palm fronds are woven together to create everything from thatched roofs for island-style huts to floor mats and baskets.  The woody material in the trunk is used for building purposes, and the fibrous interior of the coconut husks is used in and around lava rock borders of tropical gardens.  The hard shell of the coconut is made into tools such as bowls and spoons, and chips of the shell make an excellent type of charcoal due to the slow-burning oils helping extend the duration of a fire.  All of these incredible uses and I haven't even mentioned how good they are to eat!

Young coconuts

The young green coconuts contain delicious and nutritious coconut water, an excellent source of rehydration and replenishment of electrolytes.  Coconut water is isotonic, meaning it has a similar electrolyte balance as blood plasma, and has been used by doctors as an intravenous solution and injected directly into the bloodstream to prevent dehydration, especially during emergency situations such as World War II where other intravenous solutions were either not available or in short supply.  The water sealed inside the coconut is sterile, free from pathogens, is non-allergenic, does not harm red blood cells, and is readily accepted by the body.  On many small tropical islands, coconut water is the only source of safe drinking water for the local inhabitants where rainfall is minimal.  The nutritional profile of coconut water includes containing a complex array of vitamins and minerals including high levels of potassium, chlorides, calcium, and magnesium, along with a variety of trace minerals, and a moderate amount of sodium, protein, and natural sugars.  Some of the health properties attributed to coconut water include its therapeutic effect on the urinary and reproductive systems, minimizing the effects of glaucoma, preventing the formation of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), promoting digestion, and as an antioxidant.  The "fluid of life" living up to its name in a variety of ways.  

Opening the coconut husk

Removal of coconut from husk

As the coconut matures, the flesh or meat lining the inside of the shell begins to thicken and become tougher, and the water inside loses some of its flavor, while the green exterior begins to fade and becomes brown. The flesh of these mature coconuts are used to make coconut milk, thicker and whiter than the clear coconut water, as well as copra, which is the source of coconut oil production, and the major source of income for most small tropical islands.  

Botanically speaking, the "Tree of Life" is not really a tree, but instead is a member of the palm family Palmae.  These botanical characteristics include a woody trunk, perennial (as opposed to annual) growth, leaves folded like a fan, and along with grasses and lilies, the production of a single 'seed leaf' which classifies them as monocotyledons.  

Inside of a sprouted coconut

Coconuts can float for around three months in salt water until they get washed up on a sandy shoreline of some tropical beach, and despite the nutritionally-poor sands as a soil substrate to root in, with the presence of available fresh water the coconut will still sprout, and grow into a mature palm in about six years, thriving in this otherwise harsh environment.  Once a coconut sprouts, the water inside develops into a ball of foam, spreading out toward the flesh and filling up the interior of the coconut.  While I fully encourage allowing a sprouted coconut to grow into a mature palm, which can produce hundreds of new coconuts per year, in cases where space is lacking to allow a new coconut palm to form, harvesting the sprouted coconut for food is an incredibly delicious treat.  The ball of spongy white foam inside a sprouted coconut is such a delicious food that it has many different names, including coconut foam, the apple of the coconut, and coconut cotton candy, but I think the closest description that it resembles in taste and texture is coconut angel food cake.  Not only is this tropical delicacy nutritious and tasty, but it is also quite filling.  My first time sampling this beautiful blessing from nature and it instantly became one of my favorite foods!

Coconut angel food cake, so delicious!

Balancing Energies

So much happening in this last month that I have been wanting to write about but not found the time for yet, I figured I better make time now and catch up.  This winter surf season has been one for the history books, with the El Nino fueled storms and subsequent swell spanning across the Pacific Ocean relentlessly bombing huge surf onto the reefs of the Hawai'ian Islands and marching solid lines into the West Coast of America, this will be a season surfers will remember forever, and become a benchmark for future seasons to be compared against.  My big wave tow in day was an amazing step along this journey, but there have been many more swells to follow.  

The day after the tow day was when the real force of the swell hit, probably the biggest day of surf that Hawai'i has seen in about a decade, and it was going off!  I witnessed some of the most amazingly big, perfect, and gnarly barrels I have ever seen with my own eyes.  I gave my best effort to paddle into some epic waves and am thankful to have caught a few perfect ones myself, but the barrels I saw a few friends get with the jet ski assistance were absolutely mind blowing. One of the best days of waves ever, complete sensory overload, from sunrise to sunset being tantalized by spitting barrels relentlessly, I was completely tapped out that night.  Even more epic dream sessions to follow as this swell declined, letting the other waves become manageable and allowing a full variety of waves to be surfed through the course of this swell event.  

About a week after the tow in day, my friend that towed me in psyched me up to paddle out into some of the biggest waves I have ever paddled out in, probably the second biggest paddle day of my life, but way nicer than the biggest day because unlike the rough and rugged nature of the waves that day, this day was as big and perfect as you could ever dream of waves being.  Not a drop of water out of place, just perfect huge peaks jacking up and running the length of the reef, with a friendly and mellow vibe between the few guys out, it was truly a magical day.  I borrowed a big wave board from my friend, so I was a little tentative to catch my first wave, not only because it was my first time back paddling into solid waves in a few years, but also because I had not ridden this board yet and had no idea how it would go, so I took my time watching a couple sets come through before I paddled into the thick of it.  My friend was heckling me from the zone, looking at me like "what are you doing in the channel?  you know you need to be over here to catch a wave, right?" and waving at me to paddle over where he was waiting under the ledge.  As I have mentioned before, my friend loves huge waves, so I wasn't completely sure whether he wanted me to catch a wave from where he was, or if he just wanted to see how I would handle getting caught inside by a macking clean up set, but after seeing him late drop a couple nuts ones, I figured I better get in there for a closer look.  I managed to pick off a couple of inside ones, too small of a board to compete for the bombs up at the top of the reef, but right on the ledge where the wave would stand up as it connected the inside for a solid drop and fun wall to race, super stoked!  Traded a couple of sets with my friend, stoked to have gotten back out into some solid waves and feeling comfortable with so much water moving around.  When we got in, I thanked him for hyping me up to go out there.  I know it is not that hectic once I get myself out into the mix and put myself in the lineup, but taking that initial move to go out there is always easier when you have a friend to join you on the journey.  

The next morning the swell had dropped a bit but was still solid, and my friend paddled out in the dark on his shortboard to get a couple late drops at first light.  On maybe his third wave or so, he took off late, ran into some chop at the bottom, and skipped out in the trough, falling on his side and breaking at least three ribs.  Falling on water.  Broken bones.  Heavy.  The most agony I have ever seen him in, for a guy I have never seen affected by anything, this looked like the most excruciating pain anyone could ever endure.  Drove him down to the the hospital in town to get x-rays but nothing you can really do for broken ribs except chill out and let them heal, shocker.  In the blink of an eye, done. Season over.  The best season ever, over.  So harsh I went into a sympathetic depression with him, hanging out for the next week and helping take care of whatever I could for him so he could just sit and chill and heal.  I didn't want to be coming home glowing from a hero session and describing epic waves I had ridden while he had been barely moving so no shooting pains would pierce his chest, so I just hung out and talked story, made some food, and provided support as best I could.  The universe was sending out so much positive energy in a relentless stream that it had to regroup and begin to balance the energies out.  

It kinda felt like eating really spicy salsa, where if you keep eating non-stop you just replace one extreme experience with another in such succession that they all begin to blend together and have less individual impact, that is until you stop to take a breath and it all catches up quick, bringing you abruptly back to reality.  I had been in such a state of delirium surrounded by the perfection of this season that I got caught up thinking that maybe it could really just be like this forever, and life would be this grand adventure where the waves were phenomenal all of the time.  Everyday would dawn another gloriously stellar light wind sunny dream of swell lines marching in from the horizon, with the toughest decision of the day being deciding where to surf because everywhere is firing.  

But the highs have to get balanced by the lows.  Otherwise, how would we even be able to appreciate the blessings?  If everyday was perfect, sunny, and firing, how special would it be?  Can something still be special when it becomes the standard?  If everyday was perfect, it would no longer be considered perfect, it would be common.  We need the rugged stormy onshore flat days to appreciate how truly magical the perfect days are, when all of the elements do align, the right size swell coming from the right direction, with the right winds speed coming from the right direction, with the right tide and the sun shining, all culminating into one beautiful session, where we are in the right spot for the right wave, and draw the right line with the right timing, all elements synergizing to manifest a spiritual experience and deeper connection with the universal energy we are all one with.  Such an incredible alignment of the elements cannot slide by unappreciated just because they happen to be in temporary abundance.  

It felt like the energy had shifted, maybe not disappeared, but just vibrating at a different frequency now.  There have still been all time sessions and great waves to be ridden, but lately they have been smaller and more manageable, allowing for a different approach to be explored than just that of putting your head down and going hard in waves of consequence, and it felt nice to just relax and have fun in friendly waves again.  The weather shifted, and the trade winds began to return, replacing the ridiculously sunny and amazing days with some mountain showers, and some stormy days showed up bringing in colder north winds, starting to actually feel like winter over here finally.  It seemed like the season had hit its peak, and while there will still be waves to ride, and many more fun days ahead, the concentrated energy focused into the last couple months had finally begun to dissipate, reestablishing a sense of normalcy and familiarity to everyday life.  A mandatory balancing of the energies, so that we can find equilibrium once again.  

Taking time to soak it all in

Chocolate Maca Almond Haystacks

This was my first experiment at making a raw vegan chocolate recipe, but I knew I was going to make haystacks, chocolate and coconut are the most incredibly delicious combination!  

Chocolate comes from a tropical fruit that grows on trees called cacao, and inside the tough colorful shell of the cacao pods is a gooey white membrane of a deliciously unique sweet-tart flavor surrounding big brown cacao beans, the source of what most people know as chocolate. The cacao beans are sun dried and then separated into their two components, the bitter brown cacao powder and the lighter fat that is the cacao butter.  The whitish cacao butter is the source of white chocolate, and when the powder is added back in, the more cacao powder added the darker the chocolate becomes.  

South Pacific Cacao Pod

I have a few friends that have their chocolate recipes down to an art, so I asked a few critical questions to acquire the information gained from lifelong searches of knowledge, and for sharing that wisdom I am extremely grateful to Jacob Gilbert for his insight and experience. Chocolate production is truly an art form, as the trick to creating a great chocolate comes through an understanding of the tempering process, where the warm liquid mix cools into a solid at a specific rate of crystallization that creates a desired texture for the final chocolate treat. The key to raw food production is to maintain the temperature below 108 F in order to preserve vital living enzymes, so I keep my temps below 105 F.  The goal is to warm the cacao butter just enough to melt so that the cacao powder can be added back in for a smooth and creamy mixture, easily dissolving the powder into the butter.  Recipes can vary according to taste, with a larger ratio of cacao powder to cacao butter creating a darker chocolate.  

My personal recipe used all raw organic ingredients of the highest quality, ideal for creating the best quality treat, both for health (personal and planet) and flavor.  I use Sunfood Nutrition's raw organic cacao powder and cacao butter along with their agave nectar for a sweetener, along with their raw organic Italian almonds.  An incredible synergy complimenting the cacao is to include the superfood maca along side it for amazing energy and stamina, and I use only the highest quality grade and strain of maca, Lepidium Peruvianum Chacon, from Sol Raiz Organics.  Maca is a superfood grown in the highest elevation of the Peruvian Andes mountains, with this particular plantation located above 14,000 feet, and it is an incredible part of a vital and healthy life when consumed regularly, I personally swear by the stuff daily for increased energy and health.  In this recipe I added one of my favorite foods, Artisana's raw coconut butter, which I will eat by the spoonful because it is so amazing.  Also in this recipe was some lucuma powder, a fruit from Peru traditionally used in their ice cream providing a creamy maple caramel flavor, a bunch of shredded coconut, and a pinch of sea salt.  

Ingredients for CacaoStacks Recipe

The specific ratios pretty much come down to experimentation and personal preference, mixing the ingredients to create the desired taste and texture, but the amounts for cacao butter and powder are somewhat similar depending on how dark you want your chocolate, with agave nectar maybe half that, and small amounts comparatively of the coconut butter, maca, and lucuma, and the pinch of sea salt.  Once the mixture has reached the desired taste for a final product, add in a bunch of raw organic shredded coconut, the largest quantity of any one single ingredient, and a bunch of soaked and sprouted raw organic almonds. The almonds should be soaked and rinsed repeatedly a couple days ahead of time in order to remove the phytates or enzyme inhibitors which will create a more easily digestible and lighter tasting nut.  Once the final mix is ready you scoop it into whatever size treats you want by selecting that size cups or tray and then placing them in the fridge to cool.  In about an hour or so they should be ready.  Absolute heaven, enjoy :)

SOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD :)

Happy Surfing :)

Today I am celebrating the anniversary of the first day I ever went surfing.  Such a defining moment for my life path this event manifested, that I feel it is worth celebrating every year, hopefully by catching some fun waves.  I owe a huge thank you to my Dad and my cousin Mark, who both took me on my first day surfing and gave me countless rides thereafter to continue my all-consuming addiction, keeping the stoke and setting me up for a beautifully unexpected life course.  So many amazing lessons surfing has taught me over the course of my life that I am so grateful for experiencing, I am the person I am today because of all that the ocean and nature has taught me.  On Valentine's Day it is a common tradition to express gratitude and affection to those that have touched us deeply, and with that in mind I will give thanks for how blessed I am to have been able to live this incredible life!  I LOVE SURFING!

Helicopter Angle Photo by Steve Knox

Little Sis Getting Bigger

Happy Birthday to my little sister, such an incredibly amazing human even at only 11 years of age, I am in awe at how much I have learned from her already.  I love you kiddo.

Sometimes Life Gets In The Way

So much going on, so much I have been wanting to write about, so many thoughts I want to share, not only for everyone else to enjoy, but because somehow the process of this blog helps me to clarify and make sense of my world through the review and analysis of daily events, allowing me to view them through the lens of a holistic perspective.  But it is funny how quickly my schedule has become too busy to find time now that I have acclimated to "island time."  Surf, stretch, eat, and sleep routine really does prove to be a full-time commitment.  Reviewing surf and weather forecasts, virtual buoy projections, and wind direction models, then analyzing all of this information along side personal experience of which breaks will favor those conditions, and have the best potential for the best waves, and to then decide the plan for the following day takes some time.  Harvesting ripe citrus from around the neighborhood or hacking into a young coconut for a meal requires some effort.  And there isn't enough time in the day to do all of the stretching I wish I could do, keeping my muscles and joints strong yet flexible is a mandatory counterbalance to release tension from the taxing that all-day surf binges will inflict.  Just thinking about some yoga asanas instantly calms my energy.  Actually, what am I doing right now?  I can't sit here, I gotta go stretch.........